Tucked away in the story of Jesus’ bloody trail to the cross is that the soldiers who beat him wrapped him in a purple robe and placed a crown of thorns upon his head. They gave Jesus a crown of thorns to mock him because Jesus spoke openly to Pilate that he was a king, but his kingdom was not of this world. The soldiers meant to mock Jesus by placing a crown of thorns on his head, but perhaps there is more to the significance of the crown of thorns. There was nothing standard or routine about Jesus’ arrest and being sentenced to die by crucifixion. He was an innocent man whom Pilate found no charge against. But Jesus was sentenced to death because that was the reason he came to earth; so that he could save the world and make salvation possible for all peoples and nations. Jesus is the King of kings. He alone is the Savior of the world. He took on the shame, sorrows, and sins of the world to save us and redeem us. Jesus willingly stood in our place, was nailed to the cross in our place, and paid our debt by offering up his life according to the will of the Father. What we learn from the crown of thorns is that Jesus’ love for humanity has no bounds, even willing to take on desolation because he loves us and made a way for our redemption.
