The Gospel of Mark (Randall House Bible Commentary)

Top Highlights

“This serves to confirm, first, that Mark has little material that is unique to him; nearly all of his material appears also in Matthew or Luke or both.” (Page 2)

“Scholarly mastery of the Bible loses its value when it is not submitted to the Author of the Bible.” (Page 346)

“Nor would such fasting be the result of the ceremonial rituals of Judaism” (Page 78)

“One point of emphasis here is that the planter can only plant; he cannot produce germination or growth. Two things make this clear: the statement in v. 27 that this happens while he is about other things and does not know how it happens, and the fact that the earth produces ‘of herself.’ The process, in other words, is built into the nature of things. Where the conditions are right (as the previous teachings have indicated), the planted seed will grow and produce fruit for harvest; it will do this by virtue of the forces within the seed and soil.” (Page 131)

“The scribes typically desired four things: (literally) (1) ‘to be walking about in stoles,’ (2) ‘greetings in the market places,’ (3) ‘first seats in the synagogues,’ and (4) ‘first seats at the dinners.’ All of these have a similar nature and can be summarized as loving prominence and high honor from others.” (Page 342)