The earliest of the four Gospels, the book portrays Jesus as an enigmatic figure, struggling with enemies, his inner and external demons, and with his devoted but disconcerted disciples. Unlike other gospels, his parables are obscure, to be explained secretly to his followers. With an introduction by Nick Cave

Mark's gospel is a rapid fire account of Jesus' ministry focusing primarily on His many miracles. This eyewitness account presents the boldest and clearest witness of Jesus' identity as the Son of God with power!

Mark's 'biography' of Jesus is the earliest of the four gospels, and influenced them all. The distinctive feature of this biography is the quality of 'good news', which presupposes a world dominated by the forces of evil. John Painter shows how the rhetorical and dramatic shaping of the book emphasises the conflict of good and evil at many levels - between Jesus and the Jewish authorities, Jesus and the Roman authorities, and the conflict of values within the disciples themselves. These matters of content are integral to this original approach to Mark's theodicy, while the stylistic issue raises the question of Mark's intended readership. John Painter's succinct yet thorough treatment of Mark's gospel opens up not only these rhetorical issues, but the social context of the gospel, which Painter argues to be that of the Pauline mission to the nations.

The NIV is the world's best-selling modern translation, with over 150 million copies in print since its first full publication in 1978. This highly accurate and smooth-reading version of the Bible in modern English has the largest library of printed and electronic support material of any modern translation.

This useful and accessible guide provides an introduction the Gospel of Mark. It is perfect for readers who are new to the Gospel as well as those who are looking for a new perspective on its message. This guide is perfect for individual or group study. Donald L. Griggs' popular volumes The Bible from Scratch: The Old Testament for Beginners and The Bible from Scratch: The New Testament for Beginners presented basic themes, histories, personalities, and meanings of the Bible. With this expansion of the series, Griggs offers the lay reader an opportunity to build on the foundation of that broad knowledge with a series of volumes based on the individual books of the Old and New Testaments. A leader's guide and participant section are included for each book, making each volume an excellent resource for group or individual study.

This book theorizes that there was probably more to both the beginning and the ending of Mark's Gospel than we currently have in our Bible. It was once the consensus of scholars that Mark lacked its ending. Croy asks why scholarly opinions changed on this question during the late 20th century and whether earlier scholars may in fact have been correct. In short, this book has the potential to re-open a major debate in Markan studies. Beyond scholarly interest in the original extent of the Gospel text, there are implications for our understanding of Markan theology. If a conclusion has been lost, Mark may not be as negative in his portrayal of the disciples as we now assume. The credibility of the disciples - and Jesus' own credibility - also may have been rehabilitated by the original ending. Croy urges that we should not assume that post-resurrection appearance stories were unimportant to Mark or that Mark's theology of suffering would be incompatible with a triumphant outcome. The challenge to the scholarly consensus will be of interest to academics; the theological implications will make the book useful in seminary classes on the Gospels. The author's demonstration of the connection between the social context of biblical research and our ways of reading the Gospel is important for theological education in general. Readers will also benefit from an awareness of the process by which we have received the texts printed in our Bibles.