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When King Charles was crowned, there was outcry from around the world as it gave many an opportunity to claim that some of the crown Jewels belonged to them. There were claims from India, South Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan, among others, that some of the precious stones belonged to them. A number of these precious stones have passed through several hands, been the spoils of battle, gifts to monarchs and some point to the indiscretions of many whilst they make their claims.
Of course, none of these faults lie with King Charles, however some claimed the crown to be the stolen crown. Where the rights and wrongs are it is very hard to tell and if it could ever be rectified is doubtful.
We do know, however, of someone who took a crown that definitely did not belong to them, and it might well surprise you who took it!
The person that took a crown that they had no right to was the Lord Jesus Christ.
When the Lord Jesus was arrested and falsely accused, He was given a crown. This was not one of jewels, there were no rubies or diamonds, the crown was a cruel crown of thorns. These thorns weren’t His!
The New Testament book Colossians reminds us that, ‘by Him were all things created’ and in Genesis chapter we read, ‘God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good’. The creation was perfect, nothing spoilt it and for the first humans there was no sadness, grief, pain, or misery. Nothing perished, nothing diminished in beauty and the perfect garden, Eden, had no weeds, no thorns, just perfection.
So, what changed? Sin came in, through Satan’s stealth and lies and man’s weakness and disobedience.
Everything changed. The world plunged into misery, only punctuated by momentary joy. Sin spoiled everything, man only ate through his tiring endeavours, harvests could be blighted, and crops chocked by weeds. Because sin had entered the earth, arguments and violence were prevalent, selfishness and greed became widespread, God was marginalised, and mankind spiralled down into deeper sin.
It is no different today, mankind’s mantra seems to be, ‘I’ll do as I please, it’s my life, I’ll live it my way!’ The human race put the crown on their own heads and says, ‘I’ll decide what I do!’ This is sin, it is the rejection of God, and our sin will separate us from God for all eternity. The Bible talks about this a spiritual death and most people have no comprehension of the danger that they are in.
The Lord Jesus in John’s Gospel told us why He was here on Earth. He said’ ‘I have come that you might have life… and have it more abundantly!’
The Lord Jesus wants us to have eternal life with Him and enjoy all its blessings. However, sin had to be dealt with, He took our place on the cross, suffered for our sin, ‘stole’ our crown as He wore the crown of thorns.
When He wore the crown of thorns, cruel Roman soldiers bowed to Him, mocking Him. If we look at the cross and see what Jesus Christ has done for us and reject His offer of forgiveness and love, then we are no better than those disrespectful Roman soldiers. God has placed the Lord Jesus in a highly exalted place and given Him the greatest name.
In the Bible, in a book called Philippians, we are told in that one day everyone will bow to Him and call Him Lord. We are faced with a choice, make Him Lord in this life and enjoy being with Him for all eternity or reject Him now and regret it forever.
He wore the crown of thorns for us and He went to the cross. Believe in Him and receive His forgiveness and if you have done this then bow to His will for, as the all-knowing God, He knows the paths we should walk.
DAILY MESSAGES WITH MEANING (13/05/23)
Written by STUART SCAMMELL
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