A crown of thorns

Matthew 27:29

And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!

It is a wondrous thing how nature itself mocks, and how the truth disguises itself in the lies that are told by men. Here we see the Roman soldiers abusing Jesus, stripping Him from His own clothing, placing upon Him a royal robe, and making a mockery of Him as King. He gave Himself into the hands of men, knowing that these deeds would be done. They had their moment of glee, their wicked, evil spat of satisfaction. They gratified their human desire for the demeaning and humiliation of another person. And here, and here! The only begotten Son is the brunt and object of their grievous mockery. They accused Him of claiming to be a king, and pretended to worship Him as a king, not knowing that one day those same knees would bow before Jesus Christ again; and this time not in mockery, but in utter fear and terror. One day, those same knees would bow before Him, and without any pretension, derision, or ostentation, would say, “Jesus Christ is Lord.” See Philippians 2:10-11. What a mockery truth will have of these men! What a derision will occur on that day, when all fake flattery will be done away, and only that which is true and righteous will remain! All will bow to the King of kings one day in abject humility and truthful worship.

As these men mocked our Lord, and blasphemed His name, they thought they could make the mockery of greater debauchery by fabricating a crown of thorns. They would place it upon His head, a reed in His right hand, and would shout, “Hail, King of the Jews!” The ironic truth is that He was King of the Jews! He was their King, Judge, and Ruler without their knowledge. They were ignorant of the humble man that stood before them, the great King of glory that was in their presence! But instead, they placed this crown upon His head, to bear down onto His skull and penetrate through His flesh. They intended to add harm to injury and cause the greatest pain conceivable. But it was only an imitation of what will come to pass one day, as Christ stands forever and forever as the KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS. See Revelation 19. At that time, as the first chapter of Revelation tells us, “they also which pierced Him…shall wail because of Him.” He will be the fearsome and eternal King of all things. As they placed Him on the cruel cross, they installed a placard above Him to denote His “accusation.” And it read, “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” How could they get away from the truth? How could they keep from proclaiming across the lands of the world, and the annals of history the true facts about the Son of God? That is all they did! They declared the Gospel of God! They used their wicked pens to propagate over the land an eternal message. He is King of the Jews!

And, my dear friend, as God’s Word has told us, all will bow to Him one day. Will you bow to Him today, and ask Him to be the supreme ruler, the mighty sovereign over your life? Would you crown Him, not with a crown of thorns, but with a diadem of power, as the dictator of your life? Make Him absolute Lord, for He is King of kings, and He is Lord of lords. Submit to Him today!

“Dear Lord, how we thank you for every thing you went through for us. But we especially thank you for the mockery endured for us, knowing that those who mocked were only telling the truth in sinful ways and in ridiculous voices. But how true it was! And how true it is! You are Jesus, the King of the Jews! And you are the King of kings! We worship you with unfeigned hearts and truthful consciences. With our hearts we say, Be ruler of me; be the King this day of every thing I do, of all that I say, and of every thought that I conceive. Be Lord of me now. In Jesus’ wonderful and Holy name we pray, Amen.”