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Come,
let us reason together
8/12/09
-- in humility receive the word
implanted, which is able to
save your souls.
But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves
James
1:21-22
The Crown Of Thorns
(Gen.
22:1-14); --- “Now it came
about after these
things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he
said, "Here I am."--- He said, ‘Take now your son, your only son,
whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there
as a
burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.’---
So
Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two
of his
young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt
offering,
and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.--- On
the
third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance.---
Abraham
said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad
will
go over there; and we will worship and return to you."--- Abraham took
the
wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in
his
hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. ---
Isaac
spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father!" And he said,
"Here I am, my son." And he said, "Behold, the fire and the
wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"--- Abraham said,
"God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt
offering, my son." So the two of them walked on together.--- Then they
came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the
altar there
and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the
altar, on top
of the wood.--- Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to
slay his
son.--- But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said,
"Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."--- He said,
"Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him;
for
now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son,
your only
son, from Me."--- Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold,
behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and
Abraham went
and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place
of his
son.--- Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide,
as
it is said to this day, "In the mount of the LORD it will be provided.”
As
we can see from the Scripture
above, not only is the story of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his
son, his
only son Isaac a beautiful story; --- a story of absolute obedience to
and
trust in Almighty God (Abraham’s part); --- and not only an amazing
story of a
son’s perfect submission to his father, even to the point of death
(Isaacs’s
part); --- and a story of God’s perfect provision (God’s part); --- But
inherently, we will see that this story speaks of even a much greater
story;
--- In fact, the greatest story ever told. --- The utter sacrifice of
the pure
sinless Son of God, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior
We all know the story so well, why then should we
spend time in talking about something we already know so much about?
--- Well,
in the first place I couldn’t tell this story in forty minutes or forty
years
for that matter, and tell it all. I’ve heard the story of Jesus’ love,
His
death, burial and resurrection, His ascension and His promise to
come
again probably at least a thousand times, but do you know what? --- I
still
have a huge problem trying to comprehend in my feeble finite mind God’s
love
and mercy. --- But dear friends, I understand enough about my Savior’s
love for
me (worm that I am), that I dare not remain silent. --- And in the
second
place, we’re only going to cover a very small part of this ageless
story. Yet I
believe a very significant and meaningful part of that old, old story.
At this time I would invite your attention to (Mt.
27:26-31); --- “Then
he released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus
scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified. --- Then the soldiers of
the
governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman
cohort
around Him.--- They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.--- And
after twisting
together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in
His
right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying,
‘Hail, King
of the Jews!’ --- They spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat
Him on
the head. --- After they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off
Him and
put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.”
It has been said by many who have been there, that
the little hill where Jesus was crucified, the place of a skull called
Golgotha
in
Hebrew, or Calvarias/Calvary in the Greek
(no one knows for sure the exact location), but if the place where men
say
today is indeed where Jesus was crucified; --- it’s just an ugly little
hill no
more than eighteen feet high and is strewn with rocks and trash, and
covered
with thorns. --- Calvary was never meant to be pretty or beautiful, but
is
indeed a place of scorn and horror. It is a place where Jesus
died in
despicable shame. --- So the Bible tells us Jesus was crowned with a
crown of
thorns, and I’m persuaded that it was highly appropriate that He was.
By that,
I mean that it was God’s will. --- So with these thoughts in mind, I
would like
to present for your thoughtful and prayerful consideration, The Crown
of
Thorns. Lesson 1.
Now first of all, I would call your attention
to the Material of that crown:
Let’s look again at (Mt. 27:29); --- “And after twisting
together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, ---“
Now,
it’s not by mere accident that Jesus was crowned with a crown of
thorns, but
there’s a great and glorious symbolic lesson in the fact that He was.
--- For
you see, when God first created this earth there were no thorns. --- No
rose
had thorns. The first rose which bloomed in the Garden of Eden was a
rose with
no thorns. --- Thorns and briars are a direct result of the fall of man.
Just mark your place in (Mt. 27:) and I would call
your attention to (Gen. 3:) for confirmation of what we’re talking
about here.
--- And while I’m at it, let me hasten to point out that man does not
inherit
Adam’s sin. --- But man most definitely does suffer the consequence of
Adam’s
sin. --- There’s a vast difference between sin’s guilt and sin’s
consequence.
