The Gospel of Matthew by
Matthew wrote his Gospel from his perspective as a Jew. It is with sensitivity to this perspective that Father Harrington undertakes this commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. After an introduction, he provides a literal translation of each section in Matthew's Gospel and explains the textual problems, philological difficulties, and other matters in the notes. He then presents a literary analysis of each text (content, form, use of sources, structure). Bibliographies direct the reader to other important modern studies.
The Gospel of Matthew by
"It is a special pleasure to introduce R T (Dick) France's commentary to the pastoral and scholarly community, who should find it a truly exceptional - and helpful - volume." So says Gordon Fee in his preface to this work. France's masterful commentary on Matthew focuses on exegesis of Matthew's text as it stands rather than on the prehistory of the material or details of Synoptic comparison. It is concerned throughout with what Matthew himself meant to convey about Jesus and how he set about doing so within the cultural and historical context of first-century Palestine. Amid the wide array of Matthew commentaries available today, France's world-class stature, his clear focus on Matthew and Jesus, his careful methodology, and his user-friendly style promise to make this volume an enduring standard for years to come.
The Gospel of Matthew and Its Readers: a historical introduction to the First Gospel by
The Gospel of Matthew and Its Readers is a biblical commentary with a difference. Howard Clarke first establishes contemporary scholarship's mainstream view of Matthew's Gospel, and then presents a sampling of the ways this text has been read, understood, and applied through two millennia. By referring forward to Matthew's readers (rather than back to the text's composers), the book exploits the tensions between what contemporary scholars understand to be the intent of the author of Matthew and the quite different, indeed often eccentric and bizarre ways this text has been understood, assimilated, and applied over the years. The commentary is a testament to the ambiguities and elasticity of the text and a cogent reminder that interpretations are not fixed, nor texts immutably relevant. And unlike other commentaries, this one gives space to those who have questioned, rejected, or even ridiculed Matthew's messages, since Bible-bashing, like Bible-thumping, is a historically significant part of the experience of reading the Bible.
Matthew by
The World According to Garp is a comic and compassionate coming-of-age novel that established John Irving as one of the most imaginative writers of his generation. It has been a worldwide bestseller since its publication in 1978.
The Gospel According to Mark by
This new Pillar volume offers exceptional commentary on Mark that clearly shows the second Gospel -- though it was a product of the earliest Christian community -- to be both relevant and sorely needed in today's church. Written by a biblical scholar who has devoted thirty years to the study of the second Gospel, this commentary aims primarily to interpret the Gosepl of Mark according to its theological intentions and purposes, especially as they relate to the life and ministry of Jesus and the call to faith and discipleship. Unique features of James Edwards's approach include clear descriptions of key terms used by Mark and revealing discussion of the Gospel's literary features, including Mark's use of the "sandwich" technique and of imagistic motifs and irony. Edwards also proposes a new paradigm for interpreting the difficult "Little Apocalypse" of chapter 13, and he argues for a new understanding of Mark's controversial ending.
Gospel of Mark by
Believing that the needs of beleaguered Christian communities in turbulent times would be best met by resourcing the life of Jesus, Mark wrote a Gospel that was at once plain and subtle, fast-paced and yet profound. The essence of being a follower of Jesus was therefore clarified, so that such communities might differentiate the essential from the trivial and be fortified in their testimony to the one, true Gospel. This commentary attempts to expound the artistry of Mark in achieving all this in its original setting, by focusing on the larger picture of themes and thrusts, paragraphs and plot, but without dodging important issues of interpretation. Following in the footsteps of this ground-breaking Gospel, this commentary also attempts to bridge the horizons of the then and the now, and show how it may still be a powerful resource for being a disciple of Jesus today. Sermonic suggestions are offered where appropriate, so that harried pastors may find a quick and effective way of sharing Mark with their congregations.
Mark 1-8 by
Although it appears second in the New Testament, Mark is generally recognized as the first Gospel to be written. Captivating nonstop narrative characterizes this earliest account of the life and teachings of Jesus. In the first installment of his two-volume commentary on Mark, New Testament scholar Joel Marcus recaptures the power of Mark’s enigmatic narrative and capitalizes on its lively pace to lead readers through familiar and not-so-familiar episodes from the ministry of Jesus. As Marcus points out, the Gospel of Mark can be understood only against the backdrop of the apocalyptic atmosphere of the Jewish rebellions of 66-73 c.e., during which the Roman army destroyed the Temple of Jerusalem (70 c.e.). While the Jewish revolutionaries believed that the war was “the beginning of the end” and that a messianic redeemer would soon appear to lead his people to victory over their human enemies (the Romans) and cosmic foes (the demons), for Mark the redeemer had already come in the person of Jesus. Paradoxically, however, Jesus had won the decisive holy-war victory when he was rejected by his own people and executed on a Roman cross. The student of two of this generation’s most respected Bible scholars and Anchor Bible authors, Raymond E. Brown and J. Louis Martyn, Marcus helps readers understand the history, social customs, economic realities, religious movements, and spiritual and personal circumstances that made Jesus who he was. The result is a Bible commentary of the quality and originality readers have come to expect of the renowned Anchor Bible series. Challenging to scholars and enlightening to laypeople,Mark 1-8is an invaluable tool for anyone reading the Gospel story. From the Trade Paperback edition.
