Last week we continued our series on “What Happened at
the Cross?” We looked specifically at the crown of thorns placed upon Jesus’
head. It is commonly accepted that
the crowning by the Roman soldiers was meant to humiliate Jesus and to mock His
claim to be a king. There was also deeper meaning to this act. Caesar Augustus
who reigned from 23BC to 14AD, was frequently referred to as the “Savior of the
World” because of his conquests. It then became a tradition to crown the
victorious leaders when they returned – specifically for saving the lives of
Roman citizens. So, the mockery of Jesus was likely to have been because of
more than His claim to be a king, but of being a “savior.”
The thorny crown was not a random act. The thorns
had meaning. In Genesis 3:18, God says that because of Adam’s sin, the ground
is cursed and that it will produce thorns and thistles. Thorns were then part
of the identity of the curse of sin. Next, the thorns come into play in Genesis
22 when God tells Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. As he is about to strike
Isaac, God tells him to stop and he sees a ram caught by its horns in the
thorns! The horns were the sign of the ram’s power and authority and they were
caught in the curse-produced thorns – just like man’s authority. The ram was significant as well. In
Leviticus chapters 5-7, the temple offerings are described. There is a sin
offering that would be anything from a bull to a tenth of an ephah of fine
flour, depending on your standing in society. However, there was a separate
offering for guilt. That offering was a ram!
Guilt is the part of sin that we deal with on the inside
– or in the mind. The crown upon Jesus head, and the blood He shed there was
for the renewing of our mind. Our mind is not simply renewed because we are
born again. It is work, but the power to win is there because of what Jesus did
for us. Our mind is the root of most of
our problems. We have bad thoughts, beliefs and perceptions that mold and shape
our actions. Anything we believe or think that is contrary to God’s Word needs
to be renewed (Romans 12:2). It is sometimes a long and difficult process to
change beliefs formed over a lifetime. But, because of what Jesus did, if we
won’t give up, we WILL win.
Isaiah 26:3 says that God will keep those is
perfect peace (shalom) who keep their MINDS steadfast – and do so because they
trust in Him. That word, steadfast, in Hebrew is camak. In ancient Hebrew, the
symbol for the first letter in that word, samech, was…. A thorn! The other two letters symbolize water (Jesus,
washing in the water of the Word), and open palm (accepting or allowing). To keep our minds steadfast, we must allow
the Word and His overcoming the curse to get into our minds. Those thorns on His head made the way for us
to be able to bring peace to our minds. What good news!
To listen to the entire sermon go to http://ahwatukeechurch.com/ and click on
online media. To learn more about Living
Word Ahwatukee, visit http://ahwatukeechurch.com/.
