Crown of Thorns

GOD'S PROVIDED WAY OF DEALING WITH SIN PHOENIX AZ 54-0305

E-28 028 Then I can see the most dramatic picture of all the Bible. I can see that great Jehovah God, Who covered all of space and all of time, where you could look forever and forever, and never see the beginning of His being or the ending of Him.

I can see it all coming down like a funnel in the four little letters, love. He could not bare to see His son and daughter going away in disgrace. Then he said, "I'll put enmity between thy seed and the serpent seed."

Let's change our picture for a few moments and take it four thousand years later. Let's stand in the city of Jerusalem, God dealing with sin now, His way of judgment. And then in the city of Jerusalem I can hear coming down the streets something dragging across the cobble stones, a howling mob like a bunch of wolves crying for a lamb's blood. I look coming down the street, I see a frail little thin Fellow, a crown of thorns on His head and the blood running down His face, blood all over His tracks...

REDEMPTION BY POWER LVL KY 54-0329

126 048 How people paint His picture sometime, with a robe around Him, or something another, on the cross. That is not so. They disposed that Man of every foul, vulgar thing that they could; but He had to be. There He was, the highest and loyalest of all the world, that ever was or will be, and then exposed, naked, on the cross: wounded, smitten, bleeding, gobs of mockery spit hanging from His face, a mocking crown of thorns on His head. But there's when He conquered death, hell, sin, sickness, and the grave, and paid the price for us all.

It's often said, sometime, "There's where He took the sting out of death."

That's where Paul said, "O death, where is your sting?"

I've been told that many insects, bees and things, they've got a stinger, and they're poison with it. But one time they sting, they lose their stinger.

Death had a sting in it one time, but Christ on Calvary took the stinger out of death. Hallelujah. Oh, when I think of it, there He pulled the stinger out of death for me and you, all the sting of death.

REDEMPTION BY POWER LVL KY 54-0329

178 068 Then I seen myself. I seen my Lord Jesus standing there with a crown of thorns on His head, and the tears running down, mixed up with Blood, as it washed off of His beard. And I seen my sins coming before Him. And every time they would come before Him like that... [Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.]... till He was shaking. The thorns would stick in His brow more. He'd stagger back. He'd say, "Father, forgive him; he don't know what he's doing." And again I would do something, and then His Blood was like the bumper on the car, protecting the car, a shielding me from the wrath of God, undeserving.

And I come to Him slowly, knelt down to Him. I said... Looked down there, laying in front of me, and there was an old book of sin, and my name wrote across the top. I said, "Lord, will You forgive me?"

"Certainly," He said with loving eyes; reached to His side, got some Blood out, and wrote on it, "Pardoned," and throwed it back in the Sea of Forgetfulness. He said, "Now..."

I said, "Thank You, Lord."

He said, "Now, I forgive you; and you're condemning her." Oh, that changed the picture for me.

GOD'S SERVANT JOB PHOENIX AZ 55-0223

E-70 070 No wonder Job said, "I know my Redeemer liveth, at the last day He's going to stand upon the earth. And though the skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. I'll see Him for myself; my eyes shall behold and not another."

Do you believe it tonight? Our time's a swayed from us. Oh, how the Holy Spirit seem to be moving in my heart. I can't think of nothing, friends, nothing no greater, than how that Jesus come down here on earth and made the way of redemption, and fulfilled every plan, plumb from the garden of Eden, way before that. Before the foundation of the world, Jehovah spoke, and here come Jesus taking His pl--taking the p--spot, and went out here, and come, and died, was made sin that you could be saved. How could you reject such matchless love as that blessed Redeemer, hanging yonder, the gobs of spit in His face, mockery and scandalized, and a crown of thorns on His head, an innocent Man, dying yonder, and the Blood dripping from Emmanuel's veins, where sinners can plunge beneath the flood, and lose all their guilty stains.

ARK THE JEFF IN 55-0522

154 053 There He is. Now, look at Him. The gold crown, does that represent Christ? Yes. When Christ was here on earth, He was crowned with a crown of thorns to shed the Blood. That's right. But every believer that comes through that shed Blood, pulls forth that crown of thorns and crowns Him with the glory of praises and honor. Every believer that steps into His Presence, accepts that Blood from His pressed brow here with thorns, and crowns Him with glory and praises and majesty, as King of kings, as Healer, as Alpha, Omega, as the Beginning and Ending, as the Counselor, the Prince of Peace, the mighty God, the everlasting Father.

