Crown of Thorns

[Bible Verses]

Hebrews 1:3

The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.

Philippians 2:6-7

Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.

Matthew 27:29

and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said.

[My reflections]

More than any other king or man, Solomon enjoyed splendor and glory that had no rivals. In chapters 4-10 of I Kings, we can read about some of the splendor he enjoyed. As an example of his riches, the weight of the gold that he received each year was 666 talents, not including the revenues from merchants and traders and from Arabian kings and governors of the land (I Kings 10:14). 666 talents are estimated to be about 25 tons. There was so much gold that silver was considered to be of little value in Solomon's days (I Kings 10:21). To get an idea of how much gold this was, we can compare to how much kings on the losing side had to pay in war reparations. When the king of Assyria agreed to leave Jerusalem, he exacted from Hezekiah 30 talents of gold and 300 talents of silver (II Kings 18:14). When Pharaoh Neco put Jehoahaz in chains, he levied merely one talent of gold and 100 talents of silver (II Kings 23:33). But Solomon's annual income was 666 talents of gold, not including a lot of other revenues.

Yet Jesus said that all the splendor of Solomon cannot be compared to how God clothes the lilies of the filed (Matthew 6:29-39). Much more splendid than the splendor of Solomon is, of course, the glory that Jesus Himself has and is. He is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being (Hebrews 1:3).

That same Jesus is the Jesus who did not avoid the shameful crown of thorns, but died on the cross. Why did He do that? Why did He have to take the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness, and humble Himself to obey to the point of death, even death on the cross? Why else but to crown us with honor and glory and to give us the crown of life (James 1:12, Revelations 2:10) and the crown of righteousness (II Timothy 4:8)?

Knowing this, Moses gladly accepted disgrace for the sake of Christ instead of the treasures of Egypt and looked ahead to his heavenly reward (Hebrews 11:26). Knowing this, we should likewise welcome any dishonor or persecution on account of Jesus Christ. And when we see Him in heaven, we will lay down our crowns before His throne and praise Him, along with the 24 elders (Revelations 4:10-11). Looking forward to that day, we can praise Him even now.