Jesus Wore a Crown of Thorns and Was Nailed in His Hands and Feet
This chapter helps us understand the spiritual meaning of why Jesus had to wear a crown of thorns and be nailed in His hands and feet.
Scripture to Read: Matthew 27:29–30
“They twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ They spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head.”
Scripture to Memorize: 2 Corinthians 10:5
“We are destroying arguments and all arrogance raised against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”
Reference Scripture: Mark 9:45–47
“If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off… If your eye causes you to sin, throw it out…”
“They spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head.” (Matthew 27:30)
A crown shows the dignity and high position of a king. Even if it is not a crown, in the army, generals wear special hats to show their authority, and at school, people wear a cap when they receive a degree. In this way, putting something like a crown on the head, the highest part of the body, has a special meaning. But Jesus wore a crown made with long, hard thorns, and His hands and feet were nailed.
- The Reason Jesus Wore a Crown of Thorns
In Matthew 27, Pilate the governor clearly knew that Jesus had no sin. But he was afraid that a riot might happen, so in the end he gave the order for Jesus to be crucified. Then the Roman soldiers took off Jesus’ clothes and put a scarlet robe on Him. After that, they twisted strong thorn branches roughly together and made a crown smaller than His head, and pressed it down on His head. When the sharp thorns went into His skin, Jesus’ face was covered with blood. Why did God allow His beloved Son Jesus to wear a crown of thorns, suffer such pain, and shed His blood?
First, it was to pay for the sins that come from people’s thoughts.
When Adam and Eve had fellowship with God and listened to His voice, they thought only according to God’s will and obeyed, so they did not commit sin.
But when they listened to the temptation of the serpent and accepted the thoughts from Satan, sin was born. The fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which they had not even dared to touch before, now looked good for food, a delight to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise. In the end, they went against the word of God and sinned.
In the same way, even now the enemy devil and Satan make people sin through their thoughts. In a person’s head there is a kind of “memory device.” From birth, what we see, hear, and learn is stored there together with feelings. This is called “knowledge.” When this knowledge is brought back out through the work of the soul, that is “thinking.”
But each person grows up in a different environment and sees, hears, and learns different things, so the knowledge stored inside is not the same. Even if they learned the same thing, their values become different depending on what feeling they had when they received it. When we examine this human knowledge and thinking, we can see that many times it is against the will of God.
For example, in the world, to become higher, people use every method to push others down and rise above them. But God says that the one who humbles himself will be lifted up (Matthew 23:12). Also, people think it is natural to hate their enemies, but God says, “Love even your enemies.” At this time, the thoughts that belong to God and to the truth are called spiritual thoughts, and the thoughts that are against them and not truth are called fleshly thoughts.
The enemy devil and Satan rule over people’s fleshly thoughts and disturb the work of God so that people cannot have faith. They tempt people to love the world, to sin, and to go to eternal death. So we must destroy all arguments of people and take every thought captive to obey Christ. Only then can we follow the truth and become people of faith and of the spirit (2 Corinthians 10:5).
What must we do to solve this problem at the root? We must throw away the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life that come from untruthful thoughts of the world (1 John 2:16). Jesus wore a crown of thorns and shed His blood to pay for all injustice, lawlessness, and sins that come from human fleshly thoughts.
Only the blood of Jesus can pay for people’s sins. So by wearing a crown of thorns and shedding His blood, He paid for all the sins that we commit in our thoughts.
Second, it was to give us good crowns.
In Heaven there are many crowns prepared for God’s children. Even in this world, when someone joins a competition, there are participation prizes for all players, and also gold, silver, and bronze medals according to their rank. In the same way, there are many kinds of crowns that we can receive in Heaven.
First, there is the “imperishable crown.” As it is written in 1 Corinthians 9:25, “Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. So they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we an imperishable.” This is like a participation prize given to all God’s children who believe in Jesus Christ and try to fight against sin and throw it away.
Next, there is the crown of glory, which is given to those who throw away sin, live by the word, and give glory to God (1 Peter 5:4). There is also the crown of life for those who love God very much, are faithful even to death, and throw away all evil and become holy (James 1:12; Revelation 2:10).
And like the apostle Paul, those who become holy, please God only by faith, and carry out their duty well receive the crown of righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8). Also, there is the golden crown (Revelation 4:4), which is given to those who have faith like gold, that never changes, and who are holy and faithful in all God’s house.
The God of love has prepared many crowns in Heaven. While we live in this world, God gives different crowns according to how much we fought against sin, fulfilled our duties, and gave glory to Him.
Because we believe in the love of Jesus who wore a crown of thorns and shed His blood for us, we do not plan the works of the flesh for our desires but walk properly (Romans 13:13–14). We follow the desire of the Holy Spirit, so our souls prosper (Galatians 5:16), and we carry out the duties God has given us. In this way we become great in Heaven and receive good crowns.
To receive the crowns that God has prepared for us, it is very important to have the right qualifications. When we throw away evil, even its form, and become holy, and when we are faithful in all God’s house, we will receive the best crowns.
2. The Reason Jesus Was Nailed in His Hands and Feet (English Only)
When Jesus carried the wooden cross and reached Golgotha, the place of execution, a Roman soldier held an iron nail, and another soldier held a hammer. Then, following the command of the centurion, they nailed Jesus’ hands and feet.
Jesus, who had no sin, had to suffer the pain of iron nails piercing the living flesh of His hands and feet in order to be hung on the wooden cross.
Jesus was nailed in His hands and feet to pay for the sins we commit with our hands and feet. When sin is planted in the heart through thoughts, people move their hands and feet and commit sin. Because of the spiritual law, “The wages of sin is death,” they fall into hell and suffer forever.
Jesus said, “If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell… If your eye causes you to sin, throw it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell.” (Mark 9:45–47)
How many sins do people commit today with their hands and feet? When anger comes, they act with violence. Some people destroy their lives through stealing or gambling. Some even commit murder without reason, shoot guns, or set fires, doing terrible sins without feeling guilt. It is better to cut off the hands or feet and not sin, and then enter heaven, than to sin with them and go to hell.
Also, when people see something good with their eyes, greed rises. When they look at things they should not see, they commit adultery. So it is better to remove the eyes and not sin, so that they may enter heaven, rather than sin with the eyes and go to hell.
Jesus warned strongly against sin. He wanted all people to receive salvation. So He, who had no sin, was hung on the wooden cross. He was whipped, wore the crown of thorns, and was nailed in His hands and feet to die on the cross.
May you give thanks for the love and grace of the Lord, and keep your heart with the truth so that you never commit sin again. May you always live a life of victory.
Plus
“The lust of the flesh”
This is the nature that wants to commit sin by following the flesh. In the human heart there are sinful natures such as hatred, pride, anger, laziness, and adultery. When a situation comes that can stir these things, the lust of the flesh comes out.
“The lust of the eyes”
This is the nature that is stirred by what we see and hear, and then desires fleshly things. If a person continues to accept the lust of the eyes, it produces the lust of the flesh and finally leads to sin.
“The pride of life”
This is the nature that seeks the pleasures of the world and tries to boast and show oneself.
