Symbols of Grace: Nails & Crown

Read Mark 15

Have you stopped to consider what was used to actually hold Jesus to the cross? What about the importance of the crown that was given to Him on that day? There are so many elements and things used throughout the Passion narrative that, if we aren’t careful, we can grow cold or apathetic to it. There is a term for it. It’s called the Lullaby Effect. The idea is that when we hear something enough that we become so used to it and we don’t really begin to pay attention anymore, like with the lyrics of lullabies. 

Up to this point, Jesus has been beaten and whipped. Mocked and turned on by many who had, just days previously, been shouting His praises. Then we see the soldiers twist together thorns to make a crown and place it on his head. Don’t read that as “delicately laid it on top of his head”. That is to be read as “shoved it down on top of his head”. 

There is no way to fully know what type of thorns were used, but based on vegetation in that area, it can be believed that these thorns could measure from 1 inch long to up to 4 inches long. That was shoved down onto His head as He was mocked and hailed as “King of the Jews” by the Roman soldiers.  

In Genesis 3:18 we see that one of the curses from the fall of man given by God was that thorns and thistles would come up from the ground making the ground extremely hard and difficult to work. There would be a struggle for survival where there had not been one prior to this moment. 

This crown of thorns can be seen by many as a symbolic bearing of the curse of sin from Genesis 3. The thorns and thistles from Genesis 3 are seen as a consequence to rebellion and sin and symbolize a broken relationship. Jesus came to (according to Galatians 3:13) become the curse for us and pay the price that sin required. Jesus bore the thorns and the thistles. 

The nails used in Roman crucifixion, based on archaeological findings, would have been anywhere from 4-7 inches long and ⅜ of an inch in diameter. Upon securing someone to the cross, the cross would likely be flipped over and hammered down from behind to ensure the security of it all. 

Jesus became (took on) the curse that we brought on ourselves. He came to take it so that we would not be responsible for bearing it. 

Prayer: Jesus slow me down and help me remember that you didn’t deserve this. Help me also to remember that I, in all of my pride and sin, did not even ask you to do this for me. You, in your infinite love, came and bore my weight out of a desire to have a restored relationship. So help me to remember that today.