Corona Chronicles - Crown of Thorns

Here we are. The crown of thorns been put on his head. He's been crucified. 9 o'clock in the morning, he's crucified, mocking going on, rebels around him, laughing at him, but can't help but say truths. In their mockery.

Amazing. Yeah. Verse 33 of Mark 15. At noon, darkness came over the whole land until 3 in the afternoon. And at 3 in the afternoon, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, Eloy, Eloy, Lamak Sabakthani.

Which means my god my god, why have you forsaken me? When some of those standing near heard this, They said, listen, he's calling Elijah. Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff and offered it to Jesus to drink. Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to take him down, he said.

With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in 2 from top to bottom. And when the centurion who stood there in front of Jesus saw how he died, he said, surely, this man was the son of god. Gosh, there's some wonderful things in this, isn't there? Some real classic stuff here.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's full of important things, isn't it? Yeah.

I mean, Psalm 22 reappears. Yep. You know? First words -- Yeah. -- my god.

My god. Why have you forsaken me? Yeah. Yeah. So he's he's you know, he's praying the songs here -- Yeah.

-- you know, in in his in his suffering. Yeah. And fulfilling the scriptures, I think. Yeah. Absolutely.

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, the darkness, that that's I mean, I just wonder, like, people that were standing around It's 3 hours long, this darkness. What must they been thinking? Yeah.

You know, what what happened? You know, don't know why, but the story of sodom and Gamora, you know, comes to me when the men at the door trying to get into to Lot's house there there they go blind. And I'm just thinking that moment where they all go blind is it must have been such a moment of of of confusion. And here as well, just what were they thinking? What, you know, what were people thinking?

Well, especially when you're hearing -- Yeah. -- someone crying out my god. My god. Why have you saken. Yeah.

Yeah. It must feel like the end of the world. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah.

I just you know, and it was in 1 in 1 sense, wasn't it? Yes. This is judgment day. Yes. To put out the 1 who created life -- Yeah.

-- and light and joy and peace. Yeah. And we've just extinguished him. Yeah. Yeah.

Extinguish the flame, you're gonna be in the dark. You get words like you get lines like from Peter, you killed you killed the author of life. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. The Lord of Glory. And It's incredible. And yet, there's still sort of I don't know whether it is mockery, but there's confusion going on, isn't there? Oh, listen, he's calling you, Elijah.

Yeah. Yeah. They're not they're they're not hearing properly, are they? No. No.

And then this bloke. I don't know whether he's trying to help, gives him some something to drink. Let's see if elijah comes. It's all sort of Unbelievable really. Oh, let's just show still goes on sort of the thing in his mind.

Well, I I think it also sort of says they they really didn't believe this was about to happen. You know, even even to the last moment, I think, he's gonna pull an ace out of his card. You know, you know, they they they listened to him and lived with him for 3 years. Yeah. And and they still they're still not hearing what he said.

Yeah. I'm going to die. Yeah. There's sort of what sort of religious sort of stories in their minds, perhaps superstitions -- Yeah. -- in their brain.

They're not they're not listening. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then this event of this curtain is torn into from top to bottom.

Now, you know, people always say this, but it isn't like a little curtain you buy from Harvey's. It's a whacking very, very thick carpet, isn't it? I I mean, thicker than a carpet. Massive thing in the temple separating the holy place, the holy of holies where God is represented and ordinary people. Yeah.

And only a priest once a year could go through that curtain. The day of atonement at 1 man with God. And remember what's on those curtains as well, the angels -- Yeah. -- you know, that that they decorate with the angels which sort of takes you back to the garden, you know, your The angels are banished, you know, who are not allowed into them. Yeah.

Sort flashing. You know And so you've got this darkness, this crying out, Jesus breathing his last, actually dying, and a curtain being ripped in too. From top to bottom from top to bottom. Yeah. Saying to earth.

Yeah. Because of this event. Yeah. I mean that's the teaching of it. Yeah.

Because of this event, there's entry to God. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. There's there's entrance to the to the paradise -- Yeah.

-- to the Garden of Eden in that sense. Yeah. Yeah. Welcome back. I mean, you know Yes.

And so then with all these religious leaders and all these people going on and all of their quoting and hearing the scriptures quoted, they don't understand. But here's this Roman centurion who's probably executed many people, I guess. I've certainly seen death. Yeah. And he's super struck by it.

Yeah. Yeah. Well, I mean the the ones who should have known it, the ones who in a were steeped in the old testament and in in all the prophecies, they should have seen this coming. They should have been able to peg it. But the the person that, you know, the per the the 1 person in the story who you would least expect -- Yeah.

-- to have truth come out of his mouth. It it, you know, says the true statement. Yeah. You know? And that and I think that that sort of shows again like Mark, you know, if he's writing if if he's writing in Rome, what an what an encouragement, you know?

For the for the church for that little church to to hear. There's a look, this this gospel is gonna reach, you know, to the highest levels of of your world. Yeah. When you see that when you see that Roman centurion and all those Roman soldiers -- Yeah. -- and then maybe maybe they're even busting into your meeting.

Yeah. To break it up and put you in prison. Just remember. Yeah. Absolutely.

And let's we haven't said what he said yet, but he said surely -- Yeah. -- this man was a son of god, but quite interesting because it says, and when the centurion who stood there in front of Jesus saw how he died, he said. Yeah. So something about the death. So again, Mark is trying to show us.

Yeah. You've got to interpret this death. You've got to understand what it's about. And it's revealing who he is. Yeah.

But wouldn't you think a death like this? You would say surely this man was put to death unfairly. Surely, this was, you know, the prejudice of those religious bunch surely this was a misunderstood man. But he doesn't. He says surely this is the son of God.

Yeah. It's a high that's that's that's the highest title he could give him. And actually in saying that he's committing an act of treason. Yes. Because it's only Caesar's.

Yeah. Yeah. And then it it it it's how Mark began his principle. Yeah. The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ and Messiah, the son of God.

Yeah. And this is what the gospel believe. This is coming up to the crown of thorns, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah.

To show that he is the he is the king that saves people. Yeah. Amazing. Okay. What else do we got?

Well, I mean, I don't know. I mean, what else do you want? Do you know? What would you say to Well, I think I I mean, Going back to his words, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? There's lots of times in life where we think we're in a place where we think forsaken us, you know?

But but you know this Jesus says this, takes these words to his lips -- Yeah. -- and, you know, he's taking on not he's not just in a place of suffering, he's not just his life isn't just a bit uncomfortable, Yeah. He's bearing the the the wrath of God. They've taken the weight of sin on himself. Yeah.

He he knows what it is, what it really feels like to be forsaken, and and he does it so that we won't be forsaken, we won't have to say his words. No. Never. You know, it it might feel like it in our experience of what we're going in life right now. Yeah.

But it will never be true. No. It will never be true. What man meant for evil -- Yeah. -- God meant for good.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So we gotta be careful. We we don't sort of wind on about lockdown -- Yeah.

Yeah. -- in our -- Yeah. -- aren't we having aren't we having it run Yeah. We are. Yeah.

But God uses those things -- Yeah. Yeah. -- for the salvation of the world. Yeah. Yeah.

And and and we're not alone in that, you know, he got God got himself, suffered. Yeah. You know? What there's there's no other religion like that. No.

There's no other world faith like that. Yeah. Okay. Incredible. We must stop.

So have a think about that. It's some fantastic. I hope you see that Jesus is the son of God and like the centurion come to know him. Yeah. And I mean, I guess the bloke joined the church and then you've got rufus there as well.

Hello, rufus, you know, you know, boom. I've got a dog I might call him rufus. Yeah. Alright. See you next time.