Publisher Review: This new Pillar volume offers exceptional commentary on Mark that clearly shows the second Gospel — though it was a product of the earliest Christian community — to be both relevant and sorely needed in today's church.

Written by a biblical scholar who has devoted thirty years to the study of the second Gospel, this commentary aims primarily to interpret the Gosepl of Mark according to its theological intentions and purposes, especially as they relate to the life and ministry of Jesus and the call to faith and discipleship. Unique features of James Edwards's approach include clear descriptions of key terms used by Mark and revealing discussion of the Gospel's literary features, including Mark's use of the "sandwich" technique and of imagistic motifs and irony. Edwards also proposes a new paradigm for interpreting the difficult "Little Apocalypse" of chapter 13, and he argues for a new understanding of Mark's controversial ending.

578 Pages
Published 2001

About the Author: James R. Edwards is the Bruner-Welch Endowed Professor of Theology at Whitworth University, Spokane, Washington. His books include the Pillar New Testament Commentary volume on Mark and Is Jesus the Only Savior? which was the 2006 Christianity Today Book of the Year in Apologetics.

About the Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Pillar New Testament Commentary, designed for serious readers of the Bible, seeks above all to make clear the meaning of the text of Scripture as we have it. Writers of the PNTC volumes interact with the most important, informed contemporary debate yet avoid undue technical detail. Their ideal is a blend of rigorous exegesis and exposition, scholarship and pastoral sensitivity, with an eye alert both to biblical theology and to the contemporary relevance of the Bible.

"The Pillar New Testament Commentary series is quickly establishing itself as the premier mid-level commentary series on the English text of Scripture but written with full awareness of the Greek and all the key exegetical debates that busy pastors and teachers need to know about. Volumes such as James Edwards on Mark, D. A. Carson on John, David Peterson on Acts, Peter O'Brien on Ephesians, Douglas Moo on Colossians and Philemon and also on James, Gene Green on Thessalonians, Peter Davids on 2 Peter and Jude and Colin Kruse on the Letters of John are as fine as any 'competitors' of the same scope in print. And more of the same quality are continuing to appear."
- Craig Blomberg, Denver Seminary