Mark (Teach the Text Commentary Series)

by Grant R. Osborne

Publisher:

Baker

, 2014

Overview

Mark’s concern in his Gospel is that his readers know the good news of who Jesus is: God’s Son and suffering Messiah. It is a book of action, demonstrating Jesus’s identity with a strong emphasis on what he did—acts of service and of power that often left onlookers amazed. Inherent in this revelation of Jesus’s identity is a call to radical discipleship fueled by total dependence on him. Renowned scholar Grant R. Osborne provides keen insights to help preachers and teachers bring Mark’s important message to life for today’s listeners.

Key Features

• Provides information pastors need to effectively communicate Scripture
• Contains a concise summary, main theme, illustrations, and interpretation for each passage
• Points to key themes and ways to communicate them to today’s audience

Contents

Top Highlights

“Most agree that Mark wrote for Gentile readers, probably in Rome.” (Page 3)

“and God holds them responsible for their receptivity to the message of the kingdom.” (Page 66)

“First, having possessions is not a sin in itself but becomes a sin when they begin to possess us.” (Page 179)

“The only required fast was on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:29–34 [most agree that Jesus and his disciples probably observed this but not the weekly fasting]), but there were other times of fasting connected to traumatic experiences in the life of Israel (Zech. 7:5; 8:19, both linked to the exile). The Pharisees fasted twice a week (Luke 18:12), on Monday and Thursday, and John’s disciples likely followed this practice. Fasting generally signified repentance for sin or grief over death or illness.” (Page 48)

“This cannot mean that our faith tells God what to do, and that God is obligated to say yes to any request given in ‘faith without doubting.’ God is sovereign, not we. This is a wisdom saying like in Proverbs, intended to provide a maxim that we must apply in light of all of scriptural teaching. Still, it does say that prayer has incredible power to do wondrous things.” (Pages 201–202)

Endorsements

Grant Osborne’s Mark admirably fulfills the goals of the Teach the Text Commentary Series by making accessible to a wide audience the best of scholarship on the book. I recommend this commentary—and the Teach the Text series generally—to teachers and pastors who want quick access to the basic meaning of the biblical text.

—Douglas J. Moo, Wessner Chair of Biblical Studies, Wheaton College

Grant Osborne has been teaching about Jesus and the Gospels for forty years. Now he brings all that experience and expertise to a study of the Gospel of Mark. The result is a concise yet seasoned, sensitive treatment of this important Gospel. So open this book and be prepared to learn more not only about Jesus but also about the walk of faith from a well-qualified guide.

—Darrell L. Bock, executive director of cultural engagement and senior research professor of New Testament studies, Dallas Theological Seminary

This commentary shows Grant Osborne at his very best—combining his mature understanding of the Bible with practical application and illustration. Osborne brings a lifetime of studying and living God’s Word to each unit, in which he moves from the big idea to illustration by way of exegesis and teachable theological truths. The illustrations run the gamut from Augustine to Downton Abbey, and many points in between. I thoroughly enjoyed these many and varied examples and think that they will be of great benefit to pastors and teachers who are looking for help in making Mark’s Gospel come alive for their hearers.

—Stanley E. Porter, president, dean, professor of New Testament, and Roy A. Hope Chair in Christian Worldview, McMaster Divinity College

Product Details

• Title: Mark
• Author: Grant R. Osborne
• Series: Teach the Text Commentary Series
• Publisher: Baker
• Print Publication Date: 2014
• Logos Release Date: 2015
• Pages: 352
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Bible. N.T. Mark › Commentaries
• ISBNs: 9781441227485, 9780801092190, 1441227482, 0801092191
• Resource ID: LLS:TTCS62MK
• Resource Type: Bible Commentary
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-10-05T17:12:59Z

About Grant R. Osborne

Grant R. Osborne (1942–2018) was an award-winning author and theologian. Osborne earned a PhD from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. He has also did academic research at at the University of Cambridge and the University of Marburg.

Osborne served as the professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Prior to that, he taught at Winnipeg Theological Seminary and the University of Aberdeen.

Osborne was a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, the Evangelical Theological Society, and the Institute of Biblical Research. His areas of expertise included the Gospels, hermeneutics, and the book of Revelation.

Along with editing The IVP New Testament Commentary Series and The Life Application Bible Commentary, Osborne also authored several titles including The Hermeneutical Spiral, the volume on Revelation in the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament series, and several other commentary volumes.