Thorns

Jesus wore a crown of thorns. Why? Was it because the soldiers were mocking Him? He claimed to be King of the Jews. So they crowned Him with a crown but that crown was made of thorns. I imagine it hurt as the thorns dug into his scalp. Ouch! Or could there be more to it than that? Thorns first appeared in the curse God put on the planet after Adam’s sin. Sin (in general) caused God to curse Adam’s work (and that of all humanity) – it’ll be hard to manage the garden because we’ll always be fighting against weeds, ie. thorns and thistles; and to curse Eve in birthing (all women) and raising children (all parents); and to curse the serpent. Death and disease (in general) are the fruit, so to speak, of that curse. You could say that what has happened to your child is one kind of “thorn” from this curse.

Others have experienced thorns too. Paul had his thorn in the flesh. And Jesus’ thorns were in the form of this crown. Both asked that it be taken away. Both got the answer from God that it would not be taken away or avoided, but they should endure it. To Paul, God promised him that His grace would be sufficient to live with it, to endure, to grow through it and bring forth good fruit in life. Jesus certainly accepted and endured His experience of the thorns. Through His thorn-experience, we all have Life so that we can live, grow and bring forth good fruit in our lives too.

Tim Keller (Pastor of Redeemer PCA Church in New York City) says: “everything will be redeemed.” All the brokenness of this world will be redeemed. That’s what’s coming in eternity. Even the thorns of Paul, Jesus and each of you. The thorns that were once a pronouncement against sin are now made into a crown. The soldiers meant it as a mock coronation, but it actually is a symbol of the Crown of Life Jesus wears now as King of Kings. Everything, even the death of your child and your grief, will be redeemed. Trust the Redeemer.

These thoughts were stimulated by a line in a song, Ride on to Die, by Michael Card about the thorns in creation and the thorns of Jesus’ crown and are related to the following Scriptures: Genesis 3:18, II Corinthians 12:7, Matthew 27:29.