Corona Chronicles - Crown of Thorns

Welcome to Corona Chronicles. We are in Mark chapter 11, and we're gonna pick it up at verse verse 20. In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus Rabbi, look, the fig tree you cursed has withered. Have faith in God, Jesus answered.

Truly I tell you, If anyone says to this mountain, go throw yourself into the sea and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they have said will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer believe that you have received it and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them so that your father in heaven may forgive you your sins. Yeah. So we're we're breaking in here, aren't we?

Yeah. Into the story. So Jesus is is coming to Jerusalem. He's seen this victory. It was pretending, wasn't it?

Because it had the leaves and therefore it should have the fruit. Right. So Well, it wasn't the season for fix. No. Yeah.

Yeah. But it's pretending. Yeah. So there's no fruit on this this victory. It is barren.

Even though it's saying, I've fruit. Yeah. And just like Israel. Just goes into the temple -- Yeah. -- and, you know, the house of prayer is is based a den of robbers.

A den of robbers. Yeah. Completely isn't it should be fruit bursting out all over that place. Yes. And and it's a so it's the same -- Yeah.

-- image so God is now bringing Jesus is bringing a curse -- Yeah. -- on the fig tree. Yeah. And, of course, he overturns the tables that are making money -- Yeah. -- in what he calls his father's house.

Yeah. And so it's a sort of curse there as well in that sense, isn't it? It's the end of Yeah. And and it's it's I mean, think about think about the people that should have been going into that place. You know, like, you you hear the selling of doves and stuff like that and and that's I remember from that the fact that that doves were given to those who couldn't afford bigger sacrifices.

So actually, this is a this is this this is this is oppression of the poor here. Yeah. What was it? And and and money making from religion. It's keeping people from God.

Yeah. And that's what religion does. Yes. It keeps people away from God. Yeah.

Which is So we then come on -- Right. -- and the next absolutely. Sorry. And then the the next morning, them they're moving along again and Peter sees the the withered tree and it's withered at its roots, so it's died overnight at the curse. That's the end of this tree.

Yeah. And Peter seems to be sort of quite pleased about this -- Yeah. -- as if, oh, Jesus, what you said happened. Yeah. And it's like, rabbi, look, the the fig tree you cursed has withered and it's sort of like a bit exciting for him.

Yeah. But then Jesus comes straight back. He doesn't really comment on that. And and this sounds really weird because he says, have faith in God. Jesus answered.

Truly I tell you, If anyone says to this mountain, go throw yourself into the sea and does not doubt and so forth. So we've gotta keep because that that sentence about if you believe you can get rid of all the mountains in your life. Yeah. A recipe for -- Yeah. -- success, isn't it?

Yeah. You've got to put it in its context. And the context When he says this mountain, he's not he's it's not any old mountain. It's this mountain of God where That whole system of the temple -- Right. -- and meeting God is set up.

Yeah. It's corrupt. It's gone. Now all you have to do is to have faith in God. You don't have to go to Jerusalem.

You don't have to go on a pilgrimage. You don't have to go to a certain holy city anymore. It's it's faith in God and faith in God is believing what Jesus is gonna do on the mount. Yeah. Yeah.

Isn't it? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's alright.

And and, you know, I find it interesting that he he's also he goes on to talk to them about prayer. You know, whatever you ask for in prayer will be given to you and when you stand praying, he's actually he's kind of replacing the temple here as well, isn't Yeah. He he's the 1 that they go they used to go into the temple to pray. Well, now they come to Jesus -- Yes. -- pray.

Don't And he's taught them how to pray. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah.

Yep. Yeah. So, you know, here he is. Here here is the new temple in a sense. The new priest, the new temple, the new sacrifice.

Yeah. Yeah. Sorry. No. It's great.

Yeah. That's it. So, it's all there. So, this faith in God is faith in Him. Yeah.

So, you don't have to be religious You don't have to go to special places -- Yeah. -- to actually meet with God. Mhmm. You meet with God in Jesus. Yeah.

So you can have faith to say away with religion. Yeah. Yeah. Away with it thrust away. It's good to think about that, isn't it?

It's good to think about what what religious practices do I have or do do do exist. That keep people from God rather than bring them to God. You know? So even in churches, what traditions do you have that maybe keep people away or that that sort of cloud the issue, you know? So that's why we, you know, we're committed to clear preaching, isn't it?

And so we want people to have access to God without that's why we're preaching English -- Yeah. -- because most people understand English here. If you go to another country, you preach in their language. Yes. You've got you've you've got to get those kind of religious or cultural kind of blockages out of the way.

Let let people come and hear about God -- Yeah. -- in the in the most simple way possible. And then he ends this little bit by sort of turning it into a relational thing again because this isn't just personal religion where you go to a temple. Mhmm. This is disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So we come to God through Christ. But we come as a people. Yeah. And so, he said this stuff before, but he's emphasizing this that if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them so that your father in heaven may forgive you your sins. Now, I don't think that's a good works thing.

It's not like I can only be forgiven if I forgive. But actually if I understand that I can come to God in faith and and that he's the 1 that forgives me, I will be someone who wants to forgive. Yeah. That's a big that's a big challenge, isn't it? Because, you know, I think if we're honest, that's probably the hardest thing to do, and it's to forgive people.

Yeah. It's it's wronged us. Yeah. It is. It's really hard.

Yeah. Yeah. Just wide which is exactly why he says it. He knows exactly the our biggest struggle doesn't Yes. Well, Jesus always puts his finger on the point that we often don't want it on.

Yeah. So have faith in God and then the mountains that are in the way, maybe even unforgiveness. The mountains are in the way -- Mhmm. -- can can be removed by having faith in in God, which is trust in Christ, obviously. Well, I think we better stop there.

Yeah.