"BUT WHERE IS THE LAMB?"

In sheer boredom one day, I sat and wondered why on earth the guards at Jesus’ crucifixion went through the pain of weaving a crown made of Thorns for Jesus? Think about it. Thorns pierce…even through gloves sometimes. So to not only pluck them, but painstakingly wind and twist and turn them up severally till they looked anything close to a crown must have taken some persistence and hard work. I wondered, and so as usual, I probed 🤷‍♀️. Here’s what I found:

In Genesis 22, God asked Abraham to go sacrifice the one thing Abraham had waited so long for – his son. In fact he had been so desperate that in the process of waiting he thought he had figured out what God really meant by His promise to him, so he goes out and births Ishmael. So clearly at this instruction Abraham is pained deeply, even more so when his boy’s piercing eyes look him in the eyes when he asks, “Daddy, we have the wood and the fire, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” I’m not sure if Abraham was prepared or even in the mood to talk to this poor boy in that moment. In what he knew could possibly be a lie, Abraham prophesied. He told Isaac, ‘God Himself will provide.’

They get to the place God had told him about, Abraham makes the altar, lays the wood on it, ties up Isaac and lays him on it, and then lifts up the knife to slay his son. Just then, like this God couldn’t be any more dramatic,😂 Abraham is commanded not to touch the boy. He looks up and finds a lamb…caught by its horns in the thicket. Verse 13b says ‘…and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.’

Amazing stuff! What has this got to do with anything though? I don’t know, fam. I don’t know😂 Okay I keed I keed🤗 Let me get serious🤭. Father we pray for understanding as we divide Your Word in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen!

In Genesis 3, man has just fallen. He has to face the repercussions of his disobedience. God says:

“Cursed is the ground for your sake. In sorrow shall you eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles, shall it produce for you…”

In Hosea 10:8, the Lord speaks about Israel’s punishment for their disobedience:

“The high places of wickedness will be destroyed; thorn and thistles shall come up on your altars.”

Here’s what I’m drawing your attention to:

Thorns and thistles are the outcome, the fruit, the result, the consequence of sin and disobedience.

Don’t lose track of the question we’re answering: Why did the guards weave a Crown of Thorns for Jesus?

Without any extravagant show of Greek and Hebrew words, we can all understand that a crown is a symbol of authority, typically meant for Kings and Queens. Here are other things it could also mean:

A symbol of victory – 1 Corinthians 9:25; and
Riches – Psalm 21:3.

So why did the guards weave a crown of thorns for Jesus?

It was in fulfilment of prophecy! Like many other prototypes and foreshadows of the prophecies of the life and purpose of the promised Messiah, Moses and his test at the place he called Jehovah-Jireh was a prototype of Jesus! The horns [i.e. the symbol of authority and strength] of the lamb was caught up in the thicket [i.e. the curses and consequences of sin]. Do you see it yet?😃 In weaving a crown of thorns for Jesus, here’s what the Roman soldiers were silently confessing:

That God would Himself provide a sacrifice that carried all the repercussions of sin. But not only would He bear the punishment, He would also rise up in victory and with all authority, as one who had run and won a race, that all may have redemption through His blood according to the riches of His grace! [Ephesians 1:7]

As though that was not clear enough, John writes of the Lamb of God in Revelation 5:12 saying, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing!’

This is the gospel we share! That God chose to reduce Himself to that sub-normal being which He had created in order to bear the fruitlessness and pain which should have been ours. And it’s ours for the taking right here on earth! That means not only do we escape the just desert of our very nature, but we get to be partakers in the authority, dominion and riches of the One who took our place. For God made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that in Him we may be the righteousness of God! [2 Corinthians 5:21] That in Him we may also be royalty, joint-heirs with Christ Jesus [Roamns 8:17], that we may be seated in heavenly places [of authority] in Him! [Ephesians 2:6]

However!…in Chapter 6 of Revelation, in the 15^th and 16^th verses, kings, princes, rulers, generals, the rich and mighty, slave and free men hid in caves. They begged of the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb’. You see, at Christ’s crucifixion, the soldiers hailed Jesus as King of the Jews. They knelt on one knee as if to worship Him, but they did this in mockery. Their lips were singing a different song from the true position of their hearts, as were their actions. So it will not be absurd if at the appearance of the King of all Kings, you find yourself in the same category as these soldiers if the professions of your lips and the deception of your deeds do not match the true position of your heart.

There IS a time coming when men will flee from wrath; the furious wrath of the Lamb – the moon will turn red, the sun will turn black, the stars will fall to the earth, the sky will recede like a scroll, men will plead for the earth to swallow them up….just so they can flee the wrath of the same Lamb that was slain for the punishment they’re about to bear. [Revelation 6:15&16]

For the great day of the wrath, who can stand? – Revelation 6:17

★ RAD ★

PS: If you’d like to read on more foreshadows and types of Christ in the Old Testament, do drop a comment or send me a message, and let’s get rolling! 😉