Difference between revisions of "Crown Of Thorns"

<p> <b> [[Crown]] OF [[Thorns]] </b> <b> ( </b> στέφανος ἐξ ἀκανθῶν or ἀκάνθινος στέφανος, &nbsp;Matthew 27:29, &nbsp;Mark 15:17, &nbsp;John 19:2; &nbsp;John 19:5).—This was plaited by the soldiers and placed on Christ’s head in mockery of His claim to Kingship, after [[Pilate]] had condemned Him to be scourged. It was a garland hastily twisted from the twigs of some thorny plant, which it is difficult now to identify. Tristram ( <i> Nat. Hist. of the Bible </i> , p. 429) supposes it was the thorn-tree or <i> nubk </i> of the Arabs, which is very common in the warmer parts of Palestine. It abounds near Jerusalem, grows to a great size; its twigs are tough and pliant, and the spikes very sharp and numerous. Others incline to think it was the <i> Zizyphus Spina-christi </i> , a spiny plant covered with sharp prickles. The purpose of the soldiers was rather, perhaps, mockery of the [[Jews]] than cruelty to Christ. Pliny speaks ( <i> HN </i> ) of ‘the meanest of crowns, a thorny one.’ </p> <p> In the writings of St. Paul a crown is promised to faithful followers of Christ, and in many parts of the NT Christ Himself is spoken of as wearing a crown. Sometimes the word for a victor’s wreath is used (στέφανος), and sometimes that for a royal crown (διάδημα).* [Note: The distinction between στέφανος, the badge of merit, and διάδημα, the badge of royalty, is not consistently observed in [[Hellenistic]] Greek (see Encyc. Bibl. i. 963).] The emblematic significance, afterwards seen by the Church in the crown of thorns, is possibly hinted at in &nbsp;Hebrews 2:9 ‘crowned with glory and honour.’ As a sacrificial victim, in being led out to death, often wore a garland of flowers, so Jesus, in the eyes of God and His own disciples, even in suffering the deepest humiliation, wears a crown of glory. In the death of Christ His Church sees mankind crowned with life, because the law of sin and death was thereby abrogated, and the [[Kingdom]] of heaven opened to all believers. The thorns with which a hostile world pierced the Saviour’s brows are an emblem of the sin of man, the curse of thistles and thorns having been threatened after the Fall (see Dr. H. Macmillan’s <i> [[Ministry]] of Nature </i> , ch. v., where this idea is finely worked out). But these wounds become the world’s salvation. Through the sinful cruelty of man new life comes to a condemned world. God thus makes the wrath of man to praise Him. What was meant as derision is really a prediction of glory. See also art. Thorn. </p> <p> David M. W. Laird. </p>

<p> '''Crown of Thorns.''' Our Lord was crowned in mockery by the Roman soldiers. &nbsp;Matthew 27:29; &nbsp;Mark 15:17; &nbsp;John 19:2. It is questioned whether this was only mockery, or whether it was specially intended for additional torture. Such a crown, it is clear, must have been made of some plant that would readily twist into a wreath. The large-leaved acanthus would not: hardly would the ''Spina Christi,'' as it is called, with strong sharp thorns. Hasselquist imagines the thorn in question the [[Arabian]] ''Nubk,'' a very common plant, "with many small and sharp spines, soft, round, and pliant branches; leaves much resembling ivy, of a very deep green, as if in designed mockery of a victor's wreath." </p>

<p> '''''thôrnz''''' ( ἀκάνθινος στέφανος , <i> '''''akánthinos stéphanos''''' </i> ): three of the four evangelists mention the crown of thorns, wherewith the rude Roman soldiers derided the captive Christ (&nbsp;Matthew 27:29; &nbsp;Mark 15:17; &nbsp;John 19:2 ). All speak of the akanthine (AcanThus) crown, but there is no certainty about the peculiar plant, from the branches of which this crown of cruel mockery was plaited. The rabbinical books. mention no less than twenty-two words in the Bible signifying thorny plants, and the word <i> '''''ákantha''''' </i> in the New [[Testament]] Greek is a generic and not a specific term. And this word or its adjective is used in the three Gospels, quoted above. It is therefore impossible definitely to determine what was the exact plant or tree, whose thorny branches were selected for this purpose. Tobler ( <i> Denkbl </i> ., 113, 179) inclines to the <i> Spina [[Christi]] </i> , as did Hasselquist. Its botanical name is <i> Zizyphus Spina Christi </i> , It is very common in the East. Its spines are small and sharp, its branches soft, round and pliable, and the leaves look like ivy, with a dark, shiny green color, making them therefore very adaptable to the purpose of the soldiers. Others have designated the <i> Paliurus aculeatus </i> or the <i> Lycium horridum </i> . Both Geikie ( <i> Life of Christ </i> , 549) and Farrar ( <i> Life of Christ </i> , note 625) point to the Nubk ( <i> Zizyphus lotus </i> ). Says the latter, "The Nubk struck me, as it has all travelers in Palestine, as being most suitable both for mockery and pain, since its leaves are bright and its thorns singularly strong. But though the Nubk is very common on the shores of Galilee, I saw none of it near Jerusalem." The settlement of the question is manifestly impossible. </p>