Victors' arena in the Heavenly City: the story of Jesus

Part 27 of 35 A crown of thorns

That night, Peter followed at a distance to the high priest's house. Sitting by a fire in the courtyard, he was asked three times if he knew Jesus, and three times he said no. Then the rooster crowed, and Peter remembered Jesus's words, "and he went outside and wept bitterly" (Luke 22:62).

In the morning, Jesus was taken to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. "Are You the King of the Jews?" Pilate asked. Jesus answered: "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:33–36). Pilate found no crime in him, but the crowd shouted, "Crucify Him!" To please them, Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified (Mark 15:13–15).

The soldiers dressed him in a purple robe, "twisted together a crown of thorns, and set it on His head," and mocked him: "Hail, King of the Jews!" (Mark 15:17–18).

A copy of the Pilate Stone, carved with the name of Pontius Pilate. The original is in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Photo: Reinhard Dietrich, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Bible A crown that lasts

Winners at the ancient games received a crown of leaves. The apostle Paul wrote: "They do it for a crown that is perishable, but we do it for a crown that is imperishable" (1 Corinthians 9:25).

The arena that Herod built at Caesarea, the Roman port where the governors of Judea lived. Photo: Godot13, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Imagined The arena

In this arena the prizes never run out, and the cheers are for courage, kindness and fair play as much as for winning.

Real world The Pilate Stone

In 1961, archaeologists working in the Roman theater at Caesarea, on the coast of Israel, found a stone carved with the name of Pontius Pilate, "Prefect of Judea". It is one of the very few objects from his own time to name him, and it is now in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.