The Head that Once was Crowned with Thorns
The Head that Once was Crowned with Thorns is a hymn text. Found in CW21 531, CW93 217, ELH 393, elw 432. Sung to ST. MAGNUS.
Hymnal Appearances
- Christian Worship: Hymnal — 531
- Christian Worship — 217
- Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary — 393
- Evangelical Lutheran Worship — 432
- Lutheran Book of Worship — 173
- Lutheran Service Book — 532
- The Lutheran Hymnal — 219
Stanza Arc
The narrative or theological arc traced by this tune's stanzas: From Christ's humiliation (thorns) through exaltation (glory) to eternal reign and our participatory response in praise and service
Background Research
Thomas Kelly, Hymns on Various Passages of Scripture, 5th ed. (Dublin, 1820). Hymnary links Heb 2:9–10 ('crowned with glory and honour… perfect through sufferings'), and the LSB study says the hymn is based on Heb 2:10. The study adds a striking source: the first stanza is nearly identical to a passage in John Bunyan's poem One Thing Is Needful, or Serious Meditations upon the Four Last Things. An Ascension hymn of exchange: the head once crowned with thorns now crowned with glory; the cross is our joy, and those who share his suffering share his glory. A good 'theology of the cross leading to glory' text. Kelly's Dublin evangelical preaching got him barred from Dublin pulpits by Archbishop Fowler. Tune ST. MAGNUS, first printed anonymously in Henry Playford's Divine Companion (1707) and later credited to Jeremiah Clarke of the Chapel Royal. Kelly, ordained in the Church of Ireland, wrote over 700 hymns; four are in LSB.
Sources: hymnary.org 'The head that once was crowned with thorns'; LCMS Worship, The Word in Song: Hymn of the Day Studies (study by Scott R. Schilbe).
In the Church Year
Hymn of the Day (Lutheran Service Book) for: Proper 29
Suggested in the three-year series
- Last Sunday of the Church Year (6×)
- Ascension (5×)
- Proper 22 (3×)
- Proper 23 (2×)
- Proper 9 (1×)
From LCMS Worship's published hymn suggestions, 2014–2026. The count is how many of those yearly lists suggested this hymn for that day.
Overview
An Ascension hymn by Thomas Kelly (1820) on Hebrews 2:9-10 — Jesus 'crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death.' It contrasts the thorn-crowned Head with the Victor now crowned in glory (st. 1), affirms his rightful place as King of kings and heaven's Light (st. 2), calls him the joy of heaven and earth (st. 3), and then turns to his people: to them the cross is given, with its shame and its grace (st. 4); they suffer with him below and reign with him above (st. 5); and the cross that was shame and death to him is their life, hope and wealth (st. 6). It is an Ascension hymn that keeps the cross at the center.
Central theme: The crucified Christ now crowned, and his people sharing first his cross and then his glory
Structure
Six common-meter quatrains. Christ exalted (1-3) — his people under the cross (4-5) — the cross as life (6).
Law & Gospel Shape
Gospel — the exalted Christ; the cross's 'shame' for believers is participation, not Law.
Confessional Connections
Christ's exaltation according to his human nature: the same Head that was crowned with thorns now rules (FC VIII; Christ's state of exaltation). The cross given to Christians as both suffering and grace (theology of the cross; AC XVI on cross-bearing). Suffering with Christ is not meritorious but participation in him (Ap IV).
Liturgical Use (Study Notes)
Ascension; Christ the King; Easter season; Holy Cross Day.
Historical Notes
Kelly (1769-1855) published it in 1820. It is one of his most widely sung hymns.
About the Tune
ST. MAGNUS (attributed to Jeremiah Clarke, 1707).
Scripture References
Heb 2:9-10 Matt 27:29 Rev 19:12 Phil 2:9-11 Eph 1:20-21 Rev 17:14 Rev 21:23 John 17:6, 26 Matt 16:24 Phil 1:29 Rev 2:17 Rom 8:17 2 Tim 2:12 Phil 3:10 Eph 3:8-9 1 Cor 1:18 Gal 6:14
Stanza by Stanza
The Head once crowned with thorns is now crowned with glory; a royal diadem adorns the mighty Victor's brow.
