Gold->Thorns

Traded a crown of gold for a crown of thorns

Hands that held the world now hold nails

Laid down His throne for the cross

A servant King

The only One deserving of life

Endured darkness and death

Not for selfish gain

But to lovingly save

He knew

He knew

The thorns must be crowned for mercy

The cross must be carried for grace

The nails must be hammered for love

He stooped low

To the lowest of lows

Not for Him

But for me

That I may live

That I may see my Father one day

That sin would not define me

Chains could break

Life could be lived

Death could be defeated

Heaven could be crowded

The King chose thorns over gold

A cross over a robe

~Thorns Turned to Glory~

Good Friday was always hard for me as a kid. Feeling the uncomfortable weight of what Jesus bore because of my sin was difficult. But, as I grew older, I realized there could be no joy of resurrection without the sorrow of His crucifixion. Hope would be gone, joy would be silenced. I realized that while it may haven been the darkest day in history, it is oh so worth remembering. Remembering that is what I deserve. That is where I would be. Remembering that without His sacrifice, we all would have endured our own crosses. Good Friday is good, not just because Sunday is coming, but because we know what He defeated on that cross. A King who deserved and deserves all the respect, honor, glory, acceptance, and royal treatments instead received lash after lash. Spit, blood, mockery, a death of an extreme criminal. With every lash He knew. With every pounding nail, He knew. With every drop of blood, He knew. He knew it was for you. The only One who could save. The only perfect, spotless Lamb. Our Passover Lamb Who bled so our scarlet sins could be covered and wiped clean. We would have no access to God without Jesus's sacrifice, for God cannot be in the presence of sin. Forever thankful for my King who chose a crown of thorns. The King who could have left the chasm between us and left us in our sin, but chose the most difficult choice. The most gruesome death in history. 39 lashes. Mocked. Crowned with thorns. Nailed. Pierced. A death and punishment that no ordinary man could bear. He bore.

He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

-Isaiah 53:3-5