Now why do you suppose God caused the land to bring
forth thorns and thistles when man sinned? --- Because God wanted man
to be
constantly reminded by every sticky thorn and briar that there is
something
drastically wrong in the world. And the material of the crown (thorns),
speak
of the curse that is in this world. --- And may I suggest to you, this
is
simply God’s way of saying that all suffering, heartaches and pain is
the
consequence of sin; albeit it may not be directly related to your sin.
So if
the car door happens to slam shut on your finger, that doesn’t
necessarily,
mean you have sinned. --- Jesus suffered and died in immense agony as a
consequence of sin, although He knew no sin.
You know, it’s always been amazing to me how that
sometimes when people have some kind of suffering or tragedy come into
their
lives, they get bitter at God. --- And of course, when this happens I
can just
imagine old Satan himself just sits off in a corner somewhere and
laughs
himself silly. ( You
know, it’s always been amazing to me how that sometimes
when people have some kind of suffering or tragedy come into their
lives, they
get bitter at God.
Have you ever thought of pain as being a blessing?
--- You see, God put the thorns, thistles and pain in this world to
remind men
that suffering is the fruit of sin. And it would be a terrible thing if
we
lived in a world without thorns, thistles and pain, because then we
would fail
to understand that something is wrong. --- We need to thank God for the
sensation of pain.
Now some of us, if given the choice might say; “I
choose to live without pain!”--- But that wouldn’t be so good, would
it? ---
Just imagine, you’d slice into a roast and lop off a finger and never
even know
it until you seen blood spurting all over the place. --- You’d step on
a nail
and not even feel it. --- You’d sit on a heater and not get up! --- It
would be
a frightening thing to live in this world without any sensation of
pain. --- We
must remember that pain is God’s way of letting us know something is
wrong. And
what is true in the physical sense, is likewise true in the spiritual
sense.
--- Sorrow, anguish and discontent, all of these are God’s way of
letting us
know something is drastically wrong in this world. --- But you just
remember
that the thorns are but a symbol of the curse that’s in this world
because of
sin. --- So the first thing I would like for us to notice in this
lesson is the Material
of that
crown,
it was
made with thorns. --- Never let suffering and pain make you bitter at
God, but
rather repulsive of sin.
****************
Let’s look at (Vs. 29) again; --- “And
after twisting together a
crown of thorns, they put it on His head,”
--- It was not the work of one
single individual (actually, the term “they” is speaking of the many).
--- Who
really made that crown of thorns? --- I’m ashamed to say that I helped
do it,
and you helped do it.
Every sin that I have committed was a thorn in that
hideous crown, and a splinter in His cross. --- Ours were the fingers
that wove
those thorns. --- It was our hands which slapped the face of the Son of
God,
and our spit was the spit that defiled His face. --- Our sins were the
scourge
cords that lashed His back, and the nails that held Him to the cross;
--- And
our hard hearts were the hammer that drove those spikes. --- It might
be
important to point out, that it was not just our sins, but the sins of
all
mankind from the beginning of creation. 2.
The
second point of consideration is The making of the crown:
Let’s look at (Vs. 29) again; --- “And
after twisting together a crown of thorns, they
put it on His head,”
--- It
was not the work of one single individual (actually, the term “they” is
speaking of the many). --- Who really made that crown of thorns? ---
I’m
ashamed to say that I helped do it, and you helped do it.
Every sin that I have committed was a thorn in that
hideous crown, and a splinter in His cross. --- Ours were the fingers
that wove
those thorns. --- It was our hands which slapped the face of the Son of
God,
and our spit was the spit that defiled His face. --- Our sins were the
scourge
cords that lashed His back, and the nails that held Him to the cross;
--- And
our hard hearts were the hammer that drove those spikes. --- It might be important to
point out, that it
was not just our sins, but the sins of all mankind from the beginning
of
creation.
The making of the crown? We wove that crown! --- “Surely
our griefs
He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we
ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. ---
But He
was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our
iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon
Him, And by
His scourging we are healed.”
(Isa. 53:4-5)
Now not only was it the material of that crown that
speaks of the curse; --- And not only the making of the crown that
alludes to
our involvement in laying our sins upon the back of our Lord Jesus, but
also;
---
****************
3.
