Corona Chronicles - Crown of Thorns

Welcome to Corona Chronicles. This is our daily daily walk through Mark's gospel. And we're at chapter 2 verse 18 today. But wanna start of a question, who do you think Jesus is? And what does it take to follow him?

That's what I think this little section of Mark's gospel is talking about. Ben's gonna read it for us. Yes. So from verse 18 of chapter 2, Mark's gospel. Now John's disciples and the pharisees were fasting.

Some people came and asked Jesus. How is it that John's disciples and the disciples of the pharisees are fasting, but yours are not. Jesus answered how can the get of the bridegroom fast while he is with them. They cannot so long as they have him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, And on that day, they will fast.

No 1 sows a patch of untrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old making a tear worse. And no 1 pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst skins and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. Know they poured new wine into new wine skins.

Great. Thanks, Ben. Yeah. So we've got a question. We've got a passage here about fasting about religious ceremonies, and there's there's stuff about, you know, patches and garments and Yeah.

And and wines and wineskins. It's some some of this can be can seem quite odd, can't it? You know, it's not these aren't necessarily things we think about today, but I think 1 of the big things to think to to this is saying to us is is is that Jesus he he is. He is here to do a brand new thing. Yeah.

He's he's here to to be he is, pitying himself here as a bridegroom. Yeah. And that's quite quite an amazing statement he makes. He gets this question from these disciples of John and the pharisees about a religious observance that their followers are doing. Mhmm.

And and Jesus' disciples aren't doing. Yeah. So immediately he's different. Yeah. Exactly.

It's like this is not just another rabbi. Right. Because he's not behaving like the other rabbis. And it could have been at a it could have been at a time where a big religious festival was happening. We we don't find out.

But but that's the kind of feeling you get everyone's fast yours are not. What's going on exactly, you know. And and Jesus's answer is is like nothing you would expect. Right. You know?

Because he says, on the bridegroom. Yeah. And when a wedding's going on, you don't you know, that's not the time for morning and fasting. Mhmm. That's the time for celebration.

And so that's why my disciples are, you know, are not fasting. That's why they're, you know, that's what they they're they're going about joyfully, you know. And and and that is a quick that's an amazing statement that he makes it. Yeah. If you know anything about the old testament, you know, that God in the old testament is the bridegroom.

Mhmm. And Israel is the bride. Right. And so so he's saying here, I mean, you haven't heard anything in Mark's gospel about Jesus getting married to a woman, have you? Like -- No.

No. No. -- there's there's been no no talk of that. No. So it must have been quite a weird thing for for his disciples to sort of go, what?

Hey. We're we're a wedding. Where's yeah. Why didn't you tell us? Yeah.

You know, we didn't hear any proposal. There was no You know? There was no ring there. But, yeah, this is his answer to to these these these pharisees and and these disciples of of John the Baptist. Mhmm.

And and I just wonder, like, they must have they must have done a double take there. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. It's, you know, and so, you know, he even goes on to say, look, while the bridegroom of the is with them, they they they can't fast, they won't fast, but a time will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them.

On that day, they will fast. So he's even sort of Yeah. Again, a picture in that what's gonna happen? Yeah. Yeah.

Even back, you know, even back in chapter 2, he's always sort of given given that hint. Yeah. And then this like for people who who say Jesus is just a good teacher. Yeah. This is a good passage to go to.

Brilliant. Yeah. Because you say to them actually, he was because he wasn't doing what the good teacher should have been doing, which is why Well, we can't just have been good. Yeah. Yeah.

We'll know exactly. Yeah. He's not you can't just chuck him in with a bunch of other good teachers -- Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

-- because he behaved nothing like those teachers. And actually, he said, I'm the bridegroom, which as you say is is, you know, I'm not just here as another teacher. Yeah. I'm here as God himself. Yeah.

That's right. I'm, you know, I and then it goes on to sort of talk about this, these patches and and wineskins and stuff. And I was thinking, like, this this sounds like a couple of thing big things you'd have at a wedding. What do you you would have dresses and drink. Yeah.

You know, you've got you've got this sort of picture about a patch. You don't sell so an unshrunk patch on an old garment because it's gonna rip. I've got I've got these I've got these camo shorts I've had for years at home. And when was the last time you watched it? But I very recently, but but they will they have they you know, I don't know if you've got a pair of shorts that you just feel at home.

Yeah. And, you know, they they they've been washed a thousand times, Dave, your mates, your best bud. Yeah. And like it, you know, an old friend, they they do wear out and I've got rips everywhere and my wife is just, you know, mostly most of the time I'm just scared that I go out in. But -- Okay.

-- the car around in public. That's right. I I won't wear them out. But but I recently got them repaired and, you know, got some you know, I was reading this going, oh, that's my shorts. Right?

You know, but I'm dreading the day I wash them. Now, because of this verse, you know. Okay. Because you're saying some untrubs Exactly. Yeah.

That's right. So this verse is true. Right. Then my shorts are are done for my wife will get will get her wish. But it's a picture of Jesus is is is saying sort of again that he's not just an old teacher.

He's not just come to do more of the same. Yeah. So you can't he's not a patch either. Yeah. That's what you're saying earlier.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think I think he's he's not he's saying, look, your religious observances. You the the things you think that I'm about, you you know, I'm gonna blow them I'm gonna blow them apart, you know.

I don't I don't think he's here. You know, doing down the the old testament. I don't think he's saying the old testament is sort of we can do away with that now. No. I think he's he's talking about like, what do you think it takes to follow me?

Jesus, he's just been eating with tax collectors and sinners. Yep. And I think a a a big thing you know, think about today. Most people will say, if if if you wanna follow Jesus, you've got a you've got a, you know, big good and do all these religious things and Jesus here say no. Look.

It's not, you know, I'm not about just topping up your religious life. Yeah. You know, I'm here I'm here to to show you that you know, all of your sort of all of your thoughts about what it takes to be 1 we've got. I'm gonna blow them apart, you know. And and that's what it goes on to do in the rest of the gospel.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And if you even think about when he's with his disciples right at the end of his ministry and he gives them wine to drink. Yeah.

And he says, this is the blood of the new covenant. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. My blood bought out for you.

Yeah. This is the way that we get right with God now. It's it's fulfilled in Jesus. This is the new 1 and the new 1 skip. Not just sort of do the old stuff.

Yeah. It's never really worked. That's great. It's an exciting passage. Yeah.

So who is Jesus? Yeah. If God and, you know, he's he's he's Messiah, he's come to rescue and, you know, and and and it doesn't, you know, if you're if you're if you think it, you have to be very religious or keep lots of rules to follow Jesus. You know, keep keep thinking about Mark's gospel and you you'll sit. You'll see a completely different thing.

Yeah. Yeah. Great. See you at stock. Yep.