The Crown that broke the Curse

The “Crown that broke the Curse” was inspired by a fascinating teaching by Mike Winger, “The Mystery of the High Priest’s Garments”. Initially, I drew sketches of the simple, golden crown worn by the High Priest mentioned in Exodus 28:36-38. Engraved on the front of this crown were the words “Holy to the Lord” written in Hebrew … a foreshadow of the crown that the Messiah will one day wear as King of Kings.

But then another crown came to life on the page - the twisted, thorny crown forced upon Jesus by His Roman captors the night before his crucifixion. While mocking His title, “King of the Jews”, they clothed Him in a purple robe, put a reed in His hand and a crown of long thorns on his head (John 19).

In the Scriptures, there are two types of Messiah mentioned – the Suffering Servant and the Reigning King. In this painting, we see the Son of God fulfilling some of the prophecies in the Tenach (Old Testament), of a Messiah who chose to suffer for the sins of His People and for the rest of the world:

Messiah was to be silent before His accusers – Isaiah 53:7

Messiah was to be struck and spat upon by His enemies – Isaiah 50:6

Messiah was to be mocked and insulted – Psalm 22:7-8

So why the thorns and thistles in the picture?

Genesis 3 tells the story of paradise lost by the willfulness of human sin. Deceived by the enemy of their souls, Adam and Eve came under a curse when they listened to the serpent’s promptings. Not only did they come under a curse however, but the Scriptures reveal that the ground itself was cursed.

God said to Adam:

“Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.”

Thorns and thistles are a graphic symbol of the desolation, pain and suffering that came upon a once perfect world. This ties in with Romans 8:22 which says:

“For the whole of creation groans and labours with birth pangs together until now.”

As we look at the state of the world – a Coronavirus pandemic, a sharp increase in hurricanes, earthquakes, floods and fires – we see that the birth pangs are increasing in intensity and frequency. What does this mean? It is a sure sign that the Messiah is going to return soon. Jesus predicted that His Second Coming would take place during times of great world turbulence; read Matthew chapter 24 for a fuller picture. *

I think it’s interesting that the word “Corona” comes from the Latin word meaning “crown”. Sadly, this is a crown of evil that has affected millions of people; lives have been lost, many have been retrenched from their jobs and normal life has come to a standstill.

When Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, He broke the power of sin and death, hence the nails in my painting piercing the thistle. However, it will only be at His Second Coming, that we will experience the full manifestation of the effects of His sacrifice. At that time, those who have surrendered their lives to Him, will experience a new heaven and a new earth (Isaiah 65:17-25); a beautiful place without sickness, sadness or decay. The earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord and the curse that has been a shadow over our planet, will finally be broken. In Isaiah 28 verse 5 it says: "In that day the Lord of hosts will be for a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty to the remnant of His People ..."

*Tony Pearce wrote about this in his booklet: 10 Signs of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