Corona Chronicles - Crown of Thorns

Well, this is our last in this series, Corona Coronicles, Crown of Thorns. We went through the whole book of Revelation and we earlier on -- Mhmm. -- in in the coronavirus lockdown stuff, and we've worked away right the way through Mark gosh. We're looking older and frail, no doubt. Looking forward to it.

Agreed. Absolutely. Well, here is Jesus and he is breaking out of lockdown. So he's been in the tomb, and now we have the resurrection. And Mark is very strange here because he's suddenly abruptly ends.

So we're just reading these last few verses of the last chapter of mark mark 16. When the sabbath was was over, Mary Magdalene, married the mother of James and Salome, brought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus body. Very early on the first day of the week just after sunrise. They were on their way to the tomb, and they asked each other, who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb? But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.

As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side and they were alarmed. Don't be afraid, he said. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen. He is not here.

See the place where they laid him. But go and tell his disciples and Peter. He is going ahead of you into Galile. There you will see him. Just as he told you.

Trendbling and bewildered. The women went out and fled from the tomb They said nothing to anyone because they were afraid. Yeah. It is quite an abrupt ending, isn't it? But it's hard to, you know, overstate the significance of this really, because this is what we've been leading up to, isn't it?

The death and the resurrection of Christ. You know, if Christ is not risen, then really all of what we've said has been a waste of time, isn't it? If he didn't rise from the dead, All that he said about himself isn't true, it means that we have no hope. You know, there's there's so many problems if Jesus risen. And so this this is it.

This is where we've been leading up to. This is the the new world, the new age, the resurrection age breaking into this world in in the person of Christ and setting the pattern. Of things to come for those who trust in him. And and it begins with these women again. You know, they've been at the cross They've seen where he was laid and now they are going to be first at the tomb.

And they're coming with these spices Because a bit like Joseph of Aaron Mathea with his linen, they want to they want to show affection for Christ even in his death. So they want to give him a proper burial they want to make sure that he's looked after even in his death. So withdrawn again just to the you know, they're just the the humble devotion of these women for their for their lord. That's where it starts, isn't it? Yeah.

And again, yes, as you say, they're they're the first eyewitnesses. Again, if you were making this up, I think you would have a whole group of disciples, you know, baptism Roman officials and -- Yep. -- and they would see Jesus that sort of the -- Yeah. -- they would see the stone rolling back in you. And then Scrives walking out and that sort of stuff.

Yep. So it's not done like that at all. It's done with these women seeing this. And they get that And there's a lot edited out here. He doesn't tell us about the Roman guards that were placed there, that the fact that they had run off, you get that in other gospel, sent you.

So it sort of paired right down here. This is the funny thing. He gives us details of certain things, and then he sort of takes away quite a lot of detail that the other gospel writers give us. So here here they are. But there is there is stuff here that is interesting.

So you we were talking about the the linen cloth and stuff. Because if what happened in the old testament was the priest would go in on the day of atonement he would go into the holy of holies and put the blood on the on the arker the covenant. He would then come out and he would take out of the place where God was. He he would take his linen clothes off and fold them up. And when the people saw that the linen clothes were taken off, it meant atonement had happened.

It meant that that the blood sacrifice was acceptable to God because he didn't kill the priest, the high priest. He'd come out. He'd sort of gone into the place and he'd risen again. And that's what's happened here. Yeah.

If Jesus hadn't risen, we you know, the wages of sin is death -- Yeah. -- and the gift of God is eternal life. Well, if if Jesus has paid the wages of sin, death, he has to rise again to show the payments been done. And so that's what's going on here. And you've got all of that wrapped up with the atonement is is is acceptable we are now at 1 with God -- Yeah.

-- because of Jesus. Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, you find, as you say, you find all kinds of detail tells about that in the other gospels, don't you? And it just it just shows us not only the connection to the old testament which is really important.

But that these really are right with this minutes as well. Because the reality is, you know, if at the end of every gospel we found a word for word replica, you know, it would be suspicious, wouldn't it? If every eyewitness or the same thing in exactly the same way, exactly the same time. It would look like a fabrication, wouldn't it? But the fact that there are slightly different details all building up the same without any of the central truth missing shows that we're dealing with some really important stuff here which which is all about the atonement, as you say.

And they've got the you know, as they're approaching the team, they've got this practical problem, haven't they? Who's gonna roll away the stone? And and the stone is quite a big deal, isn't it? So In verse 46, you know, there's a big stone going there. Who's gonna roll away the stone?

