As we reflect on the profound meaning of Easter, we’re invited to consider the transformative power of crowns – not the glittering kind adorning royalty, but the symbolic crowns we wear in our hearts and minds. These crowns shape our identities, define our worth, and often become the very things that hold us captive.
We all wear crowns of sorts. Some are heavy with the weight of expectations, others shine with the allure of achievement. Many are invisible to others yet shape everything we do. These are the crowns of identity, worth, and the endless pursuit of “enough.”
But what are the crowns you carry? What crowns are you chasing? What crowns do you work so hard to earn, hoping they’ll make you feel wanted, loved, and secure?
Perhaps it’s the crown of achievement – believing that if you succeed, you’ll finally matter. Or the crown of appearance – thinking that looking good is the key to acceptance. Maybe it’s the crown of influence, comfort, control, or always being right. We’re all competing for these counterfeit crowns in some way.
The beautiful truth of Easter is that Jesus sees every one of these crowns. He saw them then, and He sees them now. But His invitation isn’t to judge us for our misguided pursuits. Instead, He invites us to lay them down and receive something far greater.
This Easter, we’re challenged to “quit the contest of counterfeit crowns that fade and receive the crown of life that Christ freely gave.” It’s an invitation to wonder at the profound exchange that took place over 2,000 years ago.
Let’s consider three crowns that define the Easter story:
The Crown of Innocence
Before anything else, Jesus wore the crown of innocence. In the Gospel accounts, we see Him brought before Pilate and Herod, questioned repeatedly, yet found innocent three times. Even as the crowds demanded His crucifixion, Pilate declared, “I find no basis for a charge against him.”
In a poignant moment, we see Barabbas – a guilty man whose name means “son of the father” – exchanged for Jesus, the truly innocent Son of the Father. This exchange epitomizes the heart of the gospel: we are Barabbas, guilty and deserving punishment, yet Jesus takes our place.
The invitation of Easter is to lay down our guilty crown and receive the crown of innocence that Christ offers. He doesn’t ask us to earn it or work it off. There’s nothing we can do to be good enough. Instead, He offers us His innocence freely, allowing us to stand reconciled before God with a clear conscience.
The Crown of Thorns
The soldiers’ act of pressing a crown of thorns onto Jesus’ head was more than mere cruelty – it was a fulfillment of prophecy. Those thorns, likely from the Ziziphus tree with spikes up to two inches long, pierced His flesh and skull.
This crown of thorns harkens back to the curse in Genesis 3, where God declared that the ground would produce thorns and thistles as a consequence of sin. Jesus, by wearing this crown, literally took the curse of sin upon Himself.
What are the painful crowns you hold tightly? The bitterness you can’t let go of? The trauma that defines you? The shame of past sins that whisper you’ll never be free? Jesus wants to take these crowns of thorns from you today. He has already absorbed that pain so that you don’t have to carry it another day.
The Crown of Peace
The story doesn’t end with the crown of thorns. On that first Easter morning, the women who came to the tomb expecting to find death instead encountered an angelic message: “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!”
That moment changed everything. It’s the difference between who we are and who we’re becoming, between having a hard week and finding supernatural joy even in our struggles.
Later that same day, Jesus appeared to His disciples who were hiding in fear behind locked doors. He stood among their confusion, grief, and anxiety, and spoke these powerful words: “Peace be with you.” He showed them His wounds, proof of His suffering, and again declared, “My peace I give you.”
This peace, in Hebrew “shalom,” means more than just the absence of conflict. It signifies exemption from the havoc of war and peace that leads to salvation. Jesus was declaring that the war for their souls was over – “It is finished.”
But He didn’t stop there. Jesus breathed on them, saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” This act commissioned them – and us – to go into the world crowned with His peace, representing Him wherever we go.
The astounding reality is that God wants to use us to spread this peace, despite our messiness, struggles, and imperfections. He doesn’t want our counterfeit crowns; He wants our hearts and our lives.
This Easter, we’re all invited to lay down our exhausting pursuit of counterfeit crowns and receive the crown of life that Christ died to give us. It’s an invitation to be made right with God, not through our own efforts, but by believing in our hearts and confessing with our mouths that Jesus is Lord.
For some, this might be the first time to receive this gift of salvation. For others, it’s a call to return to the Father’s love after wandering away. And for many, it’s an opportunity to exchange the crowns of pain we’ve been holding onto for the crown of peace that Jesus offers.
As we close, let’s take a moment to reflect:
What counterfeit crowns are you holding onto?
Are you ready to lay them down and receive the crown of life?
How can you represent Christ’s peace to the world around you?
May this Easter be a time of profound exchange in your life – from guilt to innocence, from pain to healing, and from striving to peace. The King of Kings stands ready to crown you with His love, forgiveness, and purpose. Will you receive it?