by Kala Loptien

One True King

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“And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe.” John 19:2 English Standard Version

There’s a line in Shakespearean literature that has become a popular idiom: “Uneasy/Heavy lies the head that wears the crown.” A crown has always served as a symbol of power, nobility and dignity. With it comes supreme authority, jurisdiction and tremendous responsibility. Each time I read this passage in John, I flinch and my stomach turns. We are angry with the so-called followers in the crowd. We want to yell at the soldiers to stop the abuse and mockery. We want someone — anyone — to stand up for our Jesus…

“So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, ‘Behold the man!’”
John 19: 5 English Standard Version

God had perfectly planned this story long ago. It was all unfolding in the exact manner He knew it would. Jesus Messiah would complete His humble life of servitude by suffering on the cross in order to save the same hypocrites, scoffers and doubters looking on that day. Perhaps not-so-ironically, he wears a crown of thorns. The same thorns we battle, perhaps? A purple robe, a color created for royalty, sits on his shoulders. On those shoulders, he bears the weight of the world, but reigns victoriously, seated at the right hand of God.

In our narrow and limited minds, we expected a king by the world’s standards. I say “we” since we are part of the crowd too. We are the scoffers, hypocrites and sinners, though painful to admit. The good news is we are also exactly who Jesus came to save. Praise God that His ways are not our ways; his thoughts are not our thoughts. He didn’t just send a king. He sent THE King. The one worthy of all praise. The one that would handle the weight of that twisted crown of thorns. The one who could overcome death and the devil. Now He reigns over heaven and earth. His Kingdom has no end. That’s our King.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado