(Part 1)

JBTM Book Reviews
184
4. Date: “priority of Mark,” prior to the destruction of Jerusalem
5. Genre: revelatory, scriptural book analogous to the biblical histories
Garland admits, “The dizzying debate over Mark’s genre . . . has not been repaying” (88).
Chapter 2 presents a seventy-nine page, literary-critical reading of the Gospel.
In Part 1 as well as Part 2, Garland provides Greek word analyses and background studies.
He knows when to cite relevant Old Testament passages or extra-biblical literature. 3 He
can utilize textual criticism (see 141–42, 172–73, 195–97, 242, 313, 402, 431, 515, 537–41). He
also adeptly highlights literary features such as inclusio, 4 chiasmus, 5 recurring themes, 6 and
characterization. 7 A Theology of Mark’s Gospel, therefore, offers the best of both worlds: access
to Mark’s meaning “behind the text” (historical criticisms) and “inside the text” (new literary
criticism: text-centered approach). The typical commentary offers either/or.
In Part 2, Garland tackles the theology of Mark. “Major Themes in Mark’s Theology”
consists of twelve chapters. Each chapter complements every other chapter, offering a
different perspective of the Gospel. Chapter 3 focuses on 1:1–13, which Garland painstakingly
exegetes. He labels 1:1 an “incipit,” or title that previews the whole Gospel, and he dubs 1:2–13
as Mark’s introduction, which intends “to give the readers clues about Jesus’ divine identity”
(221). Chapter 4 examines six titles of Jesus: Son of God, Messiah, Son of David, Son of Man,
Lord, and Teacher. Nevertheless, Garland cautions, “Mark’s picture of who Jesus is is told in
a story, and a systematic analysis of the titles used for Jesus in the gospel does not tell the
whole story” (227). Chapter 5 explores “enacted Christology.” Garland shows how “Mark
conveys that Jesus is uniquely the Son of God by recording him doing things that only God
can do or has the right to do” (262). Chapter 6 surveys the Gospel’s presentation of God,
but Garland admits, “Mark does not delve into the nature of God. . . . Most of the references
to God in Mark’s gospel occur on the lips of Jesus” (317). Chapter 7 profiles the kingdom
of God, a central theme of Jesus’s teachings but surprisingly subtle in Mark, only fourteen
occurrences (1:14–15; 4:11, 26, 30; 9:1, 47; 10:13–15, 23–25; 12:34; 14:25; 15:43). Garland notes, “In
Mark, the term (kingdom) primarily is used as a way of talking about God’s activity” (336).
Chapter 8 is an outstanding feature of Garland’s book because it sifts through the many,
often conflicting, views about the “messianic secret.” Chapters 9 and 10 probe discipleship.
Garland gleaned from the Gospel requirements for aspiring disciples such as: unconditional
obedience, leaving everything behind, potentially severing family ties, following on the way,
³See Scripture Index (612–34) and Index of Extra-Biblical Literature (635–39).
⁴E.g., 4:2 and 4:33 (118); 8:22–26 and 10:46–52 (146–47; 436); 11:12–14 and 11:20–26 (149–50; 484–85);
1:10 and 15:38 (230); 1:21–28 and 2:1–12 (283); 13:5 and 23 (453–54); 12:41–44 and 14:3–9 (533).
⁵E.g., 12:24–27 (154); 13:5–23 (158); 2:1–12 (284).
⁶E.g., “gospel,” “Christ,” “Son of God,” “way,” “to hand over,” “kingdom of God,” “hearing,”
“scribe,” and “watching.”
⁷E.g., the Gerasene demoniac (123–24), a woman with a hemorrhage (124–26), Jairus (124–26), the
Syropheonician woman (133–34), and a rich man (143–44).