Jesus Wore A Crown He Didn't Deserve

What Did Jesus Do?

And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns
and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe.
John 19.2


If Jesus was guilty of no more than being “the King of the Jews,” then his Roman jailors would have him arrayed as no less than a monarch. Yet, not in one of the many I am declarations of Jesus did he ever proclaim himself king. However, it was not hard to conclude that one who was the Bread of Life, the Light of the World, the Good Shepherd, the Resurrection, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and the True Vine was indeed the King of kings. In their scornful accusations the Jews for their part, and in their brutal mockery the Romans for theirs, in fact were affirming a truth their hard hearts and dull minds never accepted or comprehended—Jesus was all he said he was, and more. So, Jesus wore a crown of thorns he didn’t deserve.

The Lord wore a crown of thorns he didn’t deserve. Yet, as painful as it had to have been for him, I believe Jesus rejoiced to wear what amounted to the crown of grace. You see, Jesus wore the crown of pain and scorn that all of us deserve because of our transgressions, while we get to receive the crown of righteousness that is truly the Lord’s alone. That’s grace! And, to me, it’s certain that the Son rejoiced and gave thanks to the Father for the grace he showed to sinners.

Here are some things about grace that I’ve learned through this lesson about the crown of thorns worn by Christ: 1) The world, not recognizing grace, will ridicule and scorn it; 2) as glorious and wonderful as grace is, it is also difficult and painful to deliver grace to the ones who need it most; 3) most importantly, grace is never purchased on the cheap, it costs dearly.

Now, I’ve sometimes heard people talk about misapplied grace. The thought seems to be that grace that goes unappreciated would have been better off not having been granted. Well, I believe that grace that is unappreciated, that rolls off the one it is intended for like water off a duck, is never wasted. Such grace may turn out to be like a heap of burning coals upon the head (see Proverbs 25.21-22; Romans 12.20), but that is a far thing from saying that it is wasted. Certainly, on the night the Lord wore the crown of thorns, and on the day Christ shed his blood on the cross, there were few, if any, who appreciated or understood that it was the outpouring of the Father’s grace in and through the Son, yet think on how many have now received this precious grace!

Finally, as one who would follow Jesus, I have to ask myself if I am willing to wear the world’s ridicule and scorn in order to be a vessel of God’s grace. How much travail and pain am I willing to endure so that the grace of Jesus Christ may be delivered unto a sinner who desperately needs it? What price would I pay for another to receive grace? If the Father asked me to wear a crown of thorns, as it were, for the sake of someone who might not appreciate it, would I be willing to wear it? That’s what Jesus did.

S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4