Corona Chronicles - Crown of Thorns

We're in this incredible garden scene. It's like where we've come to an exhibit if you like, and we're we're very privileged to watch this scene. I mean, it's such an amazing scene. We really ought to take our shoes off because this is holy ground what we're seeing here. And we're we're we're invited into the pressures and tensions and of of Jesus and what he's doing for us.

What he's going to do for us on the cross. The garden of gethsemane is where we're at in its first 32 of March 14. They went to the place called Ghassemane and Jesus said to his disciples sit here while I pray. He took Peter James and John along with him and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death, he said to them.

Stay here and keep watch. Going a little further, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible, The hour might pass from him. Abba father, he said. Everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me.

Yet not what I will. But what you will. Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. Simon, he said to Peter, Are you asleep? Couldn't you keep watch for 1 hour?

Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation? The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Once more, he went away and prayed the same thing. When he came back, He again found them sleeping because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.

Returning the third time. He said to them, are you still sleeping and resting enough? The hour has come. Look, the son of man is delivered into the hands of sinners rise. Let us go.

Here comes my betrayer. As you said in your introduction, this is holy ground, isn't it? And in our last session we we spent the majority of the time thinking about the person of Christ and the nature of the cross and his his cries to the father about what he was going to endure. But we've also got these disciples in this scene, haven't we? And there is quite a stark contrast between Jesus and between his disciples.

And you mentioned as well, this is a garden scene and you know, knowing the rest of the story of the bible, we can we can think back to other garden scenes, can't we? And we know that the Garden of Eden was a place where the very first disciples fell. And and they they had that and then we had at the beginning of the gospel, we have Jesus in the wilderness and he triumphed where the disciples failed and that's another thing got going on here, haven't we? We've got the son of man that the new and perfect Adam who is wrestling with, but ultimately triumphing over temptation and yet we've got the disciples who represent people like us who are failing at the feet of savior in the face of temptation. And that's what they do, don't they?

He's pouring out his soul in prayer to the father about what's to come. And the disciples are are thinking it's a good chance for a nap. You know? Well, I I I just they just don't seem to understand quite what he's going through and what's what's happening. And and I think it just does show you, you know, that, you know, the the flesh that the spirit may be willing but the flesh is weak as Jesus moves it.

You know, they just can't keep awake with this with this enemy situation. And in 1 sense, it's sort of teaching there, isn't there, that we actually we we just can't even save ourselves. No. Because in the in the in the the sort of pinnacle of the war, if you like, we fall asleep. You know, right the moment the betrayer is coming, we're gone.

Mhmm. And he's the 1 who's awake and understands exactly what's going going to to happen to him. Yeah. And I mean, as we were reading through it earlier, we were looking at verse 37 where he says Simon, he said to Peter. Yeah.

And just that kind of interesting way in which, yeah, if you didn't know he had 2 names, you think he was a bit confused. But just the way he uses his old name. Haps as a way of emphasizing that the new name was the rock. Yeah. You know, he he you know, remember Peter.

I changed your name. Yep. You know, this is the sort of person that you were to be. Yep. But you're like a little baby.

And you've turned back into water almost. You're you're not you're not the rock you're you're sleeping. And just the way this is written is so haunting in some ways. At the end of verse 40 when he comes back again, they did not know what to say to him. No.

You know, it's like catching a child who's just painted all over the wall and he's still got the marker in his hand and there's nothing they can say in their defense, is that they just have -- beside it -- What 1, you know, is -- from their eyes and -- Yeah. -- now gets up. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah.

So it's it's it's it's a very, very powerful scene for picturing who Christ is and what he's doing and also I mean, his tenderness towards them really. I mean, there is a sort of tenderness there, isn't there? Yeah. Understanding and that he's actually come to rescue these people. Yeah.

But these people don't realize realize it. No. No. No. No.

In that sense, they don't realize Yeah. That's a really good point, isn't it? And maybe this is a way of trying to teach and that again because, you know, verse 31, Peter said, even if I have to die with you, I'll never disobey. Yeah. It's just stupid.

Yeah. We've just come out of this scene of remarkable self confidence. And First thing he does is fall asleep. He's fallen asleep. Yeah.

But but when the betrayer comes. Yeah. And It's interesting. I'm just thinking about that that Wilden has seen at the beginning of the gospel again, and we're told that when Satan leaves Jesus, he waits then for the opportune time. Yeah.

And undoubtedly that's gonna be the cross where Jesus is mocked and encouraged to come down in order to prove himself. But perhaps this is part of that opportune time as well, isn't it? You know, there's a lot of tempting seems to be going on here. The disciples are told to watch and pray that they will not fall into temptation. There's a temptation for Jesus to shrink away from the reason he came.

So there is a spiritual war going on here, isn't there? And that Satan is in 1 sense doing all that he can to keep Christ from his work and keep the disciples from seeing what Christ has come to do. And so we have this scene and then at the end, it's because Jesus has prayed that pray, yet not my will but yours be done. He he he says, right. Okay.

And then as you were saying, you know, he steps he steps out -- Yeah. -- into this and says come on disciples. The betrayer is here now. The son of man's gonna be betrayed. Right.

And we'll see in the whole arrest that he's the 1 who's in command -- Yeah. -- of even the arrest. Yeah. Yeah. These are these are wonderful things.

We'll come back to that. Yeah.