Böcker av Joel Marcus

While the Christian tradition has subordinated John the Baptist to Jesus of Nazareth, John himself would likely have disagreed with that ranking. In this book, Joel Marcus makes a powerful case that John saw himself as the proclaimer and initiator of the kingdom of God and his own ministry as the centre of God's saving action in history.

This scholarly work includes a review of the Markan narratives about Jesus' baptism, his transfiguration, and his suffering and death, as well as the discussion of his relation to Elijah, his identity as "the stone which the builder rejected," and the question of whether or not he is David's son. Joel Marcus discusses what each of these...

Originally published: New York: Doubleday, 1997.

In the final nine chapters of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus increasingly struggles with his disciples' incomprehension of his unique concept of suffering messiahship and with the opposition of the religious leaders of his day. The Gospel recounts the events that led to Jesus' arrest, trial, and crucifixion by the Roman authorities, concluding with an enigmatic ending in which Jesus' resurrection is announced but not displayed. In this volume New Testament scholar Joel Marcus offers a new translation of Mark 8-16 as well as extensive commentary and notes. He situates the narrative within the context of first-century Palestine and the larger Greco-Roman world; within the political context of the Jewish revolt against the Romans (66-73 C.E.); and within the religious context of the early church's sometimes rancorous engagement with Judaism, pagan religion, and its own internal problems. For religious scholars, pastors, and interested lay people alike, the book provides an accessible and enlightening window on the second of the canonical Gospels.

Although it appears second in the "New Testament", "Mark" is generally recognized as the first Gospel to be written. This work points out, the "Gospel of Mark" can be understood only against the backdrop of the apocalyptic atmosphere of the Jewish rebellions of 66-73 ce, during which the Roman army destroyed the Temple of Jerusalem (70 ce).