Why a Crown of Thorns?

“The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe.” John 19:1

In each of the Gospel’s Jesus is portrayed in a unique fashion. In Matthew’s Gospel He is called the King of the Jews. It was as the King of the Jews that Jesus stood before Pilate. Pilate asked Him if He was a king to which Jesus replied that His Kingdom was not of this world. If it was of this world then His followers would fight but His kingdom was a spiritual kingdom.

The soldiers felt that if Jesus was a king then He should look like a king. A king wore a crown and royal robes so they gathered together a few thorny branches and twisted it into a crown, which they put upon His head. The crown cut into His skin causing blood to run down His face. They then put a purple robe on Him and gave Him a rod, which they pretended was a scepter. A scepter was a symbol of power and a king always carried His scepter. When Queen Esther went into the king’s presence she would have been put to death if the king had not held out his scepter to her.

Once they had Jesus dressed as a king then they mocked Him. They pretended to do homage to Him and He just stood there. Scripture tells us that he could have called over ten thousand angels to come to rescue Him but He chose to take the abuse. The soldiers did not know that they were mocking the king of the universe. They felt that they were protected because they were part of the armies of Caesar. If Jesus was a king then He could have called His army to come to His rescue but since He did nothing they assumed that He was just another criminal.

Pilate didn’t understand the man that stood before Him. He did not understand that this was a king, the King of all kings including Caesar in Rome. The soldiers did not know that this was a king. They would never have treated a king in the manner that they treated Jesus. However, even the disciples did not know that Jesus was a king. They had thought that He might have been a king but when He was arrested then they knew that this was not an earthly kingdom. Even then they did not realize that the kingdom of which Jesus spoke was a spiritual kingdom.

Today we see the kingdom growing. Jesus’ kingdom has citizens from every tribe and nation in the world. To those who observe the kingdom from an earthly viewpoint it only looks like another organization. However, the kingdom of King Jesus reigns in the hearts of His followers from all over the world. Someday the kingdom that is invisible to the world will be made known and the King who wore the crown of thorns will wear the royal diadem. He will reign in power, majesty and justice. They soldiers may have thought that they were making sport of a prisoner but they actually were acting out what would someday be reality. He is king.