“Arma Christi” means “weapons of Christ,” and is an ancient phrase used to describe the the different items that touched Jesus during His “way of the Cross.” Things like the whip that scourged Him, the crown of thorns, the nails, the sponge that held the wine and vinegar, the spear that pierced His side, and of course the Cross itself are examples. Even though the devil meant to use them only as instruments of suffering, humiliation, agony, and destruction, Jesus embraced them all, and used them as weapons in achieving His conquest of Satan, and the deliverance and redemption of mankind.
Today we remember the horrible Crown of Thorns that were pushed onto His head. They were intended to humiliate Jesus, who said He was a king, and simply inflict further pain, on one whose body was already quivering in unimaginable agony.
Isaiah 62:3-5 says, “You will be a crown of beauty in The hand of The Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. It will no longer be said to you “Forsaken,” Nor to your land will it any longer be said, “Desolate”; But you will be called, “My delight is in her,” And your land, “Married”; For the LORD delights in you, And to Him your land will be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, So your sons will marry you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
So your God will rejoice over you.”
The word for “crown” used in the New Testament is the Greek word “Stephanos,” which means “victory.” To Jesus it wasn’t a sign of humiliation; instead it was, and eternally is, a sign of our beauty in His eyes, and the testimony of His great, and sacrificial love for us, that both conquered our hearts for Him, and the cruel grip of Satan over mankind. I believe Jesus, as the Lamb slain wears this crown throughout the ages to come as His “Victors Crown.”
