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[[@page.4.6.1]]

4.6.1 - Stephanos

The Greek word for crown is Stephanos in the following passages:
  1. Jesus' crown of thorns (Mtt. [[27:29|bible.61.27.29]]; Mark [[15:17|bible.62.15.17]]; John [[19:2|bible.64.19.2]], [[5|bible.64.19.5]]).
  2. Man crowned with glory and honor (Heb. [[2:7|bible.79.2.7]]).
  3. Jesus crowned with glory and honor (Heb. [[2:9|bible.79.2.9]]).
  4. Paul's Philippian believers (Php. [[4:1|bible.71.4.1]]).
  5. Paul's Thessalonian believers (1Th. [[2:19|bible.73.2.19]]).
  6. The Twenty-Four Elders (Rev. [[4:4|bible.87.4.4]]+, [[10|bible.87.4.10]]+).
  7. The rider on the white horse (Rev. [[6:2|bible.87.6.2]]+).
  8. Locusts from the abyss (Rev. [[9:7|bible.87.9.7]]+).
  9. Woman with twelve stars (Rev. [[12:1|bible.87.12.1]]+).
  10. One like the Son of Man (Rev. [[14:14|bible.87.14.14]]+).
  11. Believer's Crowns.
Significantly, in instances where the royalty of Jesus is plainly in view (Mtt. [[27:29|bible.61.27.29]]; Mark [[15:17|bible.62.15.17]]; John [[19:2|bible.64.19.2]], [[5|bible.64.19.5]]), the crown used is not diadema, but stephanos.

When they had twisted a crown of thorns [stephanos], they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" (Mtt. [[27:29|bible.61.27.29]]) [emphasis added]

Here the Roman soldiers clearly are mocking Jesus as royalty, yet He is wearing the stephanos. This use is contrary to the assertion that stephanos is a victor's crown whereas diadema represents royalty. Hemer explains the use of stephanos for royalty in this situation because the crown of thorns is literally a wreath: "There is certainly no reason for denying στέφανος [stephanos] its most usual sense here. It is 'wreath', not 'diadem', Kranz, not Krone. The 'crown of thorns' is admittedly στέφανος [stephanos] in the evangelists (Mtt. [[27:29|bible.61.27.29]]; Mark [[15:17|bible.62.15.17]]; John [[19:2|bible.64.19.2]], [[5|bible.64.19.5]]), but that was literally a garland. To the soldiers it meant mock royalty; perhaps to the writers it also implied victory."1 But this fails to explain why Jesus is crowned with a stephanos in other contexts where a wreath is not in view (Heb. [[2:9|bible.79.2.9]]; Rev. [[14:14|bible.87.14.14]]+).

The evidence that the Romans understood Jesus as claiming to be a king and not a victor is overwhelming (Mtt. [[27:11|bible.61.27.11]], [[29|bible.61.27.29]], [[37|bible.61.27.37]]; Mark [[15:2|bible.62.15.2]], [[9|bible.62.15.9]], [[12|bible.62.15.12]], [[18|bible.62.15.18]], [[26|bible.62.15.26]]; Luke [[23:3|bible.63.23.3]], [[37|bible.63.23.37]], [[38|bible.63.23.38]]; John [[18:33|bible.64.18.33]], [[39|bible.64.18.39]]; [[19:3|bible.64.19.3]], [[12|bible.64.19.12]], [[14|bible.64.19.14]], [[19|bible.64.19.19]], [[21|bible.64.19.21]]). Moreover, Jesus is frequently found wearing the stephanos. Those who assert that the horseman of Rev. [[6:2|bible.87.6.2]]+ cannot be Christ because he is wearing a stephanos need to make this determination from other factors.

Notes

1 Colin J. Hemer, The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia in Their Local Setting (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1989), 72.


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