There is nothing quite like a closely contested game at the end, and if one of your favorite teams is involved, it can be exhausting. The running joke in our house includes the effects of the game on hearing, and no one can even begin to fathom how long a game will last with less than two minutes on the clock. We obsess over the details, strategizing around personnel, the clock, and game management. Our voices get louder, and everything takes on more weight in the hopes that our team will be victorious. Some days we experience the thrill of victory, and other days, the agony of defeat.   

The clock is ticking as the most significant event in human history nears. Jesus is hours away from giving his life and rising from the dead. The disciples seem to be utterly oblivious to what is taking place around them. Coming out of the seemingly endless conflict in the temple complex, one of the disciples takes a moment to wonder at what for them was the height of human achievement, the religious center of Israel, and the great symbol of what it meant to be Jewish. They had no idea that one comment about the temple complex's beauty would release an unsettling and unthinkable reality. Jesus provides a prophetic glimpse of things to come, which raises more questions and devastates the disciples.  The Gospel According to Mark - The Servant King - 11.01.20