The misery of the crown:
Once again let’s refer back to (Mt. 27:29); --- “And
after twisting together a
crown of thorns, they put it on His head,
--- “Now, one of the most
sensitive parts of the human body is the area around the scalp,
especially the
temple. And here, this crown of thorns was rudely put down upon His
head. ---
But they’re not finished yet; then to add insult to injury and add to
His
misery and shame; --- they took a bamboo-like club and (The translators
here
used the word “reed”), but don’t be misled by the word reed. It’s not
referring
to a slender piece of grass or weed, but rather a heavy bamboo-like
club, or
staff. And while the crown of thorns was on Jesus’ head, they took
great
delight in beating the thorny crown deeper into His scalp and brow and
into His
temple. And that’s the import here.
You see, the Bible says in (Vs. 29), that they wove
those wicked and cruel thorns and put it on His head, and then in (Vs.
30) it
says; --- “They
spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the
head.”
(Mk. 15:19) adds; --- “They
kept beating Him on
the head—“---
They pounded those thorns deep into His blessed brow, and
every thorn opened a fresh stream of innocent blood, --- And that blood
was
mingled with the filthy spit that was spat into His face. --- They
crowned Him
with thorns and then they spat upon the very Son of God! --- Oh, the
misery of
that crown!
My dear friends, the Lord of glory endured all that
and much more for you and I. --- And if you’ve ever been tempted to
doubt the
amazing love of God for us, all you have to do is go to the Bible and
read the
grand old story. --- We sing the hymn, “Tell me the old, old story,
write on my
heart every word.”
*****************
4.
Now
the fourth point for our edification and learning is; The mockery
of the
crown:
Please notice beginning with the last part of (Vs. 29); --- “and they knelt down before Him and mocked
Him,
saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!” --- And then in (Vs. 32); --- “After they had mocked Him,
they took the scarlet
robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to
crucify
Him.”
Why
the crown of thorns? --- This was their sin sick way of mocking Him,
laughing
and ridiculing Him. --- What they were doing was going through a fake
coronation. --- And dear ones, no matter which way you turn, we still
have an
abundant supply of mockers today. --- Men women and even many boys and
girls
are mocking, scorning, laughing and making light of God and all things
spiritual.
And I always stand amazed that when we look at the misery of our
Lord’s
crown, and see so much blatant mockery going on everywhere you look
today; ---
It’s a wonder to me that God doesn’t just blot them right off the face
of the
earth. --- But then, I suppose we forget sometimes the long suffering
and
patience of God, don’t we?
*****************
5.
Now
let’s go a little further in our lesson and take a look at The
meaning of
the crown:
Why all this? --- Why was Jesus crowned with thorns? --- Why did Jesus
have to
drink this bitter cup of misery? --- Why all the mockery and ridicule?
--- What
was the meaning of the crown?
Well, first of all, the crown of thorns was both literal and symbolic.
--- What
does this mean? --- It implies that, even though wicked and cruel men
were
doing the actual crowning; --- God and His sovereign supreme excellence
arranged
it, because it was so symbolic of what was taking place that day.
You see, the thorns represented what? --- “The curse” --- “Cursed is the ground because of
you; --- Both thorns
and thistles it shall grow for you.” (Gen.
3:17-18) --- Jesus as crowned with a curse, that crown of thorns that
belongs
to us. --- Really, man was meant to dominate and rule the earth, to
have
dominion. --- The Hebrew writer quotes the Psalmist in (Heb. 2:6-8);
--- “But one has
testified somewhere, saying, ‘WHAT IS MAN,
THAT YOU REMEMBER HIM? OR THE SON OF MAN, THAT YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT
HIM? ---
YOU HAVE MADE HIM FOR A LITTLE WHILE LOWER THAN THE ANGELS; YOU HAVE
CROWNED
HIM WITH GLORY AND HONOR, AND HAVE APPOINTED HIM OVER THE WORKS OF YOUR
HANDS;
--- YOU HAVE PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET.’ For in
subjecting
all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But
now
we do not yet see all things subjected to him.” --- But now, things are much different; ---
man fell. --- “But
now we do not
yet see all things subjected to him (man);
--- (Vs. 9) goes on to say; --- But we do see Him who has
been made for a little
while lower than the angels, namely Jesus,--“.
