Ouch! Thorns

And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. -Matthew 27:28-30

He wore a crown of thorns. Thorns that were twisted together to form a makeshift crown. Thorns came into this world as a byproduct of sin. Thorns are the very essence of burden and struggle. After the fall of man, God cursed the ground so that man, as a result of Adam's sin, would have to eat by the sweat of his brow. Man would have to toil the earth all the days of his life. As a direct consequence of disobeying God, man would now have to reap what was sown. Man would have to learn the burden and struggle of life after sin had made its painful mark.

The thorns Jesus bore represents the cares of this life. Remember the parable of the sower, in which Jesus talks about the one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful (Matthew 13:22). These are those who have heard the truth, and even some who understand that Jesus came to free us from such bondage, but just can't seem to let go of the burdens and struggles of this world.

In nature, thorns twist, choke, and curl around their surroundings. It is fitting that the English word 'worry' comes from the old German word 'wurgen' which means to choke. Because worrying and its constant anxiety and fear chokes the mind, or a better phrase might be mental strangulation. The total obsession of things of the past, present, and future (most which is out our control) is mentally exhausting, physically destructive, and spiritually damaging. A day of worrying is more exhausting than two days of hard work. Thorns choke.

In the Garden of Eden, thorns came from desires that tell us that there is something else needed to live in order to be content, regardless of what God says is needed. For Adam and Eve, it was the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Even in our lives today, we can see the thorns twisting and curling. For us, the forbidden fruit could be anything we feel we need to be happy, content, and secure. The result is a never ending struggle. Just as Adam struggled to bring in his crops from the ground, so we still struggle with the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of riches. The argument is so convincing that we are in the right that we become engulfed in rent, bills, mortgages that the word that God has placed in us is choked becomes unfruitful.

The worries of this life are pressing. Christ set us free from the worries of this life so that we may rejoice! Rejoice in the deliverance from the worries of this world in Christ Jesus.

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. - John 16:33