Heb 2:9: 'crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death.' The same Head — continuity between the crucified and the exalted (FC VIII). The thorn crown (Matt 27:29) was mockery; the 'royal diadem' (Rev 19:12, 'on his head are many diadems') is reality. He is 'Victor' because the cross was victory (Col 2:15). Humiliation leads to exaltation (Phil 2:8-9).
- Scripture
- Heb 2:9, Matt 27:29, Rev 19:12, Col 2:15, Phil 2:8-9
- Imagery & language
- Two crowns; Victor's brow.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — exaltation after suffering.
- Connection to previous
- Opening contrast.
The highest place heaven offers is his, his by right — King of kings, Lord of lords, and heaven's eternal Light;
'His by right' — by divine nature and by conquest (Eph 1:20-21; Phil 2:9). 'King of kings and Lord of lords' (Rev 17:14; 19:16). 'Heaven's eternal Light' — the Lamb is the lamp of the heavenly city (Rev 21:23). The ascended Christ rules all things for the sake of his Church (Eph 1:22).
- Scripture
- Eph 1:20-22, Phil 2:9, Rev 17:14, Rev 19:16, Rev 21:23
- Imagery & language
- Highest place; titles.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — Christ's universal reign.
- Connection to previous
- Continues the exaltation.
the Joy of all who live above, the Joy of all below to whom he shows his love and grants to know his name.
Christ is the joy of heaven and earth. On earth he is the joy of those 'to whom He manifests His love' — not all, but those who receive his revelation. To 'know His name' is to know him as he has revealed himself (John 17:6, 26). This knowledge is a gift: 'no one knows the Son except the Father… and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him' (Matt 11:27).
- Scripture
- John 17:6, 26, Matt 11:27, 1 Pet 1:8, Ps 16:11
- Imagery & language
- Joy above and below.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — Christ revealed as joy.
- Connection to previous
- Transitions to his people.
To them the cross is given, with all its shame and all its grace; their name is an everlasting name, their joy the joy of heaven.
A profound theology of the cross: the cross is 'given' to believers both as grace (forgiveness through Christ's cross) and as shame (bearing their own cross, Matt 16:24; Phil 1:29, 'granted… not only to believe… but also to suffer'). Lutherans hold both: the cross of Christ for us, and the cross that marks the Christian life (Luther counted the cross among the marks of the Church). 'An everlasting name' — Isa 56:5; Rev 2:17.
- Scripture
- Matt 16:24, Phil 1:29, Gal 6:14, Isa 56:5, Rev 2:17, Heb 13:13
- Imagery & language
- Shame and grace given together.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — the cross as gift.
- Connection to previous
- Shows what Christ's people receive.
They suffer with their Lord below and reign with him above; their profit and their joy is to know the mystery of his love.
Rom 8:17 and 2 Tim 2:12: 'if we endure, we will also reign with him.' The order is cross then crown, for Christ and his people alike. Suffering does not earn the reign; it is the shape of life united with the crucified (Phil 3:10). Their 'profit and joy' is to know 'the mystery of His love' (Eph 3:18-19; Col 1:27).
- Scripture
- Rom 8:17, 2 Tim 2:12, Phil 3:10, 1 Pet 4:13, Eph 3:18-19, Col 1:27
- Imagery & language
- Below and above.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — union with Christ in suffering and glory.
- Connection to previous
- Parallels Christ's path (1) with his people's.
The cross he bore is life and health, though it was shame and death to him; it is his people's hope and wealth, their everlasting theme.
The great exchange at the cross: shame and death for him, 'life and health' (salvation) for us (2 Cor 5:21; 1 Pet 2:24). The cross remains the Church's 'everlasting theme' — even in glory, the Lamb who was slain is praised (Rev 5:9-12). The hymn closes an Ascension song by returning to the cross: the exalted Lord is the crucified Lord.
- Scripture
- 2 Cor 5:21, 1 Pet 2:24, 1 Cor 1:18, Gal 6:14, Rev 5:9-12
- Imagery & language
- Life and death exchanged; everlasting theme.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — the cross as our life.
- Connection to previous
- Final summary.