CROWN OF THORNSby G. Colleen Henry

A Crown of Thorns“And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand; and they bowed the knee before him and mocked him, saying, Hail, king of the Jews!” Matthews 27:29.

As we know when Adam and Eve sinned it cause the cursed to spread not only upon them and their off- springs but over the whole earth including animals

and plants. It literally changed the nature of the earth and mutant plants Called thorns and thistles grew and multiplied upon the earth. This effected man, animals and plants and caused additional suffering of all, Genesis 3:18 “Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;” Christ himself suffered due to thorns which was physical as well as spiritual.

He was a man of sorrow and aquatinted with grief during his time on the earth. Why did the soldiers plat a crown of thorns for his head? To plat means to interweave or braid. As we can see to interweave or braid is difficult to come loose. Not only did this suffering effect Christ but would affect all of his children before and after the cross. The crown of thorns represented the pain and suffering that we must endure in order to be saved which would affect men, women and children.

This crown of thorns was placed upon his head where Satan sends fiery darts into your mind to cause you to sin which will cause more pain and suffering. This is why we must keep our helmet of salvation on to resist the fiery darts of the Devil, Ephesians 6:16-17.

When Satan tried to tempt Christ prior to his great works Satan came to his mind to encourage him to sin because he thought your physical weakness could over throw your spiritual strength. Since he could not make Christ sin he would cause physical pain as he does unto man.

Thorns and ThistlesWhat is a thorn? A thorn is a very sharp leafless branch or stem with sharp points. It is also any tenacious cause or hurt, irritation, annoyance or worry from the manner in which thorns prick. What is a thistle? A thistle is various plants with sharp prickly leaves and flower heads of purple, pink, yellow and white whose seeds spread out and the land is overgrown with thistles. When Adam and Eve sinned against God, God not only cursed them but the whole earth, Genesis 3:17-18 “Cursed is the ground for thy sakes; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee.”

Any farmer, gardener or home owners with land know how difficult it is to grow a garden or seedlings without thorns and thistles growing up at the same time. When children play on grass or a field there’s always thorns or thistles to stick on your clothes to cause pain or discomfort. These are some curses that God put on the earth to cause man pain for his sins. But we can look further and see that thorns and thistles are not just physical but spiritual as well.

How do thorns affect us spiritually? In ancient times, God warned Israel about not driving out the inhabitants of the land and participating in their idolatry. Numbers 33:55, “But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land where ye dwell.”

The wicked are compared to thorns and not only because of their barrenness and unprofitable in anything that is good but how the hurt God’s children, Matthews 13:8,”And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them.” This is about seeds that fell among the thorns and was destroyed by them, the same is true today. We are surrounded by thorns and thistle which are unprofitable and unfruitful.

Thorns and thistles make our lives harder which cause bruising, bleeding and sometimes death. We can see the thorns in Christ’s life and he wore a crown of thorns which was the wicked surrounding him as they are to us

today. We cannot escape them if we are like Christ; thorns are sometimes great difficulties and impediments.

When we hold on to Christ he will help us in our afflictions, 2 Corinthians, 12:7-10,”And lest I should be exalted above measure through abundance of the revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me; my grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then I am strong.

God can remove our thorns but sometimes he does not. He did not remove Paul’s thorn and Paul became stronger, if we hold on to the word of God we will become stronger too. David wrote about what affliction had done for him, Psalms 119:71,”It is good for me that I

have been afflicted that I might learn thy statues.”

Thorns are the fruit of the curse for man’s sin and these are some thorns that will affect us.

1.Health-mental and physical

2.Bad relationships

3.Loss of income, homes cars, jobs, basic necessities

4.Chronic or acute illness of self, or family and friends

a. Death of love ones

If we hold unto God we are able to bear affliction and sorrows of this life with patience and obedience of the word of God.

By Colleen Henry

Elder