(Image by Freepik)
Jesus Christ, our risen Savior and Lord, is worthy of all praise and glory and honor. As the hymn writer Matthew Bridges declared, “Crown him with many crowns, the Lamb upon his throne; Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own. Awake, my soul, and sing of Him who died for thee, and hail Him as thy matchless king through all eternity.”
Consider this devotional thought about crowns that I found on the back of an Easter bulletin many years ago.
Crowns have always been the sign of authority and kingship.
Charlemagne, whom historians say should deserve to be called “great” above all others, wore an octagonal crown. Each of the eight sides was a plaque of gold, and each plaque was studded with emeralds, sapphires, and pearls. The cost was the price of a king’s ransom. Richard the Lion-Hearted had a crown so heavy that two Earls had to stand, one on either side, to hold his head. The crown that Queen Elizabeth wore is worth $20 million-plus. Edward II once owned nine crowns, something of a record.
Put them all together, from all of Europe and from the archives of the East, all of them are but trinkets compared to Christ’s crown. Revelation 19 says He has many diadems. He wears a crown of righteousness. He wears a crown of glory. He wears a crown of life. He wears a crown of peace and power.
Among those crowns, one outshines the rest. It was not formed by the skilled fingers of a silversmith, nor created by the genius of a craftsman. It was put together hurriedly by the rough hands of Roman soldiers. It was not placed upon its wearer’s head in pomp and ceremony, but in the hollow mockery of ridicule and blasphemy. It is a crown of thorns.
The amazing thing is that crown belonged to me. I deserved to wear that crown. I deserved to feel the thrust of the thorns. I deserved to feel the hot trickle of blood upon my brow. I deserved the pain. He took my crown of thorns, and He offers to me instead His crown of life, the crown that fades not away.
Jesus was willing to wear the humble crown of thorns that was intended as a mockery of Him, but represented His willingness to take our place of suffering and judgment upon sin. He paid the price that you and I could never pay. He endured the wrath of the Father upon sin that you and I could never endure. His body was broken and His blood was shed for you and me. He died a horrible, agonizing, excruciating death as He carried the sin of the entire world, your sin and mine. Even the Father had to turn His face away. Jesus was placed in a borrowed tomb, but thankfully He only needed it for the weekend! Then He rose victoriously – defeating death, hell and the grave.
By His death and resurrection, Jesus proved that there is Nothing He cannot do. There is Nothing too hard for Him and no one Above Him. You might be facing something too big for you, but it is not too big for Him. Your sin is too big for you to do anything about it, but His blood can cleanse every sin and heal every affliction. PTL!
Jesus paid for our salvation and all we have to do is accept His glorious free gift. The Apostle Paul declared, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. ...for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’” (Romans 10:9-10, 13). All praise to Jesus Christ for His generous and lavish gift!
This Sunday, April 9, we will celebrate Resurrection Sunday, giving praise to our Risen Savior and Lord. Please invite family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and/or classmates to join you in celebrating Christ’s glorious resurrection at 10:35am either in the building or online for the Live broadcast on Facebook (Honolulu AG) or our YouTube channel (Honolulu Assembly of God). We Livestream every Sunday morning at 10:35am to both locations. The tomb is empty! Nothing is impossible for Him. (Come early for the 9:30am Bible Study and learn more about the Passover Lamb.)
Note: It was thrilling to have Roneel and Andrea Chaudhary from Chi Alpha Hawaii, the ministry to UH students, with us last Sunday. Friends, if you missed it, you really missed it! You can check it out at the websites listed above.
Aloha ke Akua!