Why a Thorny Crown?

A thought occurred to me last night. I was sitting on my back patio

enjoying the cool evening and doing some praying and meditating. I

watched as the bright moon shone over the east horizon. I marveled at

the stars billions of light years away imagining the day I might be

able to travel there. I also began thinking about the extensive curse

of sin. All over creation, in humans, in the sky, in culture, in

technology, in the ground, in the entire universe, in everything there

is a curse. It is like a heavy, dense and pervasive dark blanket in and

on everything. As much as the cool air felt refreshing, the night sky

proclaimed God's glory, the birds and bugs chirped their praises to

their Maker - I kept thinking how distorted and distant it all was from

God's original plan for us. Then I remembered some of the things God

said right after Adam and Eve sinned and brought this curse on all of

creation. He said to Adam that the ground would produce thorns and

thistles making it difficult and irritating to work the ground. The

thorns poke and prick and cause bleeding and cutting. Thorns cause

irritation under our skin and can lead to infection and rash and all

sorts of nasty, unpleasant and annoying consequences. I love blackberry's,

but I hate picking them. Why? Thorns!

Now as I thought about all of this I asked the Holy Spirit to speak to

me and tell me what the importance is of the thorns. Why thorns? Why

these sharp, poison-tipped, irritations? He responded to me with a picture.

I saw in my mind the crown of thorns being thrust into Jesus head,

penetrating his flesh and skull causing a rush of blood followed by

swelling, pain, burning. The thorns were not piercing his hands or feet.

They were not scratching his legs or arms. They were not pushed into His

torso or back. They were pushed violently into his head. The head that

dreamed dreams and had wise thoughts. The divine head that spoke such

tenderness and hope. The mind of the Savior, Jesus, who had his eye on you

and me from before we were conceived. The mind of Jesus was pierced with

poison and pain from a terrible symbol of our disobedience and rebellion,

the thorn. He took on the mental anguish and torture that we humans brought

on ourselves. His death was sufficient to not only forgive our sin, but the

stripes of torture on his back provide physical healing to our bodies, and

the punctured thorns in his head provide mental stability and wholeness. His

mind was pierced and tortured for you. The poisonous thorns of sin's curse

satisfied God's wrath against us and our depravity, making a way for us to be

whole and clear-headed again.

So, it was not by coincidence that the thorn produced by our rebellion against

God was the same instrument used to contaminate and painfully wound the head

of our Redeemer. The head is the seat of knowledge, wisdom, function and

personality. It is the control center of our bodies. It is the storehouse of

memory and intelligence and the symbol of honor and dignity of the human being.
And it is the same place where our Savior was violently and mockingly gouged for
our benefit. Because of this godly wrath upon Jesus, there is provision for our
mental well-being to be restored. For all who suffer with mental, intellectual,
personality disorders, the thorns of our disobedience have thrust upon One Man
all our insufficiencies and lack of mental well-being. And this One Man, Jesus,
conquered for all time our deformities of well-being and replaced it with a
renewed mind. Be encouraged and inspired by your King. He has won the day and
given it to you!