The Ultimate "Been There- Done That"
Do you suppose Jesus ever felt cramped in his human bosy? Tempted to reclaim his boundlessness- if only for a moment? In the middle of a long trip on aching feet, did he ever consider transporting himself to the next city? When the rain chilled his bones, was he tempted to change the weather? When the heat parched his lips, did he ever give thought to popping over to the Caibbean for some refreshment?
If he ever evetertained such thoughts, he never gave in to them. Not once. Stop and think about this. Not once did Christ use his supernatural powers for personal comfort. With one word he could've transformed the hard earth into a soft bed., but he didn't. With a wave of his hand, he could've boomeranged the spit of his accusers becak into their faces, but he didn't. With an arch of his brow, he couldn've paralyzed the hand of the soldier as he braided the crown of thorns. But he didn't. Remarkable. But is this the MOST remarkable part of Jesus' coming? Many would argue not. Many, perhaps, most, people would point beyond his surrender of timlessness and boundlessness to his surrender of sinlessness! It's easy to see why. Isn't this the message of the crown of thorns? An unnamed soldier took branches- mature enough to bear throns, nimble enought to bend- and wove them into a crown of MOCKERY. A crown of thorns. A crown of... CONSEQUENCES. Consequences?! Oh, yes. Just take a look anywhere in Scripture and you'll see that what thorns symbolize is not sin itself, but the RESULTS of sin. Remember Eden? After Adam and Ever sinned, God cursed the land: "So I will put a curse on the ground... The ground will prduce thorns and weeds for you, and you will eat the plants of the field" (Genesis 3:17-18). Brambles on the earth are the product of sin in the heart.
Rebellion against God results in throns: "Evil people's lives are like paths covered with thorns and traps" (Proverbs 22:5). Jesus even compared the lives of evil people to a thornbush. In speaking of false prophets, he said, "You will know these people by what they do. Grapes don't come from thornbushes, and figs don't come from thorny weeds" (Matthew 7:16).
The result og sin is thorns, Scripture tells us- spiny, prickly, cutting thorns. And in the thorny crown on Jesus' brow, don't we see a picture of the pain our sins cause him?
Step into the brier patch of humanity and feel a few sharp reminders. Shame. Fear. Disgrace. Dicouragement. Worry. Haven't our hearts- hasn't YOUR heart- felt their sting?
The heart of Jesus, however, had not. He had never felt and of those things. He had never been cut by the thorns of sin. What you and I face every day, he never knew. Worry? He never felt anxious! Guilt? He was never guilty! Fear? He never left the prescence of God! Jesus never knew the fruits of sin... until he BECAME sin for us. Until he became one of us.
What must it have felt like for Jesus when he becaume one of us, and all the emotions of sin tumbled in on him like shadows in a forest? He felt anxious, guilty, and alone. Can't you hear those things in his prayer? "My God, my God, why have you rejected me?" (Matthew 27:46). These are not the words of a saint. This is the cry of a sinner.
And this prayer is one of the most remarkable parts of his coming. But not THE most remarkable, because I can think of something even greater. Want to know what it is? Want to know the very coolest thing about Jesus' coming?
It's not that the One who played marbles with the stars gave it up to play marbles with marbles. Or that the One who hung the galaxies fave it up to hang doorjambs for a cranky client who wanted everything yesterday but couldn't pay for anything until tomorrow.
And it's not that Jesus, in an instant, went from needing nothing to needing air, food, a tub of hot water and salts for his tired feet, and more than anything, needed somebody- anybody- who was more concerned about where he would spend eternity than where he would spend this week's paycheck.
And it wasn't that he resisted the urge to fry the two-bit, self-appointed hall moniters of holiness who dared suggest he was doing the work of the devil.
It wasn't that he kept his cool while his dozen best friends in the world felt the heat and got out of the kitchen. Or that he gave no command to the angels who begged, "Just give the nod, Lord. One word and these demons will be deviled eggs!"
Nor was it that he refused to defend himself when blamed for every sin of every soul since Adam. Nor that he stood silent as a million guilty verdicts echoed in the halls of heaven , and the giver of light was left in the chill of a sinner's night.
Not even that after three days in a dark hole he stepped into the Easter sunrise with a smile and a swagger and a question for lowly Lucifer- "Is that your best punch?"
