The Thorns of the Curse on the Head of the Lamb

As I am writing this, I have just received a new bible with a cover design of the crown of thorns impressed into the leather. It's subtle, because it is black on black. It especially stands out if I shift it back and forth under a light. I have seen the cover design before, but this is the first time I own one myself. It struck me because I have recently been debating other folks about the Fall of Adam.

What's the connection?

After Adam and Eve sinned, God issued a curse: "To Adam He said, 'Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, "You shall not eat of it," cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:17-19, see also Galatians 3:13).

Do you see it? Part of the curse is that thorns shall infest the ground. Do you remember that line from the Christmas carol, "Joy to the World"?  

Thus, when the crown of thorns was placed on the head of Jesus (see, for example, Matthew 27:29), the Roman soldiers unwittingly demonstrated the purpose of the Father in the crucifixion of His Son. The curse that Adam had brought on the world was transferred to the Second Adam, to be undone by His atoning blood! "As by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous" (Romans 5:19).

Thus we see the progressive fulfillment of the promise of Scripture: "There will no longer be any curse" (Revelation 22:3 NASB).