Crown of Thorns
"Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged Him. And the soliders wove a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and arrayed Him in a purple robe." John 19:1-2
Have you ever thought about why the soliders treated Jesus the way they did? Pilate asked Jesus in John 18:33 "are you king of the Jews?" Pilate got this question from the Pharisees and Sadducees and they're accusations against Jesus. The claim that they made that finally made some head way with Pilate was they're claim of treason. They stated that Jesus was making himself out to be bigger that Caesar. So, Pilate questions Jesus expecting him to deny this. The question in verse 33 is a rhetorical one. He doesn't really expect Jesus to answer. He begins to get flustered at Jesus and then finally says, "What have you done?" In other words, how in the words How did you get these people so mad at you?
So, Jesus words about his kingdom must have come as quite a shock to Pilate. That Jesus did in fact claim to be a king, but a king of a different kind of kingdom. That is why, immediately following this the soliders who were with Pilate would go out and tell the others and they would weave a crown, not of gold, but of thorns. And instead of bowing, they gave him blows to the face. John 19:3
Yet, despite all of this, Pilate did not take the accusations against Jesus that seriously because he would come out to the crowd later and say "I find no guilty in Him." John 19:7. He realized that the Pharisees and Sadducees were jealous of Jesus and wanted to simply get rid of him. Luke 23:22. But, as a riot developed he saw that the people wanted blood, so he willingly gave up to them an innocent man. Nice guy hu?
It isn't just here, but throughout the gospels that we see Jesus often speak about the kingdom. His concern is not our earthly kingdom or our comfort, or even our country if it is not faithful to Him. He is concerned about his kingdom and the Lord name would be honored over all. This is why Jesus would say in Matthew 6:33 "but seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." And then also to lead Paul to say in Colossians 3:1-2 "If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth." Easter is a great time to be reminded of what Jesus did for us and where our focus should be as believers today
Have you ever thought about why the soliders treated Jesus the way they did? Pilate asked Jesus in John 18:33 "are you king of the Jews?" Pilate got this question from the Pharisees and Sadducees and they're accusations against Jesus. The claim that they made that finally made some head way with Pilate was they're claim of treason. They stated that Jesus was making himself out to be bigger that Caesar. So, Pilate questions Jesus expecting him to deny this. The question in verse 33 is a rhetorical one. He doesn't really expect Jesus to answer. He begins to get flustered at Jesus and then finally says, "What have you done?" In other words, how in the words How did you get these people so mad at you?
So, Jesus words about his kingdom must have come as quite a shock to Pilate. That Jesus did in fact claim to be a king, but a king of a different kind of kingdom. That is why, immediately following this the soliders who were with Pilate would go out and tell the others and they would weave a crown, not of gold, but of thorns. And instead of bowing, they gave him blows to the face. John 19:3
Yet, despite all of this, Pilate did not take the accusations against Jesus that seriously because he would come out to the crowd later and say "I find no guilty in Him." John 19:7. He realized that the Pharisees and Sadducees were jealous of Jesus and wanted to simply get rid of him. Luke 23:22. But, as a riot developed he saw that the people wanted blood, so he willingly gave up to them an innocent man. Nice guy hu?
It isn't just here, but throughout the gospels that we see Jesus often speak about the kingdom. His concern is not our earthly kingdom or our comfort, or even our country if it is not faithful to Him. He is concerned about his kingdom and the Lord name would be honored over all. This is why Jesus would say in Matthew 6:33 "but seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." And then also to lead Paul to say in Colossians 3:1-2 "If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth." Easter is a great time to be reminded of what Jesus did for us and where our focus should be as believers today
