Corona Chronicles - Crown of Thorns

Welcome to Corona Chronicles. This is season 2. Just remind you of that, Crown of Thorns where remarks gospel. Mhmm. And we are reading we're in chapter 10 and we're we're at verse 35.

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. Teacher, they said, we want you to do for us whatever we ask. What do you want me to do for you? He asked? They replied, let 1 of us sit at your right hand and the other at your left in your glory.

You don't know what you are asking, Jesus said. Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with. We can, they answered. Jesus said to them, you will dream the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with. But to sit at my right or left, is not for me to grant.

These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared. So this is a kind of part 1, part 2 we're doing here. Yeah. Yeah. We're gonna do the the other 1 next week.

But just to just to pick up on what you're saying there in your introduction, that we've called this crown of thorns, you know, because Jesus is on the road to the cross. Yeah. He's on the road. He's going there, ain't he? He's going there.

He's gonna wear that crown. There's gonna be suffering. And in the last session, we were reflecting on Jesus is teaching about his own suffering. And and therefore, you know, what a juxtaposition to read today's past and to see that James and John, these disciples, these sons of Ebody -- Yeah. -- are saying, firstly, I mean, we want you to do whatever we are.

I mean, you know, it's an extraordinary kind of way to begin a conversation. You mean you mean crown of glory? Crown of glory. Yeah. You must have got that wrong, Jesus.

That's definitely what they're thinking. Because Jesus graciously in order to draw out probably says, what do you want me to do for you? Let 1 of us sit at your right and the other sit at your left and your glory. So they know something true about Jesus -- Yeah. -- which is that he's destined for glory.

They can sort of see that. But they're wanting to ride on the the the coattails, is it? Of his -- Yeah. -- of his of his success, I love I love Jesus' wisdom in in even in that. Because someone will come to me and say, Dean, do me a favor and I'll go, yeah, what?

Yeah. Instead of saying, what would depends what you want me to do? Yeah. Yeah. You just feel like Yeah.

It depends on what you want. Yeah. It depends on the and and and and you know, this is interesting because in chapter 9 when was talking about his own suffering. We then discover that on the road, the disciples have been arguing about their own greatness. So that they cannot seem to see and, you know, aren't we all like this?

Yeah. Yeah. That that that Jesus' rose is 1 of is 1 of suffering and death and then glory. They they just think that their own great and their own glory is is the key point here following Jesus. Yeah.

Yeah. It's it's weird, isn't it? I mean, like, you know, and maybe you sort of can understand it because these these men, they're Jews, they're probably they've they've lived every day maybe under Roman occupation. So they've they see what glory is. Yeah.

You know? And they're like, we wanna taste that. You know? And finally someone comes into their life and chooses them to be part of his inner circle, his band of brothers, you know, and they're like, this is our chance, you know? And so you sort of, you understand the motivation behind them asking this question, but Again Jesus, you know, he goes on to to to to teach them, look, this is not what my kingdom is all about, you know?

And so then he starts to, you know, he starts to bring up these well, he asked him this He asked him this question, didn't he? You know, you don't know what you're asking, you know. Can you drink the cup I drink? We'll be baptized with the baptism. I'm baptized with, you know.

Quite religious, you know, these are religiously symbolic sort of words, aren't they? You know, cup and baptism. Yeah. But he's basically saying, look, you you don't I'm going to the cross. Yeah.

I'm going to drink. A cup. Yeah. You know, and it's not it's not it's not gonna be a celebration cup. It's gonna be a suffering cup.

And I'm gonna, you know, I'm gonna go into the the the waters of baptism, but it's it's not, you know, again, it's not a celebration. This is I'm gonna be I'm going to the cross I'm gonna I'm going to die. Are you ready to come with me? You know? And and they again, they prove that they don't understand what they're saying because, yes, of course we can.

Yeah. Yeah. You know? Yeah. Yeah.

I mean, it's a pretty confident response, isn't it? Absolutely. Yeah. Not even a thought like, not even a let me just think about that. Not even what do you mean by that, please.

So that they obviously, in their own mind -- Yeah. -- are fairly clear on what he's talking about, but revealing the fact of it, probably not. Yeah. Yes. So they they've got this idea of glory.

And Jesus is saying, no. Look, the road the road behind me is a road of suffering. And you know, if you wanna participate with me in the glory to come, you will participate in my sufferings. Yeah. And you will, actually.

And you will. Yeah. Yeah. That's what he says. Jesus said to them, you will drink up I drink can be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with.

Yeah. In other words, you you will experience at hands of the world, the kinds of things that I've experienced. You know, your your affiliation and your union to me is gonna mean you walk the same road. Yeah. Yeah.

And so, It's not that there isn't glory to come because Jesus after his death will rise -- Mhmm. -- and he will come back -- Yeah. -- and there will be a new creative And he said, yeah, that's that's what he was going on about in the, you know, the rich man story, isn't it? You know? Yeah.

Yeah. Exactly. There will be eternal life, you know. And it's both exactly, it's both aspects, isn't it? That there is a leaving and a gaining.

But in the leaving, there is persecutions as well. So, I think it's just, you know, it's so like us this, isn't it? Yeah. Because we are even after years with Jesus, we are we are slow to learn lessons, aren't we? About what it means to follow him.

And even when we're in positions where we teach others what it means to follow him. Yeah. Yeah. You know, we're still so slow to get it ourselves. Yeah.

No. I do want to do you wonder though, do you do you wonder when they saw Jesus on on the cross and they saw the thieves. Mhmm. And do you think James and John, you know, they were like, we dodged a bullet there. Do you know what I mean?

Because, you know, like because that's basically, you know, that's where it that's where this picture is is most stark. Yeah. You know? Oh my goodness, you know. That's what we were asking.

That's what we were asking for. Yeah. Yeah. You know? And, you know, I just think I just wonder like, when they Why did the penny drop for Yeah.

Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. It was amazing. Well, that's what it means to follow Jesus.

It is to identify with him in his suffering and not just to use him for earthly glory, basically. Yeah. And we're gonna see the kind of the the flip side of that in our next session, aren't we? It doesn't mean this, what does mean. Yeah.

Yeah.