And they saw the stone had been rolled away. So this wasn't like a pebble. You could you know, dislodge with your shoe. You know, it was a great thing that was probably weighing tons and tons. And so to see it moved would have been the first sort of alarm wouldn't it?

Yeah. Yeah. What? Yeah. This is definitely the 1, isn't it?

Yeah. We saw where he was laid. Yeah. This is it. But what's happened to that stone?

So that would but then there's more alarming stuff, isn't there? Yes. Because you've got this, you know, presumably. It's an angel described here. In white robes and they're alarmed again.

Yeah. But you would be. I mean if you we're going to a funeral with an open casket, and you went up to pay your respects, and it suddenly sat down. And you you saw life where there should have been death. Yeah.

You would be thinking, what? I know if he's going on here. This is Right? The stone's gone. There's a living person in here.

Yeah. So you can understand their their kind of alarm. Yeah. I mean, the other gospel sort of fill in that with a bit bit of that. Because the linen clothing is on -- It's there.

-- is on, you know, and you've got sort of angel either end, which takes you back into the holy of holies. Isn't it? Yeah. There's an angel looking down at the the box. It's the cover, you know, the cover and so forth.

So lots and lots of stuff there Don't be alarmed. You're looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. So that's happened, you you know, dead and buried. He is alive. He is not here.

And what what an amazing thing because there is a grave. There there is a hole in death now. You know, that death has got a hole in it. There's an entrance if you like to to beyond death to resurrection life, isn't because of Jesus. Yeah.

And it's a certain thing. You know, he was crucified. He has risen. He is not here. And then you know, see where they've laid him, you know, look with your eyes, hear with your ears, see, you know, and then go and tell the other disciples.

He's going ahead of you there. You will see him just as he told you. Yeah. And, you know, that's that in some ways is Jesus' message to us, isn't it? You know, we know he's risen and he's gone back to be with the father.

But we have this promise, you will see him just as he told you, you know, that 1 day we are gonna see the resurrected lord ourselves just as he told us And so there's great hope for this 1. When I first became a Christian, that verse used to be in quite a lot of old little chapels up But it all it had was that part of the verse. It it just had over the the front where the pulpit was. It just had these words. He is not here.

It was the other way around. He is not here. He has risen. And and you sort of you've just become a Christian and you want to follow the lord Jesus. And the first thing you read is he's not here.

I've got somewhere else then. But, yeah, I mean, it's not a great verse to rip out a context and stick up on the thing. Is it? Yeah. So he's alive, then they are to go they are to to tell the male disciples, again, underlining that this is true.

And the significance and backbone of women within Christianity. And then it's sort of sort of left there. It just stops Yeah. No wonder people wanted to add on a bit. Yeah.

Yeah. Well, it does, doesn't it? And I think they're trembling and bewildered and they went out and they fled. And I think this tells us that as committed as these women were to Jesus just like the other disciples. They they perhaps hadn't understood the fullness of what was gonna happen here.

You know, you don't get the impression they were expecting to see there risen lord, as he'd said. And so they're still awaiting that final confirmation of their faith when they will see their lord and then they will go into the world. And the other gospels take us to -- Yeah. -- step out of their way. And we were talking about this.

It is a very funny way to end. And why would Mark just end there? Mhmm. And we were saying, well, it's it's a bit like that film. What's it called?

Exception. Inception. Yeah. Where at the end, if anybody knows it, where he spins a little spinning top thing. And the question is, is it a dream or is it not a dream?

And in dreams, it carries on spinning. And in non dreams, it falls over, doesn't it? And the the director has focused in on this, he spins it and it wobbles. And then that's the end. Yeah.

So you don't know whether it falls over or if it carries on. And and in what and that then gets you arguing. Yes. And then she'll write you in, isn't it? Yeah.

Apparently, there's a whole load of fans debating and arguing and you've got these different groups and stuff. Yeah. But the point of this may well be he stops there to make us say, what what happened next? Yeah. What happened next to intrigue us to find out the truth.

Yeah. And it's it's inviting us in, isn't it? As you say, to to to find out more, to see what happened to Jesus, and to to see him ourselves with the eyes of faith, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah.

So that's the end of Crown of Thorn. And we hope to be doing a new series soon, so look out for that. If you could let us know what are the things they can do? Yeah. Well, you can you can like the video you can subscribe to the channel and you can hit the bell, which means that you will get notified when we do release a new video.

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