Digital Logos Edition
Mark wrote his Gospel to explain why and how Jesus is the Messiah and Son of God who fulfills God’s promises as he proclaims and embodies the coming kingdom of God. Mark emphasizes Jesus’ authority and also his suffering and death as God’s will for his messianic mission. Eckhard Schnabel’s commentary seeks to help today’s Christian disciples communicate the significance of Jesus and the transforming power of the good news. Schnabel’s volume replaces the previous commentary from R. Alan Cole.
“The new patch and the new wine represent Jesus’ preaching of the good news of the coming of the kingdom of God, which is thus characterized as a new era of salvation that cannot be contained in the structures and practices of the existing religious traditions (the old garment and the old skins), as represented by the Pharisees and the scribes, and even the movement of John the Baptist.” (Page 76)
“First, Jesus’ followers must deny themselves: not things that the self wants, but the self itself. Jesus calls for a deliberate refusal to be guided by self-interest, for a conscious surrender of control over one’s life, for an intentional renunciation of self-determination.” (Page 202)
“Conditions for effective prayer are faith (v. 23) and forgiveness” (Page 276)
“The parable emphasizes the difference between insignificant beginnings and the impressively large end result.” (Page 110)
“The logic of Jesus’ scriptural argument implies the claim that he has personal authority at least as great as that of David. If David’s authority was sufficient to obtain priestly approval for an action that was illegal, then Jesus can declare an action deemed illegal by the Pharisees to be permissible since his authority exceeds that of David (explicit in v. 28).” (Page 77)