M. Eugene Boring

Mark

A Commentary

© 2006 M. Eugene Boring

2012 paperback edition

Originally published in hardback in the United States

by Westminster John Knox Press in 2006

Louisville, Kentucky

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Westminster John Knox Press, 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202-1396. Or contact us online at www.wjkbooks.com.

The chart on page 247 is taken from A Myth of Innocence by Burton L. Mack, copyright © 1988 Fortress Press. Used by permission of Augsburg Fortress.

Book design by Jennifer K. Cox

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

ISBN: 978-0-664-22107-2 (hardback)

ISBN: 978-0-664-23899-5 (paperback)

THE NEW TESTAMENT LIBRARY

Editorial Advisory Board

C. Clifton Black

M. Eugene Boring

John T. Carroll

CONTENTS

Preface

Abbreviations

Bibliography

Introduction

1 Story

2 Structure

3 Genre

4 Sources

5 Date

6 Provenance

7 Author

8 Purpose

9 Text and Transmission

10 Language, Translation, and Interpretation

COMMENTARY

1:1–15 Title and Prologue

1:1 The Author’s Title

1:2–15 The Markan Prologue

1:2–3 Transcendent Prelude: The Messenger, the Lord, and the Way

Excursus: The Way

1:4–8 John the Baptizer: Preaching and Baptizing in the Wilderness

1:9–15 Jesus of Nazareth: Baptized, Tested in the Wilderness, and Preaching

1:9–11 Baptism: God Reveals Jesus as His Son and Empowers Him with the Spirit

1:12–13 Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness

1:14–15 Ministry in Galilee

Excursus: Kingdom of God

Part 1 Galilee 1:16–8:21

1:16–3:35 Authority, Rejection, and the New Community

1:16–3:6 Acting with Authority

1:16–20 The Call of the Disciples

1:21–34 The Day of the Lord

1:35–39 Ministry in All Galilee

1:40–45 The Cleansing of the Leper

2:1–3:6 Authority and Conflict

2:1–12 Healing and Forgiveness

2:13–17 Calling Sinners and Eating with Them

2:18–22 Now and Later; Old and New

2:23–28 Keeping the Sabbath Holy: Jesus Challenged and Warned

3:1–6 Keeping the Sabbath Holy: Jesus Persists and Is Condemned

3:7–12 International Multitudes, the Sick, and the Demonized—and Jesus’ Response

3:13–19 The Choosing of the Twelve

3:20–35 God’s Kingdom and Family

4:1–34 Central Discourse of Part 1: Parables and Mystery of the Kingdom of God

4:1–2 The Markan Setting

4:3–9 Seed Parable 1: “The Sower”

4:10–12 The Markan “Parable Theory”—First Statement

4:13–20 Interpretation of “The Sower”

4:21–25 Markan “Parable Theory”—Second Statement: “Parables about Parables”

4:26–29 Seed Parable 2: “The Seed Growing Secretly”

4:30–32 Seed Parable 3: “The Mustard Seed”

4:33–34 The Markan “Parable Theory”—Third Statement

4:35–8:21 Crossing Borders

4:35–41 Stilling the Storm

5:1–20 The Gerasene Demoniac

5:21–43 Jairus’s Daughter and the Woman ...