Passover - Crown of Thorns and Crown of Glory

As you know, brethren, we're in a period of time when we need to fully appreciate what the Passover ceremony means. Let's go to 1 Corinthians 11. 1 Corinthians 11, verse 17. Notice what we have as instructions to prepare for the Passover. 1 Corinthians 11, verse 17.

It says, Paul speaking here, Now in giving these instructions, I do not praise you since you come together not for the better but for the worse. For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part, I believe it. So even in the time of Paul, not everybody saw the same things. He says, For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you. So we're going to have tests within the church as well as outside the church.

And then verse 20, he says, So he's saying here, you've got the wrong attitude. This is not the way the Lord's Supper should be held. He says, For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others, and one is hungry and another is drunk. So they weren't even sharing the food at that time. People were showing selfishness. He says, What, do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing, those that are poor among you? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this, I do not praise you.

He says, So this is the New Testament Passover, which Paul identifies as the Lord's Supper. Because Christ became the symbol of the Lamb. He said, And when he had given things, he broke it and said, Take, eat, this is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same manner, he also took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. This, do as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till he comes.

You are personally proclaiming it by keeping it because it's a commitment we're making. To one day eat it in the kingdom of God with Christ being the one presenting it. Therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. So it tells us we have to examine ourselves. Verse 28, But let a man examine himself.

Not examine other people, but each one. Self-examination is required. So let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. In other words, not truly appreciating what God the Father and Jesus Christ have done for us. This isn't some empty ceremony. I was reading in the paper today how they have in different churches of the world where people will just be out there going to mass taking it every day.

They take what is the wafer at that time. And for them, it's just a ritual. God did not say to do it every day of the week. It should be something special. It's an anniversary of Christ's death when we do it.

And so he goes on to say, For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. Again, if you're taking it in an unworthy manner where it's very cavalier and just another routine thing, you're not really weighing what God the Father and Jesus Christ did. What that sacrifice is all about. So that's what the focus is. It says, For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord that we may not be condemned with the world. So God knows us and our sincerity, our appreciation.

Nobody deserves to do it. We receive it because of God's grace, because of His forgiveness and mercy. And we should truly appreciate it. So Passover is a time when we remember the crown of thorns that Christ allowed Himself to be crowned with, instead of a crown of glory. Men did not give them glory. They gave them a crown of thorns. And it's an example and a symbol of Passover as well. We're going to suffer following God's way of life. We talk about a crown of thorns when we go through tough trials that are painful and involve suffering, either mental or physical suffering.

And so Christ had that crown of thorns jammed into His head, and He willingly did it for all of us. And so I want to show you what a crown of thorns looks like. Here it is. This is just a typical crown of thorns, and He had that jammed into His head, into His forehead. So life for God went to go ahead and pass it around.

And for us to contemplate, that was just part of what Christ accepted for us. And let's read in Isaiah chapter 50, verse 4. Isaiah 50, verse 4.

And think how painful that was to suffer. In Isaiah chapter 50, verse 4, there's a prophecy about Him suffering this way. It says, The Lord God has given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak. A word in season to Him who is weary. He awakens me morning by morning. He awakens my ear to hear as the learned. The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, nor did I turn away from that great trial He's talking about. I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who plucked out the beard. I did not hide my face from shame and spitting. Therefore, the Lord God will help me. Therefore, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, I have set my face like a flint, which is very hard rock, and I know that I will not be ashamed. So it was prophesied. Christ would go through this. Let's look at Matthew 27.

It says, Then the soldiers of the governor, these are the Roman soldiers, took Jesus into the praetorium. That was the area where the soldiers lived, the Roman soldiers, and gathered the whole garrison around Him. And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! So they ridiculed Him. Then they spat on Him and took the reed and struck Him on the head with that crown of thorns, jamming it even further, making His whole face a bloody mess.

Now, I'm sure we have all had experiences with thorns, different types of thorns. When I was around six years old, we had a beach home in Cuba, and it was just full of sandy areas and with a lot of sand burs. And as a kid, I was playing with a friend, but my friend lived in that area, and he was used to not wearing any shoes, so his soles were tough. Mine were tender. And so, let's show a little bit. I stepped on a patch of sand burs on the beach, and that's the way my foot looked. And I froze from the paint. I was kind of running, following him. He was stepping on these things. Nothing happened to him because his soul was so calloused. Mine was tender. And once I stepped on that, I froze. I did not move my foot. I still remember that moment of shock, of feeling all that pain in my foot.

And so, I discovered in living colors what is the curse of these thorns and thistles are all about. And what the penalty of sin, how it affected the earth. Let's go to Genesis chapter 3, in verse 17. Genesis chapter 3, in verse 17. After Adam and Eve sinned, he said in Genesis 3, verse 17, Then to Adam, he said, Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it.

