Isn’t it significant that while bearing the sins of the whole world, Jesus wore on His head a crown of twisted thorns, a symbol of the Curse brought about because of man’s sin in Genesis 3? After all, while Christ’s suffering was for the sins of mankind, Romans 8:22 tells us that just as we await the restoration of our physical bodies, made possible by the atonement of Christ, so “the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together,” awaiting the restoration of the whole of creation when Christ returns to establish His earthly kingdom. As Isaiah 53:6 says in a prophecy of Christ’s suffering for sin, “All we like sheep have gone astray We have turned, every one, to his own way and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. In Romans 5, Apostle Paul argues that just as Adam sin plunged the whole world into sin and brought death upon all men as a result, so Christ’s death on the Cross which payed the penalty for sin has opened the doorway to eternal life for all who repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.””įossil thorn ‘dated’ to 300 million years old. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. The first mention of thorns in the Bible is in Genesis 3:17-19, which says, “Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. However, when viewed through the lens of the whole of Scripture, the crown of thorns also has another symbolic meaning, which has a special significance to the debate over the origins, history, and age of the universe.
Though, from context, the most immediate and straightforward understanding of these texts is that the crown of thorns was a symbol of disgrace, making light of Jesus’ claim to be the awaited, anointed King who would usher in the heavenly kingdom of God on earth.
One of the more familiar scenes from Christ’s passion, this mocking act by the Roman soldiers during Christ’s trial under Pontius Pilate is recorded in all four Gospels. “And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe.” – John 19:2