Good Friday: The Wrong Crown

When I imagine heaven, I imagine pure peace and pure joy. I imagine a place where no distress can reach the heart. I imagine a transcendent happiness that lifts us beyond the reach of tears.

While this picture of heaven certainly seems to be true by the end of Revelation, something happens near the beginning of Revelation that challenges this utopian view.

In Revelation 5:2, a “strong angel” asks a piercing question: “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” What scroll is the angel referring to? It’s the one “in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne” (v. 1). What is so significant about this scroll that is in the hand of God? We learn as we read further in Revelation that the scroll contains God’s plan for the end of the age, for the final overthrow of darkness and evil on the earth. To open the scroll and loose its seals is to irrevocably set that plan in motion. Whoever is worthy to open the scroll is the one worthy to execute the plan.

After the angel asks his question, it seems a search is made, but to no avail: “And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look at it” (v. 3). This is a terrible moment, because without a worthy candidate, the plan of God doesn’t get unlocked. It remains a mystery in the heavens while evil rules upon the earth. Appropriately, John weeps: “So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it” (v. 4). Remember, that John is in a heavenly place when these tears descend from his eyes. And they were not just a few tears. He “wept much.”

As he cries, a nearby elder interrupts John with good news: “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals” (v. 5). This is a glorious moment, and it, no doubt, filled John with curiosity. Who is the worthy one? Who is the Lion that has prevailed? As John lifts his gaze in wonder, he sees something that he did not expect. Rather than seeing a Lion, he sees a Lamb: “And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain . . .” (v. 6). I can only imagine John’s surprise. Surely, he is mistaken in what he sees. Could this slain Lamb really be the Lion? Could this weak creature really be the worthy One? What John sees next blows all his doubt away: “Then He [the Lamb] came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne” (v. 7). The Lamb was not only declared worthy by the elder, but also entrusted by God to take, open, read, and execute His plan for the earth.

What is it about this slain Lamb that made Him worthy of such trust? John soon hears a heavenly song that declares the reason: “You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain . . .” (v. 9). He is worthy because He was slain. It was His obedience in the face of death that proved His trustworthiness to take the scroll. Because God can trust Him to obey when it means suffering, He can also trust Him to obey when it means power. Because God can trust Him to serve, He can also trust Him to rule. Because Jesus was willing to wear the wrong crown, God can trust Him to wear the right crown.

As the soldiers prepared Jesus for His crucifixion, the mockingly crown Him King: “And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe” (John 19:2). This crown is not the one He deserves to wear. This crown should have been worn by fallen man–not by the perfect Man. When Adams sins in the garden, God tells him that “thorns and thistles” will frustrate his work, causing the sweat of his brow (Gen. 3:18, 19). Rather than thorns piercing Jesus’ brow, they should have pierced Pilate’s, Caesar’s, Herod’s, and any other man’s who would presume to rule. However, Jesus wears the crown of thorns so that He might inherit something different.

When Jesus descends from heaven in Revelation 19:12, notice what He is wearing: “His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head are many crowns . . . .” Where do all these crowns come from? Perhaps, they are all the crowns through all the ages that man wore without being deserving. Perhaps, they are all finally placed upon the only worthy One. Perhaps, it is His reward for submitting Himself to death. Perhaps, it is His inheritance, unlocked through His obedience to the Father.

Most of the time, Good Friday makes us think about our own salvation. Atonement and redemption are the themes prominent in our minds. And I 100% agree that they should be. The cross says a lot about us, and what God has done for us. At the same time, I encourage you this Good Friday to consider what the cross says about Jesus–about His worth, His obedience, His beauty, His trustworthiness. He is worthy of our adoration and God’s commission because He was slain. Because He wore the wrong crown, He is worthy of every crown.

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Devotional by Pastor Micah Wood