Mark: A Commentary on His Apology for the Cross [Hardcover]

Robert Horton Gundry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1993

Gundry presents an alternative reading of the Greek text of Mark, putting forth the thesis that Mark's Gospel constitutes a straightforward apology for the shameful manner of Jesus' death; as such, Mark is essentialy an evangelistic tract, Gundry says, rather than an obliquely written handbook of Christian discipleship and church life.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1124 pages
• Publisher: Eerdmans Pub Co (February 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802836984
• ISBN-13: 978-0802836984
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,276,919 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robert H. Gundry (PhD, Manchester) is a scholar-in-residence and professor emeritus of New Testament and Greek at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. Among his books are Mark: A Commentary on His Apology for the Cross; Matthew: A Commentary on His Handbook for a Mixed Church Under Persecution, Soma in Biblical Theology, and Jesus the Word According to John the Sectarian.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Commentary That Needs No Apology, November 15, 2000

By 

Paul Winterhalter (Butler, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mark: A Commentary on His Apology for the Cross (Paperback)

Gundry's Commentary on the Second Gospel is simply the most thoroughly researched and meticulously documented study in print! His thesis is relatively simple: The Second Gospel presents an apology for the circumstances surrounding Jesus' death.

All commentators on Mark end up dealing, in one way or another, with the fact that there exists two distinct types of literature within the narrative. The first kind, largely toward the beginning, consists of success stories in which Jesus works miracles, casts out demons, heals the sick, forecasts the future, draws large crowds to himself and so on. These characteristics were highly estimated in the first century Greco-Roman world. The second kind of literature, largely towards the end of the Gospel, consists of Jesus' passion in which he is betrayed, forsaken, denied, and ultimately crucified. Such characteristics would bring shame upon a person.

Gundry goes to painstaking detail to show how Mark appeals to the various success stories in Jesus' life to immerse a shameful death, a death by crucifixion, in a sea of glory. Jesus' death on a cross then turns out not to be a thing of shame, but instead, the opposite turns out to be the case. According to Gundry, the Gospel of Mark presents, however paradoxical, a cruciform shaped theology of glory.

Two concerns a potential buyer may have: 1.)This commentary assumes some knowledge of Greek and technical terminology in exegesis from the reader and, 2.) the author's Pre-Millenial interpretation of the Olivet Discourse may seem strained to those whose interests fall outside the well worn millennial arguments.

This is a substantial work that simply must be consulted for any academic study in the Second Gospel and which should also prove a valuable tool for most who are interested in a detailed understanding of Mark.