Mark (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries) Paperback – January 8, 2007

The Tyndale New Testament Commentary series has produced a number of imitators in the last forty years. Some, like InterVarsity Press' The Bible Speaks Today series, have proven useful; others have not been worth the paper on which they were printed. But the Tyndale series remains unsurpassed for bringing scholarly insights to the books of Scripture in an accessible style that prizes economy of words.This particular commentary by Alan Cole on the Gospel of Mark brings keen insight into the theology of this wonderfully pithy Gospel. Cole has understood that the big message of this Gospel is to answer two questions: Who is Jesus Christ? and, What has he come to do? With remarkable clarity, insight and his well-known economy of words, Cole addresses how Mark answers these questions about Jesus.Working within Mark's own framework, Cole underscores that Jesus is the Son of God (1:1), who has come to bring the good news of the kingdom of God to his people (cf. 1:14f.). Cole unfolds Mark's underappreciated skill as an editor who brings together various episodes from Jesus' life in such a way that the reader is brought to the conclusion that Jesus is indeed the divine Son of God who has come to this world to pay the penalty that sinners owe God for their rebellion against him. The Gospel of Mark is about the cross, about Jesus' substitutionary death on behalf of those who turn to him in faith and repentance. Cole never relents in revealing this central focus of Mark's Gospel.Most readers will have no problem following Cole's commentary. Key words are explained; theology is succinctly expounded. Pastors who want a bit more would do well to supplement Cole with 1) C.E.B. Cranfield's commentary on Mark (Cambridge Greek New Testament Commentary), unsurpassed for its philological insights into Mark's theology; 2) William Lane's commentary (New Internation Commentary on the New Testament) for its in-depth treatment of Mark in terms of philology, historical background and theology. But, if you can only have one commentary on Mark, you would be hard pressed to do better than Alan Cole's commentary.

For a small paperback this is a great tool to give a medium dive into this book. Great in depth introduction to assist the readers in understanding why the author has written what he does concerning the actual scripture.

I have been preaching Mark for several months and have found Cole's Tyndale commentary to be extremely helpful. I have also been using William Lane's NICNT Commentary as another primary resource, and on old Communicator's Commentary on Mark as a very distant secondary help (though it is really not very good or helpful). Lane's work is significantly longer and excellent, but Cole's commentary can't be matched for concision and focus. Cole manages to address the important questions and issues with great faithfulness to the Lord and Scripture and does so with great economy and power. There are occasional passages where I want a bit more study than Cole's brief work offers, but over and over I find it to be extremely useful despite its short length. Highly recommended.

On page 69, Cole is explaining Mark 3.16, "when a man or woman became a friend or a follower of Jesus, then they ceased to be sinners." Really?

Straordinariamente profondo, soprattutto dal punto di vista dell'analisi teologica, nonostante la relativa brevità. Ne esiste una versione in italiano, ma a chi conosce l'inglese consiglio la versione in lingua originale, scritta in una prosa chiara e possente. Unico neo, non è presente il testo del vangelo. Opera splendida che consiglio vivamente.