Product Overview
A critical preaching commentary that serves as a single, reliable resource for engaging the Gospel of Mark.
This comprehensive commentary on the Gospel of Mark is designed for preachers seeking a single, reliable resource that brings together rigorous exegesis and practical homiletical insight. Drawing on a literary approach, O. Wesley Allen, Jr., interprets Mark as a unified narrative that rewards careful attention not only to individual passages but also to the broader movement of the Gospel as a whole. The result is a commentary designed to support weekly sermon preparation while helping preachers engage Mark’s larger theological vision.
At the heart of the volume is Allen’s guiding claim that Mark functions as an extended parable written in response to the crisis of faith surrounding the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. Through this framing, Mark addresses communities wrestling with uncertainty and misunderstanding. Through identification with the disciples, Mark’s original audience was led to question their own understanding of the meaning of Jesus’s ministry, death, and resurrection and was invited to embrace a new mode of following Jesus in a posttemple world. Allen shows how this invitation to reconsider our theology and discipleship continues to ring existentially relevant for twenty-first-century congregations.
Each passage of this commentary receives detailed treatment, beginning with critical notes on the Greek text, followed by analysis of literary structure, immediate and wider literary contexts, and theological and homiletical considerations. Attention to vocabulary, grammar, and narrative flow enables readers to enter the text with clarity, while the interpretive reflections help trace how individual passages contribute to Mark’s developing themes. Across the commentary, preachers are encouraged to consider each lection in light of the Gospel’s full narrative arc, fostering sermons that resonate with Mark’s concerns and imagery even when the weekly reading is brief.
Both a critical study companion and a sermon-shaping guide, this commentary invites preachers to experience the parabolic power of Mark anew.
Reviews
"Allen invites preachers and all clergy and laity alike to a fresh reading of Mark’s story of Jesus. By analyzing every component of the Gospel within its overarching framework and function as an extended parable, Allen enables Mark’s readers to understand the Gospel as a fully and deftly integrated narrative. The result is a stirring interpretation that ushers readers into a new experience of Mark’s theology and message. Sophisticated in approach and rich in insight, the book's style and format are yet very accessible, making the book an ideal theological and homiletical companion throughout Year B in the Revised Common Lectionary."
—Mary F. Foskett, Wake Forest Kahle Professor and John Thomas Albritton Fellow, Department for the Study of Religions, Wake Forest University
"This lucidly written commentary makes a bold case for the unsettling nature of our earliest Gospel. Allen presents Mark as a parabolic performance that uses ambiguities, ironic reversals, and unexpected narratological shifts to create a salutary crisis of understanding for those who follow Jesus. Guiding preachers skillfully through the liminal terrain of Markan proclamation, Allen argues that Mark disrupts theological triumphalism as a pastoral strategy, bearing witness to a crucified Savior whose power has been made manifest in conditions of suffering and despair."
—Carolyn J. Sharp, Professor of Homiletics, Yale Divinity School
"Allen’s commentary on Mark works so well because it’s written with preachers in mind. Word-level commentary is blended with notes on literary structure and context, alongside reflections for preaching, all framed by Allen's assertion that Mark’s Gospel should be read as a parable written for a community of believers struggling to find their way in complicated and traumatic times. Veteran preachers in search of fresh ideas and new preachers who don't know where to start will find wisdom in these pages."
—Lee Hull Moses, Senior Minister, Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Indianapolis
"The most useful commentaries for preachers perform two distinctive tasks: They offer thorough analysis of individual passages, and they connect each passage with pervasive themes and the overarching theological rhetoric of a biblical book. The first task proves especially handy for late-week sermon writing; the second for long-range planning to facilitate a congregation’s deeper, thoughtful engagement with Scripture. Allen's treatment of Mark devotes itself to both tasks, with a theological generosity and an approachable style that readers will find welcoming and stimulating for their callings to preach good news."
—Matthew L, Skinner, Asher O. and Carrie Nasby Professor of New Testament, Luther Seminary
"In this splendid scholarly commentary on Mark’s Gospel, Allen has given preachers two fine gifts. He provides provocative, homiletically stimulating comments on every passage in Mark, and he shows the literary and theological connections throughout that show how this Gospel works together as a whole. Any preacher who reads this book will be invigorated with renewed excitement to preach the great 'parable' that is the Gospel of Mark."
—Thomas G. Long, Bandy Professor Emeritus of Preaching, Candler School of Theology
"Allen was classically trained as a New Testament scholar and has spent decades preaching and teaching preaching. His ability to combine exegetical rigor and homiletical vision is everywhere evident in this substantial contribution to the understanding—and communication—of Mark's distinctive version of the good news. Here at last, and not a moment too soon, is that rarest of books: a large commentary on a Gospel that is also, and impressively, useful. Allen's clear prose, cogent judgment, and creative theological reflection make this a book every serious preacher will appreciate."
—Luke Timothy Johnson, Robert W. Woodruff Professor Emeritus of New Testament and Christian Origins, Candler School of Theology, Emory University
"Wes Allen's The Gospel of Mark is a work of homiletical, exegetical, and theological depth. The genius of his interpretation is seen in the rich harvest of theological, homiletical insights it yields for contemporary preachers in complex contexts. Each passage includes general suggestions for preaching, followed by an analysis of literary context, theological and homiletical reflections, and exegetical notes. This magisterial work should be on the shelf of every biblical scholar and preacher!"
—Alyce McKenzie, Le Van Professor of Preaching and Worship Emeritus, Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University
"I have been in New Testament studies and preaching since 1968. Once in a generation, a commentary comes along that opens a window on a biblical book in new and compelling ways. Allen's The Gospel of Mark is that book for the early twenty-first century, as Allen sees the second Gospel as itself a parable intended to get inside the minds, hearts, and behaviors of an unfaithful congregation and awaken them to want to turn toward faithfulness and to join the movement toward the present and coming realm of God. Even better: Allen leads readers in theological reflection and lifts up homiletical possibilities. I have never said this about any other commentary, but I believe this work is so comprehensive that it is the only commentary a preacher needs on the Gospel of Mark."
—Ronald J. Allen, Professor Emeritus of Preaching, and Gospels and Letters, Christian Theological Seminary