Mark: a commentary by
Professor Adela Yarbro Collins brings to bear on the text of the first Gospel the latest historical-critical perspectives, providing a full treatment of such controversial issues as the relationship of canonical Mark to the "Secret Gospel of Mark" and the text of the Gospel, including its longer endings. She situates the Gospel, with its enigmatic portrait of the misunderstood Messiah, in the context of Jewish and Greco-Roman literature of the first century. Her comments draw on her profound knowledge of apocalyptic literature as well as on the traditions of popular biography in the Greco-Roman world to illuminate the overall literary form of the Gospel. The commentary also introduces an impressive store of data on the language and style of Mark, illustrated from papyrological and epigraphical sources. Collins is in constructive dialogue with the wide range of scholarship on Mark that has been produced in the twentieth century. Her work will be foundational for Markan scholarship in the first half of the twenty-first century.
The Gospel According to Luke by
The Gospel According to Luke X-XXIVis Volume 28A in the Anchor Bible series of new book-by-book translations of the Old and New Testaments and Apocrypha. This is the conclusion of Joseph A. Fitzmyer's two-volume study of Luke. Included here is Fitzmyer's work on chapter 10, in which Jesus continues his journey to Jerusalem, through chapter 24, his Resurrection and appearances. The translation relies on the commentator's familiarity with the Greek and Semitic languages, while the exegesis commands a thorough knowledge of the vast cultural, technical, and linguistic information he has gathered from an international selection of Lucan literature. Each of the fifteen chapters here is studied and discussed in respect to the Gospel as a whole, Acts, and the Old Testament. The two indices refer to both volumes on Luke. In "joining the spirit to the letter" and scholarship to faith, Joseph A. Fitzmyer has produced a worthy successor to hisThe Gospel According To Luke I-IX, whichTheological Studiesdescribed as "extraordinarily learned and rich...a benchmark in Lucan studies."
The Gospel of Luke by
What makes this commentary on Luke stand apart from others is that, from beginning to end, this is a literary analysis. Because it focuses solely on the Gospel as it appears and not on its source or origin, this commentary richly and thoroughly explores just what Luke is saying and how he says it. Luke Timothy Johnson is the Robert W. Woodruff Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins at the Candler School of Theology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
Luke's Gospel by
Luke's Gospelprovides a comprehensive and schematic reading of Luke's Gospel, one of the most important books detailing the life and works of Christ, in six main parts. Knight introduces the Gospel and the narrative theory on which the Gospel rests. He offers a detailed, chapter-by-chapter exposition of the Gospel and also alternative perspectives, such as feminism and deconstruction. He considers the principal motifs of the Gospel, particularly the theme of the temple, which has been previously overlooked in Luke scholarship, arguing that Jesus pronounces the present temple forsaken by God to introduce himself as the cornerstone of the eschatological temple. Finally, he examines earlier readings of Luke's Gospel. Jonathan Knight presents an accessible and jargon-free introduction to the Gospel and makes a valuable addition to the New Testament Readingsseries.
St. Bonaventure's Commentary on the Gospel of Luke Chapters 17-24 by 
The Gospel of John and Christian Origins by
One of the most challenging questions facing New Testament scholars--how did Christianity emerge from Judaism?--is often addressed in general and indirect terms. The question becomes acute, however, when we turn to the Fourth Gospel, which, like the Judaism from which it presumably sprang, affirms one God, yet also affirms the incarnation of the eternal Word and, in nascent form, what Christians will later call the Trinity--teachings that seem to set the Gospel poles apart from Judaism John Ashton refuses any merely evolutionary explanation for this shift. Rather, he argues that the author of the Fourth Gospel set out precisely to supplant one revelation with another, and this because of the profound religious experience of the Evangelist, who turned from being a practicing Jew to experiencing a new revelation centered on Christ as the intermediary between God and humanity.
An Introduction to the Gospel of John by
When Raymond E. Brown died in 1998, less than a year after the publication of his masterpiece,An Introduction to the New Testament, he left behind a nearly completed revision of his acclaimed two-volume commentary on the Gospel of John. The manuscript, skillfully edited by Francis J. Moloney, displays the rare combination of meticulous scholarship and clear, engaging writing that made Father Brown's books consistently outsell other works of biblical scholarship. An Introduction to the Gospel of John represents the culmination of Brown's long and intense examination of part of the New Testament. One of the most important aspects of this new book, particularly to the scholarly community, is how it differs from the original commentary in several important ways. It presents, for example, a new perspective on the historical development of the Gospels, and shows how Brown decided to open his work to literary readings of the text, rather than relying primarily on the historical, which informed the original volumes. In addition, there is an entire section devoted to Christology, absent in the original, as well as a magisterial new section on the representation of Jews in the Gospel of John.
John by
Karoline Lewis draws together the strengths of two exegetical approaches to the Gospel of John in this volume of the Fortress Biblical Preaching Commentaries series. Lewis takes a broad thematic approach to the Gospel while at the same time giving exegetical and homiletical insights about individual pericopes. Readers, preachers, and their parishioners will have a deeper appreciation of the book's unique interpretation of the Christ event and how that influences their approach to living the Christian faith in today's world.
Understanding the Fourth Gospel by
This is the first comprehensive study of St John's Gospel for nearly forty years. The author provides new and coherent answers to its two most important questions: the position of the Gospel in the history of Christian thought, and its central or governing idea. In the course of the book, he looks at the Gospel from a variety of viewpoints: historical, literary, and theological. The discussion is balanced and comprehensive and brings into play questions of origins, content, and readership. Detailed exegetical arguments that advance scholarly debate, and intricate questions of specialized concern, are for the most part dealt with conveniently in five major excursuses. All non-English sources are translated.