Cursed is the ground for your sake. In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. In other words, a fertility was just going to descend. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you. And you shall eat the herb of the field, and the sweat of your face. You shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For thus you are, and to thus you shall return. And so thorns in the Bible is an example of evil and pain. And we live in a type of world where you have to be very careful, because there's all kinds of shrubs that are with thorns.

We have a little rose bush right next to where I parked the car, and as it gets bigger, I go around it, and sure enough, I feel some of those thorns. And so we're surrounded by this. And it is a lesson about suffering and pain. Notice what it tells us in Isaiah 52.14, another prophecy of how Christ would look like at the end of His sufferings that He did for all of us. That reminds us of what we carry out during the Passover ceremony.

Isaiah 52, verse 14, it says, Just as many were astonished at you, so His visage, which means His face, was marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men. And He shall sprinkle many nations, talking about with His blood, King shall shut their mouths at Him, for what had not been told them they shall see, and what they have not heard they shall consider. In the New Living Translation of Isaiah 52, verse 14, it says, But many were amazed when they saw Him.

His face was so disfigured, He seemed hardly human. And from His appearance one would scarcely know He was a man. He was beaten with a rod, and with that crown of thorns, basically pounded more into His flesh. In 1 Peter, chapter 2, it talks to us about this same description. So we see the importance here of thorns, a symbol of evil and suffering.

In 1 Peter, chapter 2, verse 21, it says, For this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow His steps. Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth, who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return, when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously, who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness, by whose stripes you were healed.

For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your soul. So Christ is the one who oversees. He's there to help us. He's already done more than we could ever deserve. And what else could He have done to suffer for us in this way? And why? Let's go to Hebrews 12. He suffered all of this. Certainly He paid for our sins, but it goes even further than that. Hebrews 12, verse 1, it says, Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, these that were faithful to the end, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us.

Don't let any of those sins of weaknesses prevail over us, but rather refute them, block them out of our lives, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. It's a long race. You have to run just like in a marathon. You have to pace yourself so that you can arrive at the finish line with enough strength to cross. He says, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, He's the one that begun that good work in us, and He is going to finish that good work, looking to Him.

He's our coach. He's our captain. Who for the joy that was set before Him, what kind of joy was that? With a crown of thorns on Him and ridicule and then crucifixion? But what was He looking at? For the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. Forget what Christ and God the Father did for us. Verse 4, it says, you have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. So none of us have any welts on our backs. We have not been persecuted to that point of being faithful.

And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons. My son do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him. For whom the Lord loves, He chastens and scourges every son whom He receives. So He applies discipline. Sometimes we start going off the wrong way and then something happens. It wakes us up. We've got to get back to a closeness to God. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons. For what son is there whom a father does not chasten? He wants the best for us. But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.

So, yes, God corrects us because He knows. He has to get our attention. And when our children were growing up, I remember we had to also apply correction when it was necessary. And we had a loving family atmosphere, but everybody knew that we had to have respect among ourselves. And that you couldn't get away with things for long. Things were going to be dealt with. It goes on to say. Verse 9, Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seen best to them. But he for our prophet that we may be partakers of his holiness. Again, God is never going to do it unless He needs to do it. And He does it in different ways. But at the end, it's to get our attention, get us back to our spiritual lives. Do not neglect them. Weeds in the Bible, which also have to do with thorns, as we're going to see in a moment, are a symbol that the world is symbolic of these weeds and thorns and thistles and things like that. We let them grow in our lives, and they can drown us out of spiritual fruit. And so God says, I'm calling you to be part of my kingdom. And we need to have people that are seeking holiness, the right way of life. It doesn't mean some type of a monk. Not at all, but just a person that puts God first in his life and is willing to sacrifice what's necessary to keep a good relationship with him. I'd much rather get in trouble with men than with God. And that's the way it started with our lives, deciding that. It says, verse 11, Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, no trials and difficulties and correction, but painful. Nevertheless, afterwards, it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it, those that learn from the experience. Therefore, strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, talking about spiritually that way, and make straight paths for your feet so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with all people, and holiness without which no one will see the Lord. Looking carefully, lest anyone fall short of the grace of God. Lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defile. So he uses the illustration of farming and having trees. Many times you have good fruit trees, but what happens? The roots develop a fungus, and that fungus starts spreading throughout that whole tree. And so if you have another fruit tree, and its roots touch the diseased tree. You know what happens? The fungus goes into the other roots, and then you have two trees, and eventually you can have the whole area just be killed off by a fungus that was not stopped in time. And then he goes on and he uses the example. He says, Lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected. For he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears. He was too far gone.

