In John 19.1, 41 and 20.15 there are several aspects of the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus that tend to get overlooked when we read these passages. In 19.1 we are told that soldiers mockingly placed a crown of thorns on Jesus' head. He is being mocked by the soldiers for being called a king. In the same chapter verse 41 John states that there was a garden near the place of the crucifixion and also where Jesus was buried. Then in 20.15 there is this strange remark about Mary Magadalene supposing that the resurrected Jesus was a gardener, or to be more precise as it says in the Greek 'The gardener'. It is well known that the Bible and its writers like subtleties . It is thought that since most common people did not read the scriptures, but rather heard it read, that subtleties drew the hearer's attention to hear more closely (scrolls, parchments and the like were expensive to produce and were beyond the reach of the common people. Most people rather heard the scriptures read at the temple or in the synagogues). One example of a subtle verse relating to creation is John 20.22 where Jesus 'breathed on them (the disciples) and said to them "Receive the Holy Spirit". This is a subtle reference to the creation story in Genesis 2 where God 'breaths' into Adam to give him life. The subtlety here is that Jesus is the new creator (God) giving new life and the disciples are his new creation.
The crown of thorns, the garden, and the gardener are also new creation themes on a subtle level. The thorns are not only about Jesus being a king, but also represent the curse placed on the land in Genesis 3. With the fall of Adam, the ground/land is cursed to bear thorns and thistles and Adam works by 'the sweat of his brow' (3.19). This is probably not only about hard labour, but also anxiety produced by the new uncertainty of producing a harvest. Adam sweats in his work and sweats about the outcome. How this curse is born by Jesus is uncertain but perhaps the idea is that this is part of the curse that Adam must bear. All of humanity will have this curse lifted with the coming of the new heaven and the new earth. The crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection guarantee that all effects of sin and death will be defeated, including the curse on the land (Salvation in Jesus is a COMPLETE salvation dealing with our spiritual, mental, and physical dimensions).
It has been noted by many that a major theme of scripture is the return to the Garden of Eden. The heavenly city/new Jerusalem in Revelation 21 is really the garden renewed. There is the motif of precious stones and abundant water and the tree of life just like in Genesis 2. Only now it is a city reflecting that humanity is saved individually and socially (human society has been deeply cursed by the fall. The city represents its salvation). All of this reflects the thorn and garden theme in John. Jesus indeed is THE gardener. His actions and life are all driven by his great desire to return his people to that place of beauty and super abundance, and especially that place of intimate fellowship with God, Jesus indeed is the savior, but he is also the true spiritual gardener. He tills in the believer's life to make us little 'plots' of the garden reflecting that beauty and abundance that he and the garden express (Maybe we can be gardeners too working to take out the spiritual 'weeds' and 'thorns' in so many of the lives around us and replacing these with the fruitfulness of Eden. I have thought that a good name for a Christian fellowship would be 'the Eden Restorers') And this he faithfully does until that day when the garden is fully renewed. Jesus is indeed THE gardener!
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