Corona Chronicles - Crown of Thorns

Welcome back to Corona Chronicles. We are coming to the crux of the matter here. This is the crucifixion story. That's what that means. Crocs isn't it?

Crocs are the matter. Yeah. Yeah. That's why I said it. Yeah.

I know. Yeah. It's great. Brilliant, mate. Yeah.

Thank you. So we're gonna read chapter 15 from verses 21 to chapter verses 32. Street. A certain man from cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country. And they were forced and they forced him to carry the cross.

They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha. Which means the place of the skull. Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.

It was 9 in the morning when they crucified him. The written notice of the charge against him read the king of the Jews. They crucified 2 rebels with him, 1 on his right and 1 on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, so you are going you who are going to destroy the temple and build it in 3 days, come down from the cross and save yourself. In the same way, the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him Among themselves, he saved others, they said, but he can't save himself.

Let this Messiah, this king of Israel come down now from the cross that we may see and believe. Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him. Yeah. Just just before we get into the sort of you know the power of this of this passage. It is just a little interesting that Mark throws in a few names -- Yeah.

-- I think. Because he says, look, a certain man from Sireen or so Sireen is Simon. And then he says, the father of Alexander and Rufus He doesn't waste his words normally. No. And lots of shortest gospel.

Right? Yeah. And the lots of people we don't know what the names are. You know, people healed and we don't know their name. So why is he throwing this in?

Yeah. And, okay, it may not be right. But when you read the letter of Romans, right at the end, Paul is is writing to the Roman Christians and he names a whole load of people, you know, like 30 odd people or something. And there's a broke called roofers there. And I think it must be connected.

So so the beauty of that is that you've got an eyewitness person here, rufus. Yeah. Whose dad carried the cross for Jesus. And perhaps probably, rather, he's he's a believer of worshiping Jesus -- Yeah. -- in in Rome.

Amazing. Yeah. And what's the story to tell you grandkids? Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. It's incredible. And it and it's it is a proof, isn't it? It's it's a proof of the accuracy of the gospel, the the believability. Are there.

It's historical. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So that I mean, it's it's 1 it is great that that you know, because because this is a very important part of the gospel.

Yeah. And right at you know, this is the heart in a sense, isn't it? Yeah. And right there there's there's another little note of of history for you. Yeah.

So don't, you know, this is not a made up story. Yeah. Yeah. And so therefore, we, you know, we we we see Jesus. He's brought to this place called Gol Gotha, again, a named place that people would know about, so it's not it's not fictional.

Yeah. And then it means to place the skull, which is rather a sort of -- Yeah. -- horrible thing, I suppose to do a death. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, I was when I was a kid he man was, you know, was big, you know. And -- Yeah. There was like a scala tour or something. Skeala tour.

Skala tour. That's it. Skull mountain and that kind of stuff. Yeah. That's right.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So it's a sort of place of death and and so forth.

And then he's offered so he's I mean, I think I think verse 24, those sort of 4 words. It's just quite shocking, really, how it's written, isn't it? And they crucified him. Yeah. I mean, this is a horrific -- Very heavy.

-- torture by the Romans. Yeah. You know, it's extraordinary and they crucified him. This this is a horrific thing. Yeah.

But just before that, this is they offered him wine mixed with meh, but he didn't take it. What's that about? Well, I mean, it it it it would have been an honest and anesthetic. Yeah. You know, it would it would have dulled the pain.

You know, that's that's So they're being kind to him. Yeah. Well, they're trying to, you know, they're trying to like get take take away some of the horror of what's happening, but, you know, he he refuses it. I think he he knows he said before, hasn't he, this this cup that he's gonna drink. He's gonna drink down to its drinks, you know, he's gonna take the cup of God's wrath.

Yeah. And and, you know, he doesn't want to take any of that away. You know? I think this this is a anyone in their right mind would have said, yeah, give me that. Yeah.

Bockets of it. A bucket. Yeah. But but he he I think it's a it's a note to to us as believers that, you know, he was he was in his right mind. Yeah.

He had you know, he and and they'll also And he wants to be in control. Yeah. He's giving up the gun He's in control, exactly. Yeah. Yeah.

