Mark, Day Eighteen

OK, so you may have noticed that I haven't posted on Mark for a few days.  When I originally conceived this blog intention, I did not look closely enough at Mark.  I was thinking it would take me 2 weeks.  I've now passed 2 weeks, and I'm only half-way through Mark.  And while I love the discipline of reading a little every day, the writing about it is bogging me down a little.  I find that if I write about Mark, then I'm a lot less likely to write about other things, and I have all these half-formed ideas of blog posts in my head.  So I've decided to modify my intention.  I'm still going to blog about Mark, but my goal will now be only 3 (or 2) times a week.  So without further ado...

Mark 11

• Here we have the triumphal entry, cursing the fig tree, driving the money changers out of the Temple, and questioning of Jesus' authority. 
• I think I'm feeling distracted today because I don't have much to say.  The only thing that really strikes me here is Jesus seems very cranky.  Not in the triumphal entry section, but in the rest of it.  Cursing a fig tree because it's not growing figs during non-fig season?  Isn't that a little nutty?  But he does have a lot on his mind.  His death is quickly approaching at this point.  His disciples and the religious leaders are all unable to understand him most of the time.  And no one will give him a break.  I can see why he would be cranky (is that blasphemous - to call Jesus "cranky"?).  It's just not the way I often picture Jesus in my mind.