He Chose the Nails the next step

“He Chose the Nails”

                In our Lenten reflections for 2017 we will focus on

Jesus and the scene where He is being prepared to die on the cross.  Jesus has been handed off by Pilate to the soldiers to be whipped. The soldiers followed orders to beat Jesus and so he was whipped. Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s palace and they all gathered around hm. They took off his clothes, put a red robe on him mocking him as royalty- a king of this time. They then made a crown out of a thorny branch and stuck it on his head. They then put a stick in his hand mocking him as one who had power in this kingdom. They looked at him. And then the soldiers spat on Jesus. How humiliating. How humbling; how awful for Jesus! (Matthew 27:26-31) And why did Jesus go through this? He did for you.

                An unnamed soldier took branches, mature enough to bear thorns, nimble enough to bend and wove them into a crown of mockery, a crown of thorns. What was this symbolizing?

                If we recall the story of the Garden of Eden we might remember that after Adam and Eve sinned God cursed the land: So I will put a curse on the ground. The ground will produce thorns and weeds for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. Gen 3:17-19

                Rebellion also results in thorns. Jesus compared the lives of evil people to a thornbush. You will know these people by what they do.  The fruit of sin is thorns. So therefore the thorny crown on Christ’s brow is a picture of the fruit of our sin on Christ. But what are these sins? shame, fear, disgrace, discouragement, anxiety

                Jesus had all the emotions of sin upon him and when he prayed, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Matt 27:46). But Jesus was not forsaken; he knew what he was supposed to do. But when reality occurred he was alone. He needed nothing before but now he was not only spat upon, he was mocked with a crown of thorns causing him to bleed. And he did this for you.

                The crown of thorns is a powerful symbol for our understanding of Christ’s passion and death. Often replicas of this thorny crown are placed upon crosses within churches to remind us a little of what Jesus endured for our sake. But until we touch the thorns and realize how this crown penetrated Jesus’ head until blood flowed, we can only imagine a little of what he endured. The shame, mockery and humiliation as well as the physical beating and punishment.  Jesus chose to do this for our sake.

                What does this mean for you and I? Each Lenten season we are reminded about Jesus’ time in the wilderness and then we often just quickly reflect on his passion and death without really seeing the full story in itself.

                What do the thorns mean for us? The sins of the world placed on Christ to deal with. Yet even though he knew his purpose in coming to live a human life, did he really need to endure all of this punishment and humility?

PRAYER    Wonderful Saviour we praise you and as we consider the punishment and pain you received we pray that your passion would enlighten us to realize the depth of your love for us. Hear our prayers as we continue this Lenten journey and try to understand why you ‘chose the nails’ for our sake. Amen.

Reflections based upon Max Lucado,  He Chose the Nails, ch.3