The Bible says very plainly, that God created man to
have dominion; --- That God crowned man with glory and honor. --- But
man
traded his crown of glory and honor for a crown of thorns, when he
sinned
against God. --- Now Jesus is saying, “I will postpone My crown of
glory and
honor, and I will take upon Myself man’s crown of the curse, mockery
and
misery.” And that’s what it’s all about, looking at it from a symbolic
point of
view.
I don’t think you’ll see a greater picture of the
curse, our curse, being laid on Christ Jesus than in (2 Cor. 5:21); ---
“He
made Him who knew no sin, to
be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God
in Him.”
--- The meaning of the crown
is this; --- It shows that upon my obedience to the gospel through
repentance
and baptism, and upon my faithfulness until death; --- It shows that
the
eternal curse of sin has been transferred from me the sinner, and
placed on the
head of my blessed substitute, Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
One of the greatest and sharpest pictures that can
be found in the Old Testament is found in (Gen. 22:1-14), (our
Scripture
reading); --- The wonderful story of Abraham and Isaac. --- And God
said to
Abraham, “Abraham, I want you to “Take
now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac,
and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt
offering on
one of the mountains of which I will tell you.’
--- Now most of us know the
story quiet well. --- It’s a wonderfully beautiful story. --- And
friends, I
challenge you to think of a more clear cut picture anywhere in the
Bible of the
substitutive death of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, than in this
story of
Abraham the father offering up his only begotten son as a sacrifice.
--- This
is a story of faith and prophecy.
And so, try to imagine Abraham and Isaac as they are
going up Mt. Moriah; --- Imagine Isaac as he spoke to Abraham; ---
“Father, I
see the wood, and I see that you have a torch there in your hand and
it’s on
fire!” --- And if we’re going up this mountain to offer a sacrifice,
where’s
the sacrifice?” --- And we can try to visualize the old Patriarch with
tears in
his eyes, as he replies; --- “My son, God will provide.” --- “God will
supply a
sacrifice!”--- And of course, by implication, Isaac allowed himself to
be bound
hand and foot. --- For the Lord Jesus, willingly became a sacrifice for
us. ---
Oh, what a Divine lesson is there in this story.
In the strength of his youth, Isaac could have easily
overpowered and run away from his father who was at this time well over
one
hundred years old. ---But you see, Isaac willingly allowed himself to
be bound
tightly, in perfect trust and submission to his father. --- And now,
Abraham
without knowing how or why, is about to plunge that weapon of death
deep into
the pounding heart of his own son. --- Can you imagine that? --- Of
course
Abraham by faith knew that if God was going to fulfill His promise to
multiply
his seed, that God would just have to bring Isaac back from the dead.
--- And
just at that split-second moment, and not a second too soon or too
late; --- An
angel of the Lord said, “Abraham, hold on there, don’t move a muscle!”
--- And
then Abraham lifted his eyes, and what did he see? --- In (Gen. 22:13),
the
Bible says; --- “Then
Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him
a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and
took the
ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son.”
Do you know what Abraham saw when he turned around?
--- He saw a young ram wearing (as it were), a crown of thorns. --- And
that
ram became a perfect substitute for the offering that was to be
offered. ---
And Isaac was untied, and the ram is tied and sacrificed for Isaac. ---
That’s
what the crown of thorns speaks of to me.
You see, I’m the one bound hand and foot by the
cords of sin. --- I’m the one who should be placed on the ceremonial
altar. ---
I’m the one who deserves death, but; --- “He
made Him who knew no sin, to
be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God
in Him.”
--- The crown of misery,
mockery and the curse was taken from my head and placed on the head of
our dear
Savior.
Abraham understood the meaning of that, for in (Jn.
8:56), Jesus said; --- “Your
father Abraham rejoiced to see My day; and he saw
it, and was glad.”
--- I suppose the happiest day of Abraham’s life was when God’s
angel said; --- “Abraham, look behind you!” --- And he saw that ram
caught in
the thicket. --- Have you seen the lamb wearing the crown of thorns for
you? Incidentally,
after Mt. Moriah, Abraham never built another
altar. --- And in (Gen. 22:14), the Bible says; --- “Abraham
called the name of that
place The LORD Will Provide.”
--- This was the perfect picture (or type); Abraham saw
Jesus’ day and was glad!! --- And that friends, is the meaning of
the crown.