All of that was cool, incredibly cool. But want to know the coolest thing about the One who gave up the crown of heaven for a crown of thorns?
He did it for you.
Just for you.
If he ever evetertained such thoughts, he never gave in to them. Not once. Stop and think about this. Not once did Christ use his supernatural powers for personal comfort. With one word he could've transformed the hard earth into a soft bed., but he didn't. With a wave of his hand, he could've boomeranged the spit of his accusers becak into their faces, but he didn't. With an arch of his brow, he couldn've paralyzed the hand of the soldier as he braided the crown of thorns. But he didn't. Remarkable. But is this the MOST remarkable part of Jesus' coming? Many would argue not. Many, perhaps, most, people would point beyond his surrender of timlessness and boundlessness to his surrender of sinlessness! It's easy to see why. Isn't this the message of the crown of thorns? An unnamed soldier took branches- mature enough to bear throns, nimble enought to bend- and wove them into a crown of MOCKERY. A crown of thorns. A crown of... CONSEQUENCES. Consequences?! Oh, yes. Just take a look anywhere in Scripture and you'll see that what thorns symbolize is not sin itself, but the RESULTS of sin. Remember Eden? After Adam and Ever sinned, God cursed the land: "So I will put a curse on the ground... The ground will prduce thorns and weeds for you, and you will eat the plants of the field" (Genesis 3:17-18). Brambles on the earth are the product of sin in the heart.
Rebellion against God results in throns: "Evil people's lives are like paths covered with thorns and traps" (Proverbs 22:5). Jesus even compared the lives of evil people to a thornbush. In speaking of false prophets, he said, "You will know these people by what they do. Grapes don't come from thornbushes, and figs don't come from thorny weeds" (Matthew 7:16).
The result og sin is thorns, Scripture tells us- spiny, prickly, cutting thorns. And in the thorny crown on Jesus' brow, don't we see a picture of the pain our sins cause him?
Step into the brier patch of humanity and feel a few sharp reminders. Shame. Fear. Disgrace. Dicouragement. Worry. Haven't our hearts- hasn't YOUR heart- felt their sting?
The heart of Jesus, however, had not. He had never felt and of those things. He had never been cut by the thorns of sin. What you and I face every day, he never knew. Worry? He never felt anxious! Guilt? He was never guilty! Fear? He never left the prescence of God! Jesus never knew the fruits of sin... until he BECAME sin for us. Until he became one of us.
What must it have felt like for Jesus when he becaume one of us, and all the emotions of sin tumbled in on him like shadows in a forest? He felt anxious, guilty, and alone. Can't you hear those things in his prayer? "My God, my God, why have you rejected me?" (Matthew 27:46). These are not the words of a saint. This is the cry of a sinner.
And this prayer is one of the most remarkable parts of his coming. But not THE most remarkable, because I can think of something even greater. Want to know what it is? Want to know the very coolest thing about Jesus' coming?
It's not that the One who played marbles with the stars gave it up to play marbles with marbles. Or that the One who hung the galaxies fave it up to hang doorjambs for a cranky client who wanted everything yesterday but couldn't pay for anything until tomorrow.
And it's not that Jesus, in an instant, went from needing nothing to needing air, food, a tub of hot water and salts for his tired feet, and more than anything, needed somebody- anybody- who was more concerned about where he would spend eternity than where he would spend this week's paycheck.
And it wasn't that he resisted the urge to fry the two-bit, self-appointed hall moniters of holiness who dared suggest he was doing the work of the devil.
It wasn't that he kept his cool while his dozen best friends in the world felt the heat and got out of the kitchen. Or that he gave no command to the angels who begged, "Just give the nod, Lord. One word and these demons will be deviled eggs!"
Nor was it that he refused to defend himself when blamed for every sin of every soul since Adam. Nor that he stood silent as a million guilty verdicts echoed in the halls of heaven , and the giver of light was left in the chill of a sinner's night.
Not even that after three days in a dark hole he stepped into the Easter sunrise with a smile and a swagger and a question for lowly Lucifer- "Is that your best punch?"
All of that was cool, incredibly cool. But want to know the coolest thing about the One who gave up the crown of heaven for a crown of thorns?
He did it for you.
Just for you.