Corona Chronicles - Crown of Thorns

Welcome back to the Corona Chronicles and we are reaching a key moment in Mark's gospel today. And this is the moment really where the gospel hinges from the who is Jesus to why is Jesus come. This is the kind of hinge on which that that is balanced. And we're gonna be reading from verse 22 up until verse 33. So we're really quite a big section.

And these stories, and these interactions are all linked. And what we're gonna do today is just to see a big overview of how this miracle fits with what comes next. And then we'll probably next time go back and think just about 1 sentence that that Jesus that Jesus says. So, here we are in verse 22. They came to Bethesda and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.

He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spat on the man's eyes and put his hands on him. Jesus asked, do you see anything? He looked up and said, I see people. They look like trees walking around.

Once more, Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes, and then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home saying don't even go into the village. Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesar of Philip. On the way, he asked them, who do people say I am? They replied some said you're the Baptist, others say Elijah, and still others, 1 of the prophets.

But what about you, he asked? Who do you say that I am? Peter answered, you are the messiah. Jesus warned with him not to tell anyone about him. He then began to teach them that the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the law.

And that he must be killed, and after 3 days rise again, he spoke plainly about this. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter, get behind me, Satan, he said. You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns. There's a lot of stuff in here.

And as you say, it does connect together, but it's probably good just to take them chunk by chunk. Yeah. So you've got this miracle, and it is a very strange miracle. I always remember seeing a little sort of children's cartoon on this spirit record, it did make me laugh because the blind man's sort of blind. We can't see what's going on.

And then he hears someone spit at him. And it's like, boy, what's going on here? And and I sort of think, you know, it must have been a little bit like that. Yes. But the the strangest thing about this miracle is on the spit and the touching of his eyes is that it's done in 2 parts.

Yeah. And it's almost as if I mean, to be honest, the first part of the miracle isn't very good. Not really, because because He's a blind man that could get his way around. Now he's seeing men as trees walking. So is that a tree or is that a man?

You know? And in 1 sense, there's -- -with the problems that are using, isn't it? And so then Jesus comes back and does this sort of extra part, part 2 to the miracle. Yeah. But the question is, why has he done it like that?

And why is Mark writing it like that, isn't it? There are 2 parts. There's some understanding some seeing. Mhmm. But not that clearly.

And then there's there's the the second bit that really clears it up. Yeah. And they're the 2 halves of Mark's gospel are they. Now, we've seen that Jesus is the king, and the ruler, and the miracle worker, But now the second half, we've gotta see that that king, that miracle worker, that lord of heaven and earth has to die. And and it takes a miracle to see that the king would do that.

Mhmm. And it and it's really a summary of where the disciples are at even up to this point. So they've been following Jesus for some time now, and they've seen him do incredible things like feeding the 4000. And in their better moments, they have they have realized things about Jesus, and his extraordinary power, his authority, and his his godness. But as you say, they're only seeing parts of the story, and they don't understand why exactly this gold man the Sire has come.

Yeah. And that's you see that in the previous section, you know, they they they kind of know that they're in the boat with this really awesome teacher, but they're worried because they've only got 1 loaf. You know, so they see in part, but not in not in full. And And that would be that would be, even though this is a turning point in the gospel, this would be the ongoing battle for them, wouldn't it? To appreciate that the Christ had come to suffer and to die.

Right up until the very last moments, the disciples are trying to stop that -- Yeah. -- to not understand that. Yeah. And so as you say, this man, although it's wonderful for him and a great act of compassion in his life is changed at this point. It does serve, say, a a window into the face of the disciples to set it in part but not in whole.

Yeah. And you've got that in the next 2 sections. Say. Yeah. So in the next section, Jesus asks who do people say I have?

And there's all these ideas we'll come back to that perhaps another time. But tomorrow, And then he asks, who do you say I am? And and Peter says, well, you're the messiah. You're the Christ. Yeah.

You know, in other in Matthew's gospel, you're the son of a living God. Yeah. And Jesus says, you wouldn't have got back if you hadn't have opened your eyes. Yes. So he's he's getting he's getting a sense of who Jesus is.

Yeah. But it's only in part. So Jesus then says, don't tell anyone. Because you're still only seeing me as men as trees walking. You've got absolute truth.

It's true. Yeah. But you're not quite clear. And then Jesus comes onto this next section. He does.

Yeah. And what a contrast, and what a surprise this must have been. You are the Messiah. But then, Jesus takes his favorite title, the son of man, which there's a whole load to say about that. But it emphasizes both his humanity and his divinity.

And he is going to go to the cross, and he is going to submit himself to these barbarous authorities who are gonna treat him terribly and then crucify him. And at this point, now Peter thinks Jesus is the 1 not seeing clearly. Yes. So he thinks Jesus has got the half sight. But use a mental I mean, we gotta get this because it's easy for us to see this in some way.

He's just declared himself as God's Messiah. That God's ruling king of the universe. So it's like, let me You're right, Peter. I am the ruling king of the universe. Let me tell you what my coronation is gonna be like.

Yes. Oh, yes, lord, tell us. Yeah. Is it gonna be wearing a crown? Yes, it's gonna be wearing a crown of thorns, and then I'm gonna be executed.

What? How could the king of, you know, that's that's his dilemma. Mhmm. Yeah. Sorry.

No. No. You're absolutely. Yeah. And and and well, Peter is clearly feeling exactly that, isn't he?

Because he he you know, he He takes Jesus to 1 side. I love that. Yeah. No 1 knows. It's a piece.

It's a bit of a word over here. It's just about that. And it began to rebuking. And as I say, thinks Jesus is only seeing in part, not not understanding what it means for him to be a messiah. And Jesus has kept behind me satan, which which is startling, isn't it?

I believe. And because what he's saying there is that what you've just said, Peter, although you yourself are not Satan. What you've just said is what Satan wants, which is to stop me. From finishing my mission. Yes.

That's the great evil, isn't it? If the son of man can come but not go by the cross, you know, then that that whole game is that undone, isn't it? And and this shows us what the Christian message is as well. Yeah. So we we're not just to declare that Jesus is the great miracle worker at all, he is.

Yeah. But he is the 1 that takes our sin on the cross. And if we're not preaching, the cross of Jesus -- Yep. -- in the sense that he bears our sins in order to cleanse us to get us right with God. Then we are off satan.

And this is 1 of the problems, isn't it with, you know, supposed churches up and down there. Oh, I mean, we've got 1 in the middle of Kingston. And they they say, all kinds of things about Jesus, but they do not believe that Jesus is the 1 that dies on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. I know that's big stuff. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But, you know, he hasn't done that. Well, get behind me, say to says Jesus.

Yeah. This is the message. So he doesn't want Jesus doesn't want people going out, they're talking about men like trees walking. He wants clear vision that Jesus is the rescuer king. Yeah.

I think we've probably run out of time there and we'll come back to the next 1.