RECONCILIATION THROUGH FELLOWSHIP STURGIS MI 56-0120

E-69 069 I hear something dragging, and I look. There comes an old rugged cross, dragging down over them cobblestones. I see the meat wearing off of His shoulders as He pulled along with a crown of thorns over His face here, and the Blood, mockery spit hanging down His face, and His... see them mocking, they'd strip, going to strip Him in a few minutes, so they throwed His robe over Him, wove out without a seam, that they'd woven for Him, Martha and Mary. And here He comes dragging the cross down, staggering and bleeding, making a bloody footprint, to the only place that God will ever recognize a weary sinner to come, coming by the footprints of the Lord Jesus, through the shed Blood.

MIGHTY CONQUEROR MIDDLETOWN OH 58-0329

E-17 017 When He was on earth, He was a great Conqueror. And then He conquered something else. That was the cross. And the cross was death. It was a symbol of public execution. And there He goes. Let's take a look at Him just a moment. And oh, you, my friend, tonight, you who are standing till your feet's a hurting, you who've been setting in here for hours, let's take a look.

There He goes up Golgotha. There's a noise in the street. I can hear some of them say, "There goes that religious fanatic. That goes the one who broke up our churches." Listen at them. And I can see Him as He's going up the hill, and His little old pale face all swollen, and gobs of mockery spit hanging from His beard. A crown of thorns has been placed on His head, and Blood, and hot tears of sorrow dripped off His cheek. Isn't that some way to conquer?

FROM THAT TIME TULSA OK 60-0331

E-28 028 Let's take a trip to Jerusalem for a moment. It's on a terrible morning. The sun looks funny. When the morning sacrifice was offered, the smoke from the brazen altar, instead of going up to God, He refused it. It was hanging over city. It was a gloomy looking time.

We're standing in an upper room. I hear a noise. There's been a riot down in Pilot's judgment hall since early, about three o'clock. There's been a riot down there. What is it? Let's go to the window; I hear a noise. Pull back the curtains. I hear something bumping along the street as you go out towards Golgotha. There comes a Man coming down the street, old rugged cross on His shoulders, bearing it, dragging on the back, bumping over those hard stones. And rubbing the place, meat off of His shoulders, a crown of thorns on His head, mixed with tears and blood streaming down His face, with mockery soldiers spit all over His beard, where there's face bleeding, where they jerked the handfuls of beard out of His face... Old cross dragging out the bloody footprints as He walked down the street...

I noticed on His back, He's got a robe across His shoulders, wove throughout without a seam. There's little red dots all over that coat. As He goes on up the hill, those dots get bigger and bigger and bigger, spreading. After while, they all run into one great big splosh.

GOD'S PROVIDED APPROACH TO FELLOWSHIP TULSA OK 60-0630

E-44 044 Some nineteen hundred years ago, over Calvary... Let's take a little view for a few minutes as we're passing on. It was one horrible morning. Oh, there never was a morning, and never will be like that. They'd been a trial that morning--a mock trial--in the courts. And a innocent Man had been condemned. And I see now--hear an old something bumping over the street, going out towards Calvary. And as I look, there was a little Fellow... The Bible said, "There's not no beauty that we should desire Him." He had a cross on His shoulders, and the Blood streaked across His back, and a--a mocking crown of thorns on His face, and the spittle of the cruel drunken soldiers hanging off his face, dragging down the street, the old cross dragging out the bloody footprints of the Bearer. As He starts up the mountain, I see His garment just soaked in Blood, splashing against the sides of His leg, a sight that no man that ever knowed what that meant could look at it and it remain the same. There He was.

Oh, the devil always doubted Him. The devil thought He was just a prophet. The devil was sure then, that that was just a prophet, because "How could God ever let somebody spit in His face? How could God ever be beat into--into a pulp?" Why, it was the same reason it couldn't be a prophet. It couldn't be an Angel. It had to be God. Who come to hunt His lost child in the garden of Eden? Did He send an Angel? Did He send a prophet? He came Hisself. That's how God came manifested in the flesh in the Person of His Son, Jesus Christ.

GOD'S PROVIDED APPROACH TO FELLOWSHIP TULSA OK 60-0630

E-45 045 Here He goes up the hill, pulling the cross. And the bee of death begin to buzz around Him. Then I--I--you know, "I seen Him up there, he...?... quoted some Scripture to me, but I'm sure now, He's nothing but a man, because, look: Could God let somebody spit in His face and get by with it?" He did it for your sake. He did it. He didn't have to do it, but He did it for my sake and your sake. He did it, that He might sanctify and cleanse us from sin, He might give us an example of how to be humble and how to live right, how to offer the other cheek, or go the second mile, or--or give the coat to the brother that needed it. He practiced what religion was, Jehovah's religion... He--He--He had it in Him. And there He was, going up the hill.

