4/9 Through the Bible in Devotions

John 19

“And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe,” (v. 2)

There seems to be a mystery as to what this crown was to symbolize in scripture. We know that it was all done in mockery of our Lord, and of His right to sit on the throne of Israel, but it seems there was more to it than that. As we read through the chapter, and compare it with other chapters, we will notice that they also put a robe on Jesus, and gave him a reed for His sepulcher, to further add to the mockery, but the two latter objects were taken back before they crucified Him, so why wasn’t the crown removed? (Mt. 27: 28-31). One might say that they took the robe off because of its value, but what about the reed? Whatever the reasoning, the crown was deliberately left on Him, it went to the cross with Him!

Thorns in the Bible are always a symbol of a curse, as first seen in Genesis after the fall of man (Gen 3:17, 18). The thorns were nailed to the cross with Jesus, and this could mean that He paid the price, and lifted the curse at Calvary! The earth may no longer be cursed for mans sake! Whatever the reason, it is significant that the “crown of thorns” went to the cross with Him. My theory is that the curse on the earth was lifted at Calvary. Did Jesus not become a curse for us? Every event of Calvary was prophesied in the Old Testament, but where do we find any prophecies about the crown of thorns? The mockers had already had their fun, and mocked our Lord, so the crown of thorns was no longer needed, except that it symbolized the curse on earth, and that it died on Calvary. If this is true, the earth is plentiful for us, and we no longer toil hard only to reap thorns. We can prosper from the land, and have for many years since. Farming today is dying out, but it is not because of the ground, it is because of man and perhaps technology.

The only other explanation I can think of for this dilemma is that the crown merely identified Jesus with the curse (thorns), and that he became a curse for us, the thorns being symbolic of it. (See Gal. 3:13). Either way, we can be thankful for Calvary, and that Jesus was willing to become a curse for us, and most of all, that He paid the price of sin, and lifted the curse that sin put us under when he freely gave up His life on Calvary.