Freeimages.com (2002), CC0 Public Domain[/caption]
Who made the crown of thorns?
Have you ever wondered about the person who made the crown of thorns placed on Jesus' precious head? These sharp protrusions create a protection for the plant, brutal to anyone who touches them. So who got the job of fetching and creating this horrid crown of torture?
How did they choose which soldier would make the crown of thorns? It surely wasn't a high-ranking soldier or official. Certainly, it would not be one that was a favorite or popular among the troops. This unfortunate person possibly was one least liked, or that got in trouble frequently. Maybe it was a soldier they just disliked and picked on. Possibly a child, snatched from the street ... probably not; the Bible tells us the soldiers wove it.
I find it hard to imagine that the unlucky person was ready and willing to do such a chore. Surely his hands and arms were pretty torn up in the process of gathering, cutting, and weaving the thorny branches and placing it onto our Lord's sacred forehead. I just imagine.
The thorns did not seem to affect this soldier that I am aware of. In the pictures depicting the placing -- rather, thrusting -- of the thorn crown on Christ's suffering head, I do not recall bloody hands of the soldier ... just the newly released streams from our Lord. There seems to not be an interest in the pain that was inflicted upon the unfortunate soldier who created this crown. But thinking about the reality of dealing with thorny bushes, one cannot escape a scratch or two, if not a puncture. Believe it or not, the crown of thorns was not officially part of the torture; it was meant as a piece of mockery as the soldiers spat and flogged Christ as “King of the Jews.”
The explanation in Matthew 27:29 in my New American Bible says, "probably of long thorns that stood upright so that it resembled the "radiant" crown, a diadem with spikes worn by Hellenistic kings. The soldiers' purpose was mockery, not torture." Still in all, why not make one of soft leafy branches or at least just plain woven reeds that didn't add to the heinous treatment of Our Lord?
Back to the soldier, the scars that remained on his hands would be a reminder of what happened that day. When Christ gave up his soul in a cry, the temple curtain ripped in two, and the sky grew dark in midday, the horror of the reality hit several witnesses. At that moment, many eyes of belief were opened that day, soldiers' included. Did this soldier realize what happened? Did he look at his hands and realize his part?
No one knows; no one will ever know, except perhaps, the soldier.
Copyright 2018 Ebeth
About the Author
.png?width=1806&height=731&name=CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c%20(002).png "CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c (002)"){kind=logo}
Comments