Crown of thorns

Have you ever picked berries from a thorny bush? Or have you ever had to remove thorns and thistles from your land?

Such work will leave us scratched and bloody, for sure. I can imagine jobs around the garden that are much more pleasant.

In the Bible, thorns stand for trouble. In Matthew 13:22 we can read: The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.

Thorns... the worries of life and the deceitfulness of wealth. Actually, the problem with thorns goes way back to the Garden of Eden, where God announced a curse on the ground after Adam and Eve sinned against Him. Genesis 3:17-18,

Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains.

Thorns and thistles... a curse for mankind. Struggles, hard labor, pain, and disappointment. Who hasn't experienced the painful effect of thorns in life? 

Today, we are reminded that the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on Jesus' head. How symbolic that the curse God spoke, was put on Him. He took our worries, struggles, pain, and drama and gave us, in exchange, His grace and peace.

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Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow. Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up. These events will bring great honor to the Lord’s name; they will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.

[Isaiah 55:13]

➤Read my post 'It is true' about the resurrection of Jesus.