No 1 else, you know, no 1 else has taken his life or taken control away from him by a separate problem. And even in even in it, he's fully in in control of all of his capabilities, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Then it's 9 in the morning when they crucified him and they put this written charge, which which is is it's just fantastic, really.

Yeah. Yeah. Because it's not what the religious leaders want to -- No. -- hate it. And even though sort of done perhaps through mockery.

Yeah. It's making this statement, isn't it? Yeah. So they're mocking of him as as a king that we saw. Yeah.

He is a king. Yeah. Yeah. I'm mocking him of the being the king of the Jews by sticking this thing up. It's telling you who he is.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And they say don't know that, you know, don't don't write don't write that, you know, that the Romans write it up and they write it in different languages, but and they they they bulk it at first. They said, you know, don't do that.

But now now that now that it's up there, they're just they're going along with it and so it becomes part of it part of their mockery later on as they as they, you know, whisper to each other and let this messiah, the king of Israel come down. Yeah. So Ben last time was talking about the the 3 positions of Christ, you know, he's the prophet priest and king. Yeah. And they're all being mocked here and we we saw that him being a prophet was mocked, him being a king was mocked.

And we've got this sort of priest stuff here with the chief priests mocking him and and and that sort of thing that's going going on here. But what else have we got? I mean, this does take us back. If you go back again, we last time we went back to Isaiah 53. If you go back to Psalm 22 Yes.

Matt is huge. It's so much, isn't it? It says all who see me, and this is Christ on the cross, isn't it? This is a -- Yeah. -- basically a prayer of his.

Yeah. All who see me mock me, they heal they hurl insults shaking their heads. He trusts in the lord. They say, let the lord rescue him. Let him deliver him since he delights in him.

And then it, you know, it goes on with all of the mockery and all of the the stuff that's going on there. Yeah. Yeah. And and and and Psalm 22 brings in the whole aspect of a satanic power here as well that Satan's forces are there. Yeah.

Beasts around him. Yeah. And and he goes on to say in the next section, you know, he takes some of that psalm on his lips, doesn't he? Yeah. You know, but just the way Mark slows down here.

You know, start, you know, as you said starting from verse 24, he, you know, just for me, it slows it right down and all those details are just sort of brought up 1 by 1, you know, you know, the rebels crucified with him. He paints this picture so luckily. And it and it is it just it is it is horrifying picture, isn't it? But then out of the mouths of mockers comes truth. Yeah.

Yeah. It's amazing how they just can't help saying truth. So they're mocking him. Why don't you come down? Yeah.

He saved others -- Yeah. -- but he can't save himself -- Yeah. -- and theologically that's bang on. Yeah. If if other if others like you and me are gonna be saved from God's wrath from from this -- Yeah.

-- you know, he can't save himself. Yeah. Not my will, but your will be done. Yeah. He's on the cross saving us.

Yeah. Fantastic. Yeah. So I I I I I do love this. I I I mean, I I remember you saying when can Kenya West had his LPL.

He was called Jesus' king, I think. And people were mocking him all over. But in order to mock him in all the newspapers -- Yeah. -- and they were mocking Jesus and all his stuff, they had to say the name of the album, Jesus' king. And and you were saying -- They were rejoicing this.

It's all over the place. Right. Right. Right. And I think that's right.

And so the mockery God uses -- Yeah. -- you can't break his plan. No. Yeah. People speaking better than they know and, you know, speaking truth even when they don't even believe it themselves.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But extraordinary, isn't it? Yeah.

They would heap insults on him. Yeah. Yeah. So Again, this is an opportunity I think for you to to thank. Thank Jesus that he actually didn't save himself -- Mhmm.

-- but he but he did save you -- Yeah. -- if you trust in him and what a wonderful thing. These words, the last those last words of the of the chief priest see and believe, you know? See and believe. That's what they should have been doing.

Yeah. And that's what we do, isn't it? You know, we we we look to the cross and we put our faith in Jesus. Yep. And that's how you that's how you become a Christian see and believe.

See you next time.