Psalm 24:10; Psalm 21:3; Revelation 14:14; 19:12-16; 1:17,18; Isaiah 44:6
Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory.
Thou settest a crown of pure gold upon his head.
And upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown.
His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
ROBERT HAWKER (1753-1827): When Jesus, after His ascension, returned to glory, then was He crowned in heaven to testify His kingly power over all.
THOMAS COKE (1747-1814): By the “crown of pure gold,” may be meant, in general, an illustrious crown; which is here represented as being set upon our blessed Saviour’s head at his exaltation into heaven, in token of his being then advanced to the chief exercise of His regal authority. Thus He is said be “crowned with glory and honour,” Psalm 8:5; and John says, with respect to His deified humanity, in which He was made King of Kings and Lord of Lords, that “on his head were many crowns.”
ALEXANDER MacLAREN (1826-1910): On His head are many crowns; but, however many they be, they all grow out of the crown of thorns.
ROBERT HAWKER: Israel expected a king that should arise to deliver them from bondage.
ADAM CLARKE (1760-1832): They expected Him to deliver them out of the hands of the Romans.
J. C. RYLE (1816-1900): If they thought to see a King like the kings of this world, they were greatly mistaken. Our Lord would have them know that He came to carry a cross, and not to wear a crown. He came not to live a life of honour, ease, and magnificence, but to die a shameful and dishonoured death. The kingdom He came to set up was to begin with a crucifixion, and not with a coronation. Its glory was to take its rise not from victories won by the sword, and from accumulated treasures of gold and silver, but from the death of its King…He must first suffer and afterwards reign. He must first endure the cross, and afterwards, at His second advent, wear the crown.
WILLIAM PENN (1644-1718): Christ’s Cross is Christ’s way to Christ’s crown.
ADAM CLARKE: As Christ did not come as a temporal deliverer―in which character alone the Jews expected Him―the very Pharisees, who were loud in their professions of sanctity and devotedness to God, rejected Jesus, and got Him crucified, because His kingdom was not of this world.
J. C. RYLE: The difference between the mockery of the Jewish rulers and of the soldiers ought to be noticed. The Jews mocked our Lord as a helpless “Christ,” or Messiah unable to save Himself, and therefore unfit to be a Saviour of Israel. The ignorant Gentile soldiers, on the contrary, mocked Him as a helpless “King of the Jews,” without a crown, a kingdom, or an army, and therefore only fit to be ridiculed.
C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): Surely the world never saw a more marvellous scene than the King of kings thus derided as a mimic monarch by the meanest of men. “The whole band of soldiers was gathered unto him,” for seldom was such sport provided in “the common hall.” Jesus is a king, so He must wear the garb of royalty: “they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe,” some old soldier’s scarlet or purple coat. The king must be crowned: “when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head.” He must sway a sceptre: “a reed in his right hand.” Homage must be paid to Him―and they bowed their knees before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” Then they spat upon Him and took the reed from His hand, and struck Him on the head.
A. W. PINK (1886-1952): Jesus was the very King of meekness.
MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): See His crown of thorns turned into a crown of laurels.
ALEXANDER MacLAREN: The crown of thorns proclaims a sovereignty founded on sufferings. The sceptre of feeble reed speaks of power wielded in gentleness. The brow that was pierced by the sharp acanthus wreath, therefore wears the diadem of the universe. The hand that passively held the mockery of the worthless, pithless reed, therefore rules the princes of the earth with the rod of iron. He who was lifted up to the Cross, was, by that very act, lifted up to be a Ruler and Commander to the peoples.
MATTHEW HENRY: The superscription over His head, setting forth His crime, was, “This is the King of the Jews,” Luke 23:38. He is put to death for pretending to be the king of the Jews; so they meant it; but God intended it to be a declaration of what He really was, notwithstanding His present disgrace: He is the king of the Jews, the king of the church, and His cross is the way to His crown. This was written in what were called the three learned languages, Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew―that it might be known and read of all men; but God designed by it to signify that the gospel of Christ should be preached to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem, and be read in all languages. The Gentile philosophy made the Greek tongue famous, the Roman laws and government made the Latin tongue so, and the Hebrew excelled them all for the sake of the Old Testament. In these three languages is Jesus Christ proclaimed King.
ROBERT HAWKER: I admire what is said of the many crowns of the Lord Jesus. Who indeed can number them? He hath the essential crown of Godhead. He hath the Personal crown of the God-Man, which was, and is His native right, by virtue of that special character of His. And He hath the Mediatorial crown, both of office and of work, from the infinite merit and dignity of His labours in redemption―the crown of victory over sin, death, hell, and the grave. And there is another coronation which takes place on the day when any, and every poor sinner bends the knee of the heart to the sceptre of His grace, and crowns Him for his Lord and his God.
A. W. PINK: His cleansing blood is only available for those who are willing to throw down the weapons of their warfare against God, and surrender themselves to His holy rule…The day is coming when the Judge of all the earth shall recompense every evil-doer, and reward all the righteous.
R. BEACON (circa 1893): This present time is pre-eminently the day of grace. God is longsuffering and man is heaping up sin. But the day is coming when Christ will take the immediate rule of this world; for when His judgments will be seen in the earth, then also the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. But the day is coming when men shall be eye-witnesses of His power and glory, and all then shall know that He is Jehovah.
THOMAS COKE: Christ is a king; and they who refuse to bow as willing subjects to His government, will find Him able to punish the rebels that will not have Him to reign over them.
C. H. MACKINTOSH (1820-1896): The day is coming when they shall look on Him whom they rejected, and see in Him the glories and perfection of the Godhead.
WILLIAM KELLY (1821-1906): The world will know Him as Judge and King—“ruling by His power for ever.”
WILLIAM GURNALL (1617-1679): Speak, soul, hath the Spirit of God thus put his golden key into the lock of thy will, to open the everlasting door of thy heart to let Christ the King of glory in?
