Mark 15

Boy those chief priests sure do know how to stir up a crowd. I would have liked to see the sales pitch that they gave to the people in the crowd that would make them choose to release a murder over Jesus. I wonder what it would take to convince a crowd today of the same thing? People then were looking at the priests in high regard and probably trusted their words too much. Today in America, there are more people that can be skeptics to a situation and not as easily swayed. I'm sure if you were in the right place today it could happen, but I think people are less willing to follow the words of a few without having to give more reasons.

Mark 14

If some person wanted to annoint my body with that much perfume, I wouldn't want it to happen. Can you imagine how strong Jesus smelled after that? It seems like a couple of sprays are enough to make a person gag, imagine a whole bottle!
Peter's denial is also something good to see. Jesus knew that Peter would fall behind. It is nice to konw that Jesus knows that even the strongest will fail at times. It gives some encouragement to me knowing that I have no where near that faith that Peter did.

Mark 13

Watch and wait for the Lord to come. In verses 7 and 8, it talks about how our world is today. Is Jesus coming soon? That is a question that I don't have an answer to. That happens a lot to me. Especially teaching 4th graders. I hope Jesus comes soon. I also am selfish because I want to see my girls grow up. When I get to Heaven, will I know my girls? Will they be able to talk to me? I can't wait to find out.

Mark 12

I read the parable of the tenants twice. I don't really remember that one at all. I read it in a couple of versions and tried to see if there was any way that there were parts of it that I remembered. The rest of the chapter I remembered. That was the weird part. I remembered

• Give to Ceasar that which is Ceasar's
• The many marriages of the widow
• Love your neighbor as yourself
• The widow giving the two coins

I don't know where or how I missed that story, it is just weird.

Mark 11

That poor fig tree. Figs weren't in season. I think killing it as an example to the disciples was a great illustration of the power of Christ.
I also think about how Jesus went-off in the Temple. Our church is a sacred place. The things that we do in it should be held in a sacred manner. If it is praising God, or having a Men's fellowship group, it needs to be something that honors God.

Mark 10

Looking at verses 17 - 31, the part that talked about giving up all of your possessions to follow Christ, it looks hard. The only thing that I thought of that this would be possible would be in the field of missions. This would be where you would need to uproot yourselves and to relocate with the purpose of ministry. Is this the only way in which you could follow these scriptures to the letter of the law? I'm not going to sell my house, quit my job, and to constantly look for people to share Christ with, I don't think that is what God is asking me to do at this point. Not needing to get into the debate of how literal to take the bible, I was just curious how a guy living in the suburbs with his family could do this. I tithe, I go to church, I know I could do better ministering to those around me, but how can I put these verses to heart?

Mark 9

I think the part from verses 14 - 27. It has some suspense to it. Just imagining Jesus considering how to heal this boy and teaching his father about having faith to be able to be healed. There is the added element in verse 26. It says that Jesus saw a crowd running toward him. I imagine it being like in a television show today with someone in the show waiting for a file to load and running out of the room just in time. It is funny to see that happening in the Bible as well.