The All to Human Jesus

July 17, 2010, 7:48 am by dc-agape.

Mark 11

Jesus enters Jerusalem with two interesting occurrences.  First, he takes a colt from one of the villagers.  He does not ask for it, nor does he pay for it.  The colt is only “graciously” given, most likely because the owner does not know that it has been stolen.  When questioned about the taking the colt:

Mark 11:3 If anyone asks you, “Why are you doing this?” tell him, “The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.”

Not only is he taking others possession but he is using authority “The Lord” is similar to the US’s eminent domain.  That is why I used apostrophes around graciously, the use of the title “The Lord” required the villagers to “give” up possession of the colt.  Second, another case of mangling the Word of God occurs.

Mark 11:9-10 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!  Hosanna in the highest!

The study notes claim that this come directly from the Book of Psalms.  Let’s see what it says there:

Psalms 118:25-26 O Lord save us; O Lord grant us success.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.  From the house of the Lord we bless you.

I have underlined the only sentence that is similar.  Unfortunately, Psalms 118 is not about Jesus.  It is about David and blessing the men or man who has been victorious in battle against the enemy.  So we again have the Traditions of Man changing the Word of God.

This story of the “Triumphal Entry” has great meaning to a gay Atheist.  First we see Jesus use his author to get what he wants (just like corrupt politicians today).  Second, we see Traditions of Men making connections between the Old Testament and Jesus out of misreading of the OT.  Third, we see that the Word of God has been changed to add significance to something that is nothing more than hero worship.  The most important thing to remember is that the Jewish people of the time believed that the Messiah was going to physically overthrow the Roman invaders.

The next story we see a very human Jesus (even though that last story was pretty human as well).  First, he curses a fig tree because it was not the season for figs.  Why would anyone curse a tree for not bearing fruit out of season?  Even the most naive farmer knows that his crops will only grow during the correct season.  But we get to see an even more human-like response from Jesus when he enters the Temple.  I personal like the story, but here is where we see the perfect, loving Jesus in a complete rage.  I had pointed out other verses where Jesus was very human (Mark 8:17, Mark 8:33, Mark 9:19, for example).  But here Jesus throws tables and chairs, forces people out of the temple, and denies access to the temple as well.  These are not the acts of a loving savior, he is brutally angry.  Personally, I think this is great!  Forcing the money grubbers out of the Temple is wonderful; will anyone do this in the Christian Churches?  Is it not the exact same thing today with people hocking their CD’s, their prayer cloths, and even their inspirational books inside the churches? 

As they enter Jerusalem in the morning the disciples notice that the fig tree (that had no figs because of the season) was dead.  Jesus had killed an innocent plant because of his own human needs and anger.  Very loving indeed!  Jesus quickly changes the subject.

This new subject is about prayer.  Many people wonder why prayers are not answered…well here is the reason.  You have to believe that the prayer is already answered!  Jesus uses the example of throwing a mountain into the ocean (can you imagine the tsunami?).  But he adds an additional requirement…forgive everyone who has ever harmed you.  So that’s why so few prayers are answered!  Today no one has that type of faith and that type of forgiveness.

The final part of this chapter deals with the religious leaders of the time demand to know what authority Jesus has to teach.  A pretty important question, today we ask it of many religious leaders, or at least should (scientology, anyone?).  Jesus replies to the question with a question, he has done this before (Mark 10:2-3), and isn’t it just rude?  Worse, the question Jesus asked was a trick question….there was not correct answer that the religious leaders could use!  So Jesus tells them:

Mark 11:33 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”  Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

By far this is the most unloving answer I have ever heard in my life.  They admit they do not know the correct answer…and Jesus will not teach them.  It’s kinda like the joke, “How do you keep someone in suspense?”

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