The Crown Came Before the Crown

"They twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head." (Matthew 27:29)

The soldiers meant it as an insult. They wanted a king, so they made Him a crown out of the worst thing they could find.

What they didn't know is that they were telling the truth. He was a King. And that crown is a big part of the reason we still call Him one.

Here's what stops me every time I read it. There are two crowns in this story. The thorns came first. The glory came after. Not instead of. After.

"For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2)

Endured, then sat down. That's the order, and it's not an accident.

I think a lot of us are quietly hoping to skip the first crown. I know I have. When I started this brand I pictured the good part. The orders coming in, the pieces on real people, the thing working. I did not picture the nights of doubting whether any of it mattered, or wondering if I had any business doing this at all.

Nobody puts that part on the shelf. But that part is where the faith actually got built.

We want the calling without the cost. The testimony without the season that made it. The kind of faith that holds up under pressure, without ever being under any.

And when the hard part shows up anyway, we assume we messed up somewhere. That we took a wrong turn and God let go.

But thorns are not proof that God left. In this story, they are the road He chose to walk.

I named this brand TheRisenKing on purpose. Risen means something came before. There is no resurrection without a burial. There is no crown of glory without a crown of thorns.

So if you're in the thorns right now, hear me. That is not where your story ends. That is the part that comes before.

Next week I want to take you to a garden called Gethsemane, the night before any of this happened. Because before Jesus ever wore that crown, He knelt in the dirt and asked His Father if there was any other way.

His answer to that prayer changes how you pray for the rest of your life.

Austin
Founder, TheRisenKing