I only know of three places in the New Testament where we are told that Jesus has a crown placed on his head. Today, let me share with you those three instances and then I want to ask you a question that only you can answer.
- Jesus is Crowned with Thorns. “And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe,” (John 19:2). I have stood in the very place where this took place. The stone floor with all of its cracks caused my mind to wonder about how many times those soldiers brutalized prisoners and their blood flowed through those cracks. Jesus didn’t just shed His blood on the cross. I think He shed His blood in several locations as He headed to the cross. He was beaten at Caiaphas’ house, the High Priest of the Sanhedrin, shedding blood. Jesus bleeds more being beaten by the Romans. The scourging of the back, more blood loss. The beating with the fists to the face, more blood loss. Finally, just before they take Him to Calvary the Roman Soldiers mock Him with a crown of thorns. These thorns aren’t like little blackberry thorns that are produced on vines and are between two and three inches in length. The crown would have been plaited together and then jammed into His skull, more blood loss and suffering. Christ is then taken to Golgotha. All along the Via Dellarosa, I think Jesus was dripping blood. Finally, on the cross, blood stained that wood for six hours. Why all this pain? Why all this suffering by the Son of God? It was part of the plan of redemption. When Jesus shed His blood and then died on the cross our salvation was paid for.
- Jesus Crowned with Glory and Honor. “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man” (Hebrews 2:9). Once the suffering was finished and once death was defeated on the cross, the Father had all creation stop and pay attention. He crowned Him with glory and honor. “Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” Right now, at this very moment, Jesus is in heaven making intercession for us. He didn’t just save us, He is now our advocate. He is our defense attorney when accusations are made by the wicked one.
- Jesus is Crowned with many Crowns. When the Tribulation is almost over and the Battle of Armageddon commences, we read in the Revelation 19:2, “His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.” The Apostle John, while on the isle of Patmos, saw things that would be in the future. There is coming a day when Jesus will make all things right. Evil will no longer be on the throne and righteousness will reign supreme. I don’t know if anyone can fully understand the multiple crowns that Jesus will own and wear, but perhaps some of those crowns come from the redeemed. Christians can receive various crowns by their faithfulness to Christ while living on earth. We, out of love for everything He did and does for us, will lay those crowns at His feet.
Let me close with this question. Have you crowned Jesus Lord of your life? Either you are on the throne of your life or Jesus is. It can’t be both. Decide today, your eternity depends on it.