It says in verse 18, For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to the blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore, when they heard the voice of God. For they could not endure what was commanded, and if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow. And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, I am exceedingly afraid and trembling. But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God. And you're looking at God the Father and Jesus Christ up in heaven. You're not looking at a physical mountain anymore. This is a far greater commitment that we are making. The heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the General Assembly and Church of the First Born, who are registered in heaven. In other words, their names are already there in the Book of Life. They're going to be resurrected when Christ comes back. To God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men, made perfect. So God preserves them. Their spirit, to one day be resurrected, to Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel, talking about the Passover again. Let's go to Matthew, no, to Luke 8, verse 14 and 15. The parable of the thorns.

And the tares. Luke 8, verse 14 and 15.

Jesus says here, Now the ones that fell among thorns, those that are called by God, He's opened their minds to God's truths, and they're converted, are those who when they heard go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.

So those that fell among what? Among the thorns. So society can put out God's spirit in a person. Can be gradually or suddenly. This depends on how deep the problem is.

So we have to contend with the thorns and thistles of this world.

But in God's kingdom, there won't be any more thorns or thistles. Notice in Isaiah 55, this is why we always are looking for God's kingdom. That's the goal. That's our hope. In Isaiah 55, verse 12. It says, For you shall go out with joy. This is describing when God's kingdom is in place here on earth. And be led out with peace. The mountains and the hills shall break forth in singing before you. And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. It be the time of so much joy. The fertility will increase so much. Instead of the thorn, shall come up the cypress tree. And instead of the brier, shall come up the myrtle tree. And it shall be to the Lord for a name, For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

So it's talking here about a time like Eden that will be restored again. Notice in Isaiah 51, verse 3.

Isaiah 51, verse 3, it says, For the Lord will comfort Zion. That's where his headquarters will be. He will comfort all her waste places. He will make her wilderness like Eden. Restore the fertility, the beauty. As originally at the Garden of Eden. And her desert like the Garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in it. Thanksgiving and the voice of melody. Listen to me, my people, and give ear to me, O my nation.

For law will proceed from me. So he's not abolishing it. And I will make my justice rest as a light of the peoples. My righteousness is near. My salvation has gone forth, and my arms will judge the peoples. In Isaiah 51, verse 3, in the easy reading version, has it even clearer? It says, In the same way the Lord will bless Zion. He will feel sorry for her and her people. And he will do something great for her. He will turn the desert into a garden.

It will be like the Garden of Eden. The land was empty, but it will become like the Lord's garden. People there will be happy. They will sing victory songs to thank God for what He did. So it's a wonderful time that is coming. Let's go to Revelation 21. As we start winding down this message, Revelation 21, verse 3, even after the millennium, when God the Father comes back to the earth, it says, Revelation 21, verse 3, It says, And I heard a loud voice from heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, no more thorns, to cause us pain, for the former things have passed away. Then He who sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new, the next stage that God has in store. And He said to me, Write, for these words are true and faithful. And He said to me, It is done. I am the Alpha, the Omega, the Beginning, and the End.

I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to Him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be His God, and He shall be my Son. So the word here overcomes, Nikau, in the Greek, that's where, Nike, the famous shoe, that term means overcoming. And so we have here the crown of thorns and the future crown of glory. We're not going to gain that crown of glory without having some crown of thorn that we have to overcome. Notice, He will inherit all things. He will receive the crown of glory. But what happens to the thorns and thistles, evil people who never change?

Verse 8, But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, saucers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. And there are people that make a habit of lying, and they just bring up false stories, they bring up all kinds of things, and eventually something a person has to overcome, because if it becomes what they call inveterate lying, then this is the end result of a person like that, because a person doesn't want to learn the truth.

They will twist the truth, and the fate is not good at all. Let's go to the last scripture in Hebrews 2, verses 9 and 11. Hebrews 2, verses 9 and 11. We see here the story of Jesus Christ, what he came to do. It says, verse 9, In heaven crowned him with a crown of glory and honor, that he, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone, not for a few, for everyone who wants to accept that sacrifice. What we do every time we take the Passover. We're again reminding God, yes, we're committed. We're continuing with this covenant through Christ's sacrifice. Verse 10, For it was fitting for him, talking about Jesus Christ, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory.

I want to correct it, because it was fitting for him, talking about God the Father, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons of glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. That's describing Jesus Christ. For both he, talking about Jesus Christ, who sanctifies, and those who are being sanctified, are all of one, for which reason, he is not ashamed to call them brethren. Christ is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters of him. Yes, Christ overcame. He had to wear a crown of thorns before he received his crown of glory.

And as we take the Passover, let's appreciate so much what Christ did for all of us, and we will have to go through much suffering in this life, because first comes a crown of thorns before we can receive God's crown of glory.