Mark 13 & 14
I'm sorry I'm late on this; I've been busy but also I have to admit I had a hard time pulling anything out of these two chapters.
About all I can toss out is how Mark is full of secrets and puzzling details. lucy_indisguise mentioned the cursing of the fig tree, which makes no sense. Why would Jesus curse a fig tree for not having figs in season? Furthermore, he also has the habit in Mark of telling a parable and then only telling his disciples what the story means when the crowdes are oput of earshot. In these chapters we find two very strange things, and the first is the man carrying a water jug who leads them to the upstairs room for the Last Supper. My Bible points out that this is about as normal as a man wearing a floral Laura Ashley dress would be on the street today. Carrying water was a woman's job. The conclusion I and a friend came to was that this was a pre-arranged signal, but why Jesus would have set this up I have no idea.
The second strange thing is the young man who comes to the Garden wearing nothing but a sheet, and who leaves it behind in order to flee the scene. I'm sure cinchntouch will have the most fun with that anecdote. I've always come to the conclusion that he was a curious bystander who was awakened by noise and came down to see what was going on. Were I the author, I might be tempted to put that in as a throwaway detail just because it's so odd.
Otherwise, I got nothing. Chapter 15 and 16 will end the shortest Gospel. For next weekend.
About all I can toss out is how Mark is full of secrets and puzzling details. lucy_indisguise mentioned the cursing of the fig tree, which makes no sense. Why would Jesus curse a fig tree for not having figs in season? Furthermore, he also has the habit in Mark of telling a parable and then only telling his disciples what the story means when the crowdes are oput of earshot. In these chapters we find two very strange things, and the first is the man carrying a water jug who leads them to the upstairs room for the Last Supper. My Bible points out that this is about as normal as a man wearing a floral Laura Ashley dress would be on the street today. Carrying water was a woman's job. The conclusion I and a friend came to was that this was a pre-arranged signal, but why Jesus would have set this up I have no idea.
The second strange thing is the young man who comes to the Garden wearing nothing but a sheet, and who leaves it behind in order to flee the scene. I'm sure cinchntouch will have the most fun with that anecdote. I've always come to the conclusion that he was a curious bystander who was awakened by noise and came down to see what was going on. Were I the author, I might be tempted to put that in as a throwaway detail just because it's so odd.
Otherwise, I got nothing. Chapter 15 and 16 will end the shortest Gospel. For next weekend.