Corona Chronicles - Crown of Thorns

Welcome back to Corona Chronicles. We're here in at the end of chapter 8. We've just had He to declare Jesus System Messiah, and then he's predicted his death. So once they've got who he is, then Jesus starts to talk about why he's come. And now we see what it means to follow Jesus.

If he is the Messiah, if he has come to die for us, now we see what it means. So we're reading from verse 34. Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said, Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it. But whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.

What good is it for someone to gain the whole world yet forfeit their soul? What can anyone give in exchange for their soul? Anyone is ashamed of me in my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation. The son of man, would be ashamed of them when he comes in his father's glory with the Holy Angels. He said to them, truly I tell you, someone who is standing here will not taste death.

Before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power. Thanks, Ben. Yeah. Jesus is speaking, big truth isn't Yeah. Yeah.

You know, and he's asking some serious questions like what are you worth? What is what is your sole worth? Mhmm. You know, what what could you What what could you gain from the whole world? What's your ambition?

You know? Yeah. What could you swap for a human life? Amazing. Know.

Yeah. And and he's and he's saying this because he's calling the crowd to himself just started this sort of bombshell moment with Peter. You know, it sees they know now why Who he is, and now they're gonna start to learn about why he's cut. Yeah. And, you know, he calls the crowd to him and says, look, if you wanna be my disciple, guess where that's gonna lead you.

Yep. You're gonna die. Yeah. Come and die. I know.

It's quite a weird thing, isn't it, to say that? Yeah. Yeah. And it's like it's probably completely the opposite of what a lot of people would expect Jesus to say. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. And it does get confused to that, doesn't it? It's like, I've got you've got you've got a a heavy cross to bear, you know, sort of thing. Yeah.

And and Pete, a lot of people sort they they they they sort of see this crop the cross has any any sort of general hardship. Right. You know, and that you know, hardships are are, you know, they are burdens to bear. But but specifically, Jesus here is talking about no. You're gonna follow me, then you will, you know, you you will go I'm I'm going to the cross, you know, and and if you want to be my disciple, then you're gonna go the road of shame and of ridicule and and everything I'm gonna suffer.

Yeah. Yeah. Then you're gonna have to be willing -- Yeah. -- to to suffer the same, you know. Yeah.

And and you need to count that cost, you're willing to go. Yep. Yeah. Yeah. And so it's being obedient to to the father as well as -- Yeah.

-- Jesus troubled that path because you're just being obeedient to the father. And if we are gonna be his disciples, we also tread the path of obedience. Yeah. And often, that does mean suffering and stuff in this world. Like Yeah.

I mean, it's it's worth like, we've got to understand like Jesus, he, you know, he he pays for our sim across the obviously, you know, we're not going that far. We're not -- Yeah. -- we're not sort of, you know, we we trust in him. He does the he he pays the sacrifice. Yeah.

But but everything else, you know, he becomes our example in the sense as me. He he he hangs naked on a cross. And and everybody looks at him and says, that cannot be a king. That cannot be the way to live. That cannot be that's not the way to life.

Yeah. That is that is utter shame and humiliation. Yep. And no person who's sort of ambitious in this world is gonna want to follow back. That's right.

You know? Yeah. Yeah. But but Jesus says, You know, whoever wants to save their life will lose it, whoever loses their life for me and for the will save it. Yeah.

It's really it's it's a clever way of talking because when you if you read that without knowing anything about Jesus -- Yeah. You sort of think, oh, I'm gonna have to lose my life. Yeah. Yeah. I'm gonna have to give that up for something that's rubbish.

But actually, he then goes on to say, you know, what good is it for someone to gain the whole time for the news is? He's actually saying, no, you put it the wrong way round. Like, you think the whole what you think giving up even the whole world is is a sacrifice to follow me? No. Like, in in losing that, you gain your soul.

It's a staggering claim business. Yeah. So, like, here's a man, you know, he's he's he's nothing. Yeah. To to to the teachers of the law, to, you know, to the Roman you know, politicians or, you know, who who are you?

Just just just just, you know, just carpenter -- Yeah. -- from powdunk place, you know? And you're saying, what good is it for someone to gain the whole world? I'm worth more than the whole world any land beginning ferrari, any -- Yeah. -- you know, any top penthouse you can think of.

Mhmm. Any, you know Yeah. No. No. I'm worth more.

Yeah. Come full of me. Yeah. Definitely. Definitely.

And I think this is you know, Jesus When Jesus thought that, you know, you have to that you have to eat him. Yeah. He's the bread of life. Yeah. Yeah.

And peep people were like, that's a hard teacher. Yeah. And it separated those who are really serious about a lot of people nowadays were saying, yeah, I believe in Jesus. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. It's like, well, hang on a minute. Do you, you know, do you? Yeah. Or do you Do you please What'd you say?

Yeah. You chase thing in this world. You you're willing to admit you're an adulterous generation. Right. Yeah.

And your, you know, your your your sinful generation, you it wouldn't that's what Jesus thinks of of of you. Yeah. And particularly in verse 38, if anyone is ashamed of me in my words. Yeah. So nowadays, we often almost a lot of Christians are apologetic about all sin.

Let's not let's not talk about sin in this way or, you know, maybe let's let oh, maybe just didn't mean that And we're a bit ashamed of him in some ways. Yeah. Because he's starting to cool the world out in different things. Yeah. And as as society moves away from Christian sort of heritage and teaching.

People there's gonna be a choice that we make. Do we stick with Jesus and what he said? Or do we go with the world? And are a bit embarrassed by Jesus. Yeah.

Yeah. Well, you know, he says look, if you're if you're ashamed of me then, you know, what does he say? When the file when he come Oh, yeah. The sun man would be ashamed of them. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And that's a true scary.

The son of my dear is ashamed of them when he comes in his father's glory. Again, it's just staggering claims that he's making. Yeah. He's coming in his father's glory. Right.

Yeah. You know? Yeah. Amazing. Amazing.

So anyway, I guess, but we ashamed of the world or we ashamed of of the son of man. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's a question for you.