Last fall, I was going for a walk around Millpond Park when I stopped at the grove of trees located between the two play structures. On the ground and the trees were branches of thorns. I recalled my husband joking about the curse on the ground found in Genesis 3 (both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you). He had just finished loading up our trailer with an egregious amount of tumbleweeds the week before! With this in mind, I began gathering those thorns that I found on the ground. When I had gathered all there was, I tried to remove the still fresh thorn branches from the tree. It was impossible for me to remove them without being poked.
After their Genesis debut, thorns reappear again in Exodus where Moses witnesses the LORD’s presence from the midst of a burning bush. This bush is understood to be a thorn or bramble bush. Which left me with the question, why would the LORD of Israel choose to appear in a bush reminiscent of the curse? Then, after Israel’s entrance into the desert, the LORD instructs Moses to build a sanctuary for Him. This tabernacle, or place of dwelling, was to be made of readily available acacia wood. Acacias are a notably thorny tree. Finally, before Joshua led Israel through the Jordan River into the Promised Land, their last encampment was in Shittim – “the acacias” or “meadow of acacias.” There is this seemingly inexplicable theme of the earthly (thorns) with the divine.
Back to my visit at Millpond, I took some of the thorn branches and began fashioning a crown. It was the first time I had ever wondered about the spiritual implication of the crown of thorns, since often I only focus on the physical suffering of Christ. With the curse in mind, it dawned on me how pregnant with meaning the crown of thorns Christ’s death was. The crown of thorns did more than make Christ bleed. The soldiers, the very ones Christ was dying for, twisted together the symbol of the curse. They proceeded to place this symbol of separation upon Christ’s head. The ones cursed transferred their own guilt to the Savior who had no sin, who became sin for us. When Christ approached the cross, He approached the curse – spiritual separation from God. For me, for you.
So even (or especially) early in Scriptures, God reveals His Holiness and willingness to associate with a cursed and fallen mankind. Our beautiful, without blemish, and Holy Savior identified Himself with the unseemly thorny curse – in the burning bush, in the tabernacle, and ultimately when the crown of thorns was placed upon His head. While intended to be a mockery of Jesus, it was a wonderfully ironic display of His glory in His suffering. There will be a day when those who have believed upon Him will see His crown of glory!
“See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?”