The Gospel of Mark (The New International Greek Testament Commentary)

This is an excellent commentary, one of the best, in fact, I've ever seen, and definitely THE best on the Gospel of Mark (out of the eighteen or twenty that I'm regularly dipping into). It is a commentary on the Greek text, and the Greek is not transliterated or translated, but it is still amazingly readable, lucid, and engaging. France's introduction to the Gospel of Mark is the best intro I've read, and alone worth the price of the book. He views Mark's gospel as a narrative - a drama in three acts; yet he resists imposing superficial structures on the book. He writes with a desire to hear Mark's text afresh, and tends to focus in his comments on the unfolding theological narrative itself. Yet he is obviously well-read and conversant show more with both the primary ancient documents themselves and the relevant literature on Mark (commentaries, monographs, essays in journals, etc.) and engages them frequently when helpful. His theology is generally conservative, with a high Christology. He is cautious with overly novel interpretations. He articulates a partial-preterist position on Mark 13. France would probably be a bit too technical for the purposes of a lay-person, but preachers can hardly afford to be without him. I would recommend reading him along side the commentaries by James Edwards (Pillar), William Lane (NICNT), and David Garland (NIVAC). Excellent! show less

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