“…Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns…”

The image was thoroughly shocking, but it wasn’t enough for the murderous mob.  Pontius Pilate had just had Jesus flogged Roman style (John 19:1), a punishment that could cause death, literally shredding a prisoner’s back.   In the next verse the “soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns an put it on his head.”  These thorns were 6-12 inches long.  They had to have cut deeply into his scalp, adding to the pain and massive loss of blood.  Then “they struck him in the face” (v. 3), causing bruises, cuts and welts.  Isaiah (52:14) says, “his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness….”  Passive observers would have been appalled, but not this crowd.  It wasn’t enough.

Pilate was already struggling.  First, he believed Jesus was innocent: “As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him” (v. 6).  Second, he was increasingly fearful of who Christ was.  When he heard that Jesus “claimed to be the Son of God” (v. 7), “he was even more afraid” (v. 8, our emphasis), adding to the already present fear.  After talking to Jesus privately (vs. 9-11), he looked for any way to free him.  Pilate already had surmised, “it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him” (Mark 15:10).  Even his wife got into the act, telling him, “Don’t have anything to do with this innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him” (Matt. 27:19).  The crowd sensed his dilemma and rebuffed his efforts to turn the responsibility back on them. “Shall I crucify your king?” he asked.  The chief priests replied, “We have no king but Caesar” (v. 15).  Truer words were never spoken.

A point Jesus made in Mark 10 makes this scene even all the more poignant.  After the other disciples became angry with James and John for asking to sit at his right and left in glory, Jesus told them all, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  Not so with you.  Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (vs. 42-45).  Jesus is talking how real leadership is attained: by being a slave of all.  The next word, “for,” is highly instructive.  It means “because,” linking the principle with himself: whoever wants to be great must be slave of all because the Son of Man came to serve…  In essence he is saying that he wanted to be great, so he came to serve.  Among whom did Jesus want to be great?  Rebellious humanity who would curse God’s name in a heartbeat.  Now the final question:  Why would he want to be their leader?  Because without a leader, like sheep without a shepherd, they are on the outs with God.  Moreover, the very creatures God made in his own image to give him glory aren’t.  Thus God’s design is being thwarted.  So what does a real leader do?  First, he submits to his authority — in this case, God the Father.  Second, he submits to the task to achieve the goal.

This is symbolized by the crown of thorns.  Thorns, because they symbolize God’s judgment on man’s disobedience (see Gen. 3:17-18).  Crowns were worn around the head because it was the highest part of the head, already a picture of authority.  What graced the top of the head reflected that person’s role or responsibility.  Rulers often wore crowns of gold plated leaves or something similar.  Champion athletes wore a small wreath of oak, myrtle, ivy, etc.  After time they would dry up and lose both their value and significance, indicating that new contests and games were coming.  But the only crown Jesus wore on earth was one of thorns, confirming in picture form that his highest achievement was to be great by being a slave to the Father and submitting to what that crown represented.  Notice he never said to the soldiers who crowned him, “Uh, guys, this won’t do.  I’m not going to wear this on my head.  No way.  I’ll carry it, but I will not have this crown on my head.”  Never did such a thought cross his mind.  True, the magnitude of the challenge he faced was so great that an angel strengthened him in the garden (Luke 22:43).  But so completely did he embrace his Father’s will that Hebrews tells us, “…we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone” (v. 9).  Crowned on earth with thorns; crowned in heaven with glory and honor.  The crown of thorns paved the way to the crown of glory.  Is it any different with us?

Do we respond in like manner when we are “crowned” with things below our dignity?