Mark (Life Application Bible Commentary | LABC)
Overview
The Gospel of Mark, a short, action-packed account, bustling with life, is focused on Jesus Christ’s purpose. As you study Mark, be ready for fast-paced, non-stop action, be open to God moving in your life, and be challenged to move into your world to serve.
About the Series
The Life Application Bible Commentary series provides verse-by-verse explanation, background, and application for every verse in the New Testament. In addition, it gives personal help, teaching notes, and sermon ideas that will address needs, answer questions, and provide insight for applying God’s Word to life today. The content is highlighted so that particular verses and phrases are easy to find.
Each volume contains three sections: introduction, commentary, and reference. The introduction includes an overview of the book, the book’s historical context, a timeline, cultural background information, major themes, an overview map, and an explanation about the author and audience.
The commentary section includes running commentary on the Bible text with reference to several modern versions, especially the New International Version and the New Revised Standard Version, accompanied by life applications interspersed throughout. Additional elements include charts, diagrams, maps, and illustrations. There are also insightful quotes from church leaders and theologians such as John Calvin, Martin Luther, John Wesley, A. W. Tozer, and C. S. Lewis. These features are designed to help you quickly grasp the biblical information and be prepared to communicate it to others. The reference section includes a bibliography.
Top Highlights
“‘Follow’ is a major term to signify discipleship in Mark’s Gospel. It means to accept Jesus as authority, to pursue his calling, to model after his example, to join his group.” (Page 25)
“Mark gave no genealogy because he presented Jesus as the servant. A servant needs no pedigree, but demonstrates his validity by the worth of the service he provides.” (Page 3)
“Jesus was not talking about rejecting him, but of rejecting the power behind him.” (Page 92)
“Worst of all, Jesus was sleeping through it! Didn’t he realize that they all were going to drown? So they woke him and asked with a tone of rebuke, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?’ Their words were more of a criticism than a call for help. How easy it is for us to complain and criticize God for not coming to our aid, rather than making our request and then trusting him to answer.” (Page 122)
“Whether Jesus already knew who touched him or not is inconsequential. What mattered was that Jesus wanted to establish a relationship with this woman. She had hoped to go away undetected. Jesus, having healed her physically, wanted to heal her spiritually as well. He wanted the person to step forward and ‘own up’ to having received healing.” (Page 144)