--- And again, I would like for us to notice one other aspect of that
crown of
thorns; ---
*****************
6.
The message
of the crown: -- What is the message of the crown for you and me?
Well, first of all, it’s a crown of victory, and a crown of hope! ---
The great
apostle Paul said in (1 Cor. 9:24-25); --- “Do
you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one
receives the
prize? Run in such a way that you may win. --- Everyone who competes in
the
games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive
a
perishable wreath (or crown), but we
(Christians) an
imperishable.” --Jesus wore the thorny one!
Jesus suffered and died and rose again; --- And He
fired the gun that started the race. --- Jesus provides you and I with
sufficient strength to run and finish the race; --- Therefore, Jesus is
the
goal toward which we run, and our Lord is the finisher of the race!
And beloved, this is why Paul declared in (2 Tim.
4:7-8); --- “I
have fought the good fight, I have finished the course,
I have kept the faith; --- in the future there is laid up for
me the crown
of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award
to me on
that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His
appearing.”
--- Oh, to be able to have this
confidence when I face death’s door. --- How wonderful it would be to
be able
to wear Jesus’ crown of victory, honor and glory.
But, not only is it a crown of victory, but friends,
as surely as I breathe and die; --- it is also a crown of beauty. ---
How many
time have we sang that old hymn? --- “On
a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, the emblem
of suffering and shame, And I love that old cross where the
dearest and
best, For a world of lost sinners was slain. In
the old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine, A wondrous
beauty I see; For ‘twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and
died, To
pardon and sanctify me. So
I’ll cherish the old rugged cross, Till my trophies at last I
lay down; I will cling to the old rugged cross, and exchange it
someday
for a crown.”
Let me just say, that old rugged cross, that hideous
cross, should become a symbol of wondrous beauty for us. --- And
likewise, I’m
persuaded that the crown of thorns;--- those terrible, horrible thorns
are all
the more enhancing because of the “Rose of Sharon”. --- That rose is
blooming
for you and for me. --- A rose of pardon, peace and mercy; --- And it
blooms
from those thorns. --- And I don’t think the Lord Jesus Christ can ever
be more
beautiful to a Christian, than as we see Him wearing that crown of
thorns for
us; --- Unless it’s when we see Him face to face, and hear Him say;
“Welcome
home”! --- “Well
done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few
things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy
of your
master.”
(Mt. 25:21) --- Thank God for the Rose of Sharon, the crown of
victory and beauty.
***************** 7.
Just
one final message of the crown; --- It’s a crown of prophecy:
Jesus came the first time as Savior, but when He comes again, it will
be as the
Righteous Judge! --- When He
came
the first time, there was found no room at the inn; --- But, when He
comes the
next time, it will be to destroy every inn and the whole world with
them.
When He came the first time, He rode in on a lowly donkey; --- But when
He
comes again, He will ride the beautiful clouds and flaming fire. ---
When He
came into this world the first time, He stood before Pilate; --- But
when He
returns, Pilate will stand before Him, trembling.
On that first journey into this wicked world, He was nailed to a tree;
--- But
the next time, He’ll be sitting on the judgment seat. --- When He
came
the first time, men scoffed at Him and crucified Him; --- But when He
comes
again, all scoffers will kneel before Him and confess, but too late,
too late!
And when the Savior of the world came the first time, they wove a crown
of
wicked thorns and crushed them into His aching, bleeding scalp with a
club; ---
But dear souls, when He comes again, it will be as King of kings and
Lord of
lords and as the Almighty Righteous Judge; --- And He will bestow the
crown of
life to all those who love and obey Him, and remain faithful to Him and
His
word; --- faithful onto death!!
But here and now, I must warn you, if you reject the Savior’s love and
spurn
the Spirit’s word; --- If you do not maintain your faith and allegiance
to
Jesus Christ as your Lord and Master; --- Then on that great and
terrible day
you will stand before Him as Judge, Jury and eternal Executioner!!
Most
humbly submitted,
Questions
and
comments more than welcomed: ewilburn@austin.rr.com
Please
don't delete this from your files, as who knows that while you may not
at this
time be moved by these scriptures, but perhaps in time you might want to
refer back to this and come to know better the love of the Lord. --- ew
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