The Gospel According to Mark


Book Description

The earliest of the four Gospels, the book portrays Jesus as an enigmatic figure, struggling with enemies, his inner and external demons, and with his devoted but disconcerted disciples. Unlike other gospels, his parables are obscure, to be explained secretly to his followers. With an introduction by Nick Cave




Holy Bible (NIV)


Book Description

The NIV is the world's best-selling modern translation, with over 150 million copies in print since its first full publication in 1978. This highly accurate and smooth-reading version of the Bible in modern English has the largest library of printed and electronic support material of any modern translation.




Mark for Beginners


Book Description

Mark's gospel is a rapid fire account of Jesus' ministry focusing primarily on His many miracles. This eyewitness account presents the boldest and clearest witness of Jesus' identity as the Son of God with power!




Studies in the Gospel of Mark


Book Description

Here Professor Hengel argues with a wealth of documentation that the traditional views of the origin and tradition of the Gospel of Mark have far more to be said for them than has been usually allowed by modern New Testament scholars. He argues that the tradition contained in the Gospel is that handed down by Peter through Mark, and that the Gospel was written in Rome in AD 69. The famous note by Papias quoted in Eusebius' 'Church History' is not to be dismissed, but has every appearance of being reliable. Further evidence in support of this view can be found in a detailed consideration of the titles of the Gospels, which must have been attached to the Gospels at a very early stage, if only to identify them. An appendix, by the distinguished classical philologist Wolfgang Schadewaldt, on 'The Reliability of the Synoptic Tradition,' is used to add further weight to the case. With his customary learning, Professor Hengel has produced a powerful argument which those who have held more radical views than his own will have to consider very carefully indeed if they are to continue to carry conviction.




A New Perspective on the Use of Paul in the Gospel of Mark


Book Description

This volume presents a detailed case for the plausible literary dependence of the Gospel of Mark on select letters of the apostle Paul. The book argues that Mark and Paul share a gospel narrative that tells the story of the life, death, resurrection, and second coming of Jesus Christ "in accordance with the scriptures," and it suggests that Mark presumed Paul and his mission to be constitutive episodes of that story. It contends that Mark self-consciously sought to anticipate the person, teachings, and mission of Paul by constructing narrative precursors concordant with the eventual teachings of the itinerant apostle–a process Ferguson labels Mark’s ‘etiological hermeneutic.’ The book focuses in particular on the various (re)presentations of Christ’s death that Paul believed occurred within his communities—Christ's death performed in ritual, prefigured in scripture, and embodied within Paul’s person—and it argues that these are all seeded within and anticipated by Mark’s narrative. Through careful argument and detailed analysis, A New Perspective on the Use of Paul in the Gospel of Mark makes a substantial contribution to the ongoing debate about the dependence of Mark on Paul. It is key reading for any scholar engaged in that debate, and the insights it provides will be of interest to anyone studying the Synoptic Gospels or the epistles of Paul more generally.




Mystery of the Magi


Book Description

"The perfect Christmas gift for anyone interested in the historical background behind the birth of Jesus of Nazareth." — Robert J. Hutchinson, author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Bible, The Dawn of Christianity, and Searching for Jesus. "Utterly refreshing and encouraging." — Eric Metaxas, New York Times bestselling author of Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy and Martin Luther "The best book I know about the Magi." — Sir Colin John Humphreys, Ph.D., author of The Mystery of the Last Supper Modern biblical scholars tend to dismiss the Christmas story of the “wise men from the East” as pious legend. Matthew’s gospel offers few details, but imaginative Christians filled out the story early on, giving us the three kings guided by a magical star who join the adoring shepherds in every Christmas crèche. For many scholars, then, there is no reason to take the gospel story seriously. But are they right? Are the wise men no more than a poetic fancy? In an astonishing feat of detective work, Dwight Longenecker makes a powerful case that the visit of the Magi to Bethlehem really happened. Piecing together the evidence from biblical studies, history, archeology, and astronomy, he goes further, uncovering where they came from, why they came, and what might have happened to them after eluding the murderous King Herod. In the process, he provides a new and fascinating view of the time and place in which Jesus Christ chose to enter the world. The evidence is clear and compelling. The mysterious Magi from the East were in all likelihood astrologers and counselors from the court of the Nabatean king at Petra, where the Hebrew messianic prophecies were well known. The “star” that inspired their journey was a particular planetary alignment—confirmed by computer models—that in the astrological lore of the time portended the birth of a Jewish king. The visitors whose arrival troubled Herod “and all Jerusalem with him” may not have been the turbaned oriental kings of the Christmas carol, but they were real, and by demonstrating that the wise men were no fairy tale, Mystery of the Magi demands a new level of respect for the historical claims of the gospel.




Irony in Mark's Gospel


Book Description

An important contribution to our understanding of Marcan irony, and combines a literary-critical approach with insights gained from the sociology of knowledge.




The Message of Mark


Book Description

In this BST volume, Donald English offers a wise, welcoming, and nontechnical guide to Mark, the smallest of the four Gospels. Along with exposition of each section of the text, English draws out principles and applications about the nature of true faith, the cost of discipleship, and how we should receive God's Word today.




Mark's Gospel


Book Description

Mark's 'biography' of Jesus is the earliest of the four gospels, and influenced them all. The distinctive feature of this biography is the quality of 'good news', which presupposes a world dominated by the forces of evil. John Painter shows how the rhetorical and dramatic shaping of the book emphasises the conflict of good and evil at many levels - between Jesus and the Jewish authorities, Jesus and the Roman authorities, and the conflict of values within the disciples themselves. These matters of content are integral to this original approach to Mark's theodicy, while the stylistic issue raises the question of Mark's intended readership. John Painter's succinct yet thorough treatment of Mark's gospel opens up not only these rhetorical issues, but the social context of the gospel, which Painter argues to be that of the Pauline mission to the nations.




The Gospel on the Margins


Book Description

Despite virtually unanimous patristic association of the Gospel of Mark with the apostle Peter, the Gospel was mostly neglected by those same writers. Michael J. Kok surveys the second-century reception of Mark, from Papias of Hierapolis to Clement of Alexandria, and finds that the patristic writers were hesitant to embrace Mark because they perceived it to be too easily adapted to rival Christian factions. Kok describes the story of Marks Petrine origins as a second-century move to assert ownership of the Gospel on the part of the emerging Orthodox Church.