Skip to main content

Mark for the rest of us




Mark (Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament) Vol. 2 by Mark L. Strauss

This newer commentary set put out by Zondervan is an excellent series, and this volume on Mark by Mark L. Strauss is no different.  Many of you will no doubt recognize Strauss, as he has labored in the field of NT studies for many years, producing substantial works on the gospels, choosing a translation of the bible, and his newest work is on paradoxes in the Bible.  This work, coming in at the hefty weight of 784 pages, leaves no stone unturned as Strauss covers introductory matters, textual issues, commentary, and theology.  The helpful layout of the book made for easy reading in that you could looking at the Scripture and Mark’s commentary alongside each other, comparing notes and engaging the original text in an accessible manner. 

What I particularly enjoyed about this commentary was its judicious balance of weighing the importance of Mark’s narrative alongside cultural and grammatical insights.  While Strauss bears witness to the importance of the term “gospel” for a Greco-Roman audience (enthronement of a king or emperor’s birthday), he helpfully points us to the OT usage where Isaiah envisions a time where the sovereign reign of God over the cosmos would endure and this would be predicated by peace (60).  Strauss goes onto to connect this theme with Jesus’ preaching on the kingdom of God.  While it is important to stress the Greco-Roman usage of gospel, Strauss helpfully steer us toward the ensuing narrative where John Mark talks about preparing for the messenger who will prepare the way for Jesus.  This overarching narrative of God’s act of bringing his kingdom with a King is part and parcel of what it means that salvation is near. 

In terms of the more disputed matters, Strauss take Markan priority, he sees Mark 16.9-20 as not part of the original text, and he focuses in on discipleship and Christology as providing the main lens in which to view Mark.  His scholarship is impeccable, wide-ranging and fair to opposing sources.  He references the Qumran scrolls, looks at cultural elements from Homer to rabbinic interpretations and carefully engages the latest NT scholarship. 


I hope you will enjoy this volume and be encouraged by its words.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Rise of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman

  The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman Navigating the culture that we take up residence in, with its laser focus on sexual identity, tolerance, and an individualism that raises its head at every corner, Christians need a robust account of how we got to this point in our Western culture without retreating to our churches nor morphing with the latest trends.   Carl Trueman, professor of religion and theology at Grove City College, brings his keen historical research to bear on this issue in his new book, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self.   Part historical survey and philosophical analysis, Dr. Trueman traces the trajectories of key thinkers such as Rousseau, Freud, and Marx, while also incorporating the insights of Charles Taylor and Phillip Rieff to form a cogent argument as to how we got to this point in our history, both in our expressive individualism and sexual freedom outlooks.   The book is surprisingly insightful and yet demands from the reader the pa
Post a Comment
Read more

The Conditioned Mind

The Conditioned Mind: Overcoming the Crippling Effects of Sin and Guilt by Michael J. Mannia Counselor and author Michael J. Mannia knows firsthand how the spiraling of sin and guilt can eat away at life.  His new book, The Conditioned Mind, is a look into how believers can overcome the effects of sin and guilt and live in the freedom that we have in Christ.  Through a careful look into the patterns that we develop and the mindsets that we get ingrained in, Michael is able to offer ways through guilt that bring freedom and healing.  I think this is not only a timely but a book that aims toward bringing real healing to its readers. In the first chapter Michael looks at two needs that we have: our need for love and our need for security.  Love isn’t something optional for the human race, but something it needs at its core.  “Additionally, we need to reciprocate love.  We need to feel loved as much as we need to love others (8).”  Love is a two-way street that inv
Post a Comment
Read more

Passover and Jesus

The Messiah in the Passover , Edited by Darrell Bock and Mitch Glaser Why should Christians celebrate and remember the Passover?   This is a striking question that needs to be understood as well as the historical and theological context of the Passover.   However obscure we sometimes view the Old Testament, there is some significant reasons why we should reach back and study the Passover.   Mitch Glaser in the Introduction states, “When Christians celebrate the Passover, they grow in their understanding of the Old Testament, affirm the Jewishness of the Gospel, deepen our understanding of the Lord’s Supper, and build community with fellow Christians…” (20).   This book is answer to why celebrate the Passover but even more importantly an answer to what the Passover is and what it signifies to us today.   The various contributors of this book, Messiah in the Passover, bring a wealth of ministry experience in relating the Jewishness of both Jesus and the Old Testament to
Post a Comment
Read more