And I can see that old bumble bee of death, whirling around Him, looking Him over good. Said, "Look at there. Could God ever be that? Could that be Emmanuel? Certainly not, it could not be. He'd never let somebody spit in His face, and put a mocking crown of thorns over His head, and give Him a false scepter in His hand, and beat His back into a pulp. You know that's nothing but a prophet. He's done me a lot of trouble, so I'll certainly get him in a few minutes at Calvary."

GOD'S PROVIDED WAY FELLOWSHIP KLAMATH FALLS OR 60-0709

E-69 069 Oh, if people could only realize what human life is worth. Let's look what a cross and what a cost it was. In closing, let me say this, and listen quietly. Let's take ourselves to Jerusalem nineteen hundred years ago, and compare it with the garden of Eden.

I'll say it's along in the morning about seven o'clock; I hear a howling mob. I go to the window with this congregation now by faith. I raise up the--the sash and throw the shutters back. What's the matter? I see a little figure dipped over, like this, and pulling a cross up the street, and--and they're whipping Him. And the--the mockery spit of the soldiers is hanging in His face from drunk all night long, stinking. I see a crown of thorns pulled down across His brow, and Blood and tears mixed. I see a robe across His body without a seam in it, great big red dots all over His coat, and the Roman soldiers a whipping Him as He goes up the hill. He drags along. Oh, what a sight! That old cross rubbing the hide off His shoulders as He goes up the street. And them making fun of Him, hollering, "Hail, King of the Jews!"

INDICTMENT THE JEFF IN 63-0707

46-4 112 Think of it: His hardest pierces comes from the pulpit. That's where His new Calvary's at. They crucify Him, the Word, at the pulpit. That's right. How? How do they do it? By their forms of godliness. That's exactly.

Crowned, from the audience by scoffers; He's got a new crown of thorns. Scoffers, pierced from the pulpit, crowned by the scoffers... Is He crucified again afresh? Striped by manmade creeds, teachers of denomination against His Word. They stripe It, in shame condemn It.

Jesus said, "In vain they worship Me." In vain... Don't do no good. Who do they worship? They worship that same God. They was worshipping that same God at His first crucifixion, and it was vain worship. It's the same thing today. In vain they build these denominations. In vain they build these seminaries. In vain they have these creeds, teaching for doctrine the commandments of men and denying the Word of God. They're guilty of crucifying the Prince of Life, teaching men's doctrines for His Word. "In vain they worship Me": striped, pierced, crowned.

LOOK AWAY TO JESUS JEFF IN 63-1229E

34-4 094 Pilate looked one time when they brought Him. He'd never seen Him before: His hands tied, blood running out of His back, a crown of thorns on His head. Pilate looked and was convinced; because a horse come galloping down the street, and a rider jumped off, and run over, and said, "Here the wife has sent you a letter."

And he looked at it and she said, "Pilate, my beloved husband, have nothing to do with that just Man. For today I've suffered many things in a dream because of Him."

He trembled; his knees beat together, and he said, "If you are the Son of God, if you are the king, why don't you speak up? Are you the King of Israel?"

He said, "You have said it."

Said, "Tell us the truth."

He said, "To this end I was born." And Pilate marvelled. He'd all, everybody was begging and crying at His feet. He said, "I have power to kill you, or I have power to release you."

He said, "You have power of nothing, 'less it be give to you of My Father."

PROVING HIS WORD LA CA 65-0426

28 012 I want to speak just for a few moments, and that will be just a few moments, 'cause I want to get them people with the prayer cards up here and pray for them. And omitting any other thing but just praying for the sick... But before we pray for the sick, we've got to get the people in that attitude. It's the attitude that always brings the results. It's the attitude that you take towards God.

Here's a woman touched His garment; she was healed with a blood issue. A soldier spit in His face, and put a crown of thorns on His head, and felt no virtue. It's your approach. The attitude is what it takes. And that's what it is tonight, dear friend; it takes the attitude. We are, and believe that we are in the Presence of Jesus Christ, but it's your attitude that brings the results. The mechanics is here and so is the dynamics. If you can just get started, God will do the rest.