Sermon: "Crown of Thorns, Crown of Victory" by Pastor Andrew Gu

Mark 15:16-20


Before Jesus is to be crucified, he's led into the Governor's quarter. About 500 soldiers are called in after Jesus has already been beaten. These people mocking Jesus for being "The King of the Jews" were doing it in the king's palace. He was dressed in purple which symbolized royalty. It's doubtful that it was real purple since real purple was expensive. It was probably a faded scarlet robe. Then they put a crown of thorns on him and mocked him by kneeling and saying "Hail! King of the Jews!". Next, they "honor" him by hitting him with a reed and spit on him again and again (NIV). After that, they put on his regular clothes so that he can be crucified. Finally they "worshipped" him. It's highly insulting since Jesus deserves ALL of our worship and they gave him a fake and insulting kind of worship.

What about us? We call him "king" but we insult him with the way that we worship Him. We are no better than these soldiers. When things don't go the way that we want, we rid ourselves of Him. Just because we bow, wear nice clothes, and show it outwardly, that doesn't mean that we are really worshipping Him. Are we showing halfhearted worship and obedience?

Jesus did nothing wrong and even Pilate knew this (vs. 14) or in John's account "not guilty". He said "What wrong has he done?" He had done nothing but heal people and do good for them. Yet Jesus doesn't fight back. Why not? Jesus was on a mission (Isaiah 50). There was a huge problem: our sin and our rebellion towards God. God's way is always better. Something was wrong in the world. The soldiers were saying Jesus was weak, not worthy, and a fake king. Yet what they were doing was that he was actually worthy ironically.

He came to rescue us because we needed rescuing (Galatians 3:13). Jesus willingly subjected himself to abuse and mockery for our behalf. It's a triumphant endurance (Spurgeon). Thankfully it isn't the low point of the story. It's the climax. This is the story of redemption and sacrifice. His death is not a defeat. It's the victory. The crown is not just used to symbolize royalty. It symbolized victory.

Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)

Instagram: l.a.seoulguy

Changgyeonggung Palace at Night in Pictures (Seoul, South Korea)

In 2018, evening visits to Changgyeonggung Palace were only offered at special times. However, beginning this year you can visit there from 9:00am until 9:00pm from Tuesday until Sunday and the latest time that you can be admitted in is at 8:00pm. Please note that the palace is closed on Mondays.

Here are some pictures that I took with my wife last year. The place is underrated since everyone talks about Gyeongbokgung Palace and not many tourists know about this one. It's not that huge, but you can expect to spend about an hour here.

The entrance

Outer courtyard

The center of the temple

A full moon

A woman is taking pictures in a traditional Korean outfit called a "hanbok"

Exiting out of the temple

Cost: Adults= W1,000; Aged 7-18= W500; For children under 6, senior citizens over 65 years old, and those wearing a hanbok= FREE.
Hours: See above
Address: 185 Changgyeonggung-ro, Jongro-gu, Seoul
Directions: Hyehwa Station (Seoul, Subway Line 4), Exit 4. Walk for approximately 15 minutes.
Website: cgg.cha.go.kr (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese)
Inquiries: +82-2-762-4868 (Korean only)
1330 Korea Travel Hotline: +82-2-1330 (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Malay, Vietnamese, and Thai language available)


Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)

Instagram: l.a.seoulguy