READ: GENESIS 3:14-21; JOHN 19:1-22

As an author, I love being able to write full circle endings—when all the loose ends are tied up and the reader is satisfied by the end. There are a lot of full circle moments in the Bible that are so easily skipped over because we don’t always understand their significance.

One of those moments is when a crown of thorns is placed on Jesus’s head. You may have read this before. It’s part of the Easter story, just before Jesus is put onto the cross. It was a crown meant to make fun of Jesus, to mock Him for being the “King of the Jews.”

To understand this full circle moment, we have to go back to Genesis 3. When Adam and Eve rejected God and disobeyed His good ways, the world was subjected to the curse of sin, death, and suffering. Part of that curse, mentioned in verse 18, is that the ground produced thorns and thistles. Here’s the full circle part— thorns remind us of the curse of sin and death. They remind us of the pain and brokenness sin causes.

When the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and pressed it onto Jesus’s head, it was like the curse of sin was being placed on Him. He took that curse away from us, along with all our sins, when He died on that cross. And then, He rose from the dead in victory, promising to one day return and put an end to sin and death, destroying the curse forever. How amazing is it that we have a God who loves us so much that He willingly wore the curse of sin as He died to save us? • Kimberly Brokish

• Consider taking a moment to picture Jesus as the crown of thorns is pressed into His head…the blood flowing down His temples, the soldiers beating and spitting on His torn flesh, the crowds shouting for His crucifixion. “While we were still sinners,” Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). He freed us from the ugliness of our sin— because He loves us. Yes, we will struggle with sin until Jesus returns, but His forgiveness is sure. (If you want to dig deeper, read Matthew 27:27-31; Mark 15:16-20.)

• Throughout the entire Bible, God points us again and again to the promise of Jesus’s return, when He will put an end to sin and make all things new. Then everyone who has put their trust in Jesus will live with Him in renewed creation, forever free of the curse (Revelation 21:1-5). As we live in a world that is still full of sin and its effects, how could we encourage each other with the hope of Jesus, that His sacrifice gives us freedom? (Romans 8:18-25)

The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him. “Hail! King of the Jews!” they mocked, as they slapped him across the face. John 19:2-3 (NLT)