True Royalty

 True Royalty

Soldiers’ scourged
forty stripes -
minus one.
Shredded skin
torn from him.

Reed in hand

just able to stand
in purple clad
before a crowd
gone mad. 

A thorny crown

thrust on his brow
to cause him pain
and mock his claim
“Hail! King of the Jews!”

Soldiers’ scow

as they  bow.
cruel parody
too blind to see
True Royalty.

Chin on chest

arms outstretched
“It is finished,”
falls
from parched lips.

The blameless

convicted
crucified
pierced his side
buried him.

And then…

The third day
He rose again!
Death conquered!
Sin overcome!

Sacrifice
to Savior.
Rebel to
Redeemer.
Hail! Christ the King!

While writing this poem, I learned something I have never known and it reminded me that nothing is coincidence with God and that everything in the Word has meaning.

Did you know that when the Roman soldiers wove the crown of thorns and forced it on Jesus’ head that their intent was perhaps a malicious parody of the civic crown worn by the emperor? The civic crown was a garland of oak leaves plaited to form a crown. If you think about it, I am sure you can think of at least one movie where you saw a Roman emperor wearing this leafy coronet. It was a military decoration presented by soldiers to those who had saved lives of Roman citizens. The citizen saved must admit that they were saved by this person. No one else could be a witness. The civic crown was regarded as the second highest military honor and had become an imperial insignia since Augustus, who in his time was hailed as “Savior of the World”. The irony. . .

Do you ever wonder what happened to that crown of thorns? I know what the internet claims happened over Roman history and maybe it is true, I don’t know. What I am asking is in the moments right after the Crucifixion, as they lowered the Savior’s body from the cross, what do you think happened to the thorny crown? The soldiers divided his clothes, casting lots for his seamless coat.  Did one of them keep the crown as well? Maybe the soldier who pierced his side picked it up in awe. Perhaps Pontius Pilate ordered it to be brought to him as a reminder of the Messiah. Or maybe Mary, the mother of Jesus, with tear-stained face, gingerly removed the thorny crown from the Savior’s head and clutched the crown to her breast as her son was carried away, ignoring the barbs biting into her own flesh. Did a disciple remove it and then hurl it away in anger, as far as he could from the scene of sorrow and sacrifice? Or did the beloved disciple, John, carry it with him and eventually leave it in the hands of the church at Mt. Zion? I can’t help but wonder . . . what happened to the crown stained with the blood of the Holy One?
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My Lord, my Redeemer, my King I bow to You in humble adoration and with repentant spirit; Your unworthy servant. The thought that You loved me, even before I was born, even before the earth was born, is unfathomable.  I thank You with all that is within me for Your willing sacrifice and can not wait until the day I see You face to face as I bow before Your throne. Thanks to You, our bridge to heaven, that future day is not a wish or a dream, but a reality.  Thank You Jesus! ~ Amen