The Cross and the Towel

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We also associate the color purple with Easter. Why purple? Purple is a color that is a color associated with royalty and was a special color in Bible times. Also, in John 19:1-3, "Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck him in the face." Jesus was wearing a purple robe as he was mistreated by the soldiers. The soldiers were mocking Jesus as the King of the Jews. Little did they know that they were beating, spitting on, and slapping the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
We also associate the color white with Easter. Why white? The color white is one of those colors in Scripture that symbolizes purity and holiness and righteousness. We see that especially in the Book of Revelation. We think of white at Easter time because Jesus was pure and holy and absolutely righteous. Jesus was innocent. In fact, Judas Iscariot, the betrayer, even confesses this in Matthew 27:4, "I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood." Jesus was perfect and did not sin His entire life. He was the perfect sacrifice on the Cross for us.
So, we associate the colors of red, purple, and white with the Cross. These colors inform us about the identity of the One who was on the Cross. Jesus was the Righteous King of Kings who shed His blood for us.
Thorns = We associate thorns with Easter and the Cross because thorns were one of the ways that the Roman soldiers were torturing and mistreating Jesus. The soldiers twisted together thorns and placed them on Jesus’ head (Matthew 27:29, Mark 15:17, John 19:2). It is important for us to understand a little about thorns in the Bible to understand why they were significant to Jesus on the Cross. Thorns were introduced into Creation (Genesis 3:17-18) as part of the curse of sin. Sin caused thorns. Thorns are associated with sinful traps (Joshua 23:13), trouble (Numbers 33:55), fruitlessness (Matthew 7:16), and worthlessness (Hebrews 6:8). So you see, when the soldiers placed thorns on Jesus’ head, they were not just placing thorns. They were placing all the sinfulness, trouble, fruitlessness, and worthlessness of all of us onto Jesus who was none of those things. Jesus endured our pain for us. Jesus endured our consequences for us. Jesus took on our worthlessness and sinfulness unto Himself for us... and that is why we associate thorns with the Cross.
I want to mention one other thing this morning that I would like you to begin to associate with the cross. A towel. Yes, I said a towel. Towels are one of the most basic items that we use when you think about it. I am not sure how long towels have been around, but I can imagine Adam and Eve probably needing to use a towel sometimes after being put out of the Garden of Eden.
There have been many advancements in the area of what I will call towel-ology. Did you know that a company called A&R Beach towels has invented a towel with pockets at the four corners to help store items or sand to weight the towel down on a windy beach (http://www.arbeachtowels.com/documents/indexar.html)? Scientists have also invented a towel that will not fall down while wrapped in it and in clinical trials the ‘wonder towel’ stayed in place while