NCCS | New Covenant Commentary Series

      The New Covenant Commentary Series (NCCS) is designed for ministers and students who require a commentary that interacts with the text and context of each New Testament book and pays specific attention to the impact of the text upon the faith and praxis of contemporary faith communities.

      The NCCS has a number of distinguishing features. First, the contributors come from a diverse array of backgrounds in regards to their Christian denominations and countries of origin. Unlike many commentary series that tout themselves as international the NCCS can truly boast of a genuinely international cast of contributors with authors drawn from every continent of the world (except Antarctica) including countries such as the United States, Puerto Rico, Australia, the United Kingdom, Kenya, India, Singapore, and Korea. We intend the NCCS to engage in the task of biblical interpretation and theological reflection from the perspective of the global church. Second, the volumes in this series are not verse-by-verse commentaries, but they focus on larger units of text in order to explicate and interpret the story in the text as opposed to some often atomistic approaches. Third, a further aim of these volumes is to provide an occasion for authors to reflect on how the New Testament impacts the life, faith, ministry, and witness of the New Covenant Community today. This occurs periodically under the heading of “Fusing the Horizons and Forming the Community.” Here authors provide windows into community formation (how the text shapes the mission and character of the believing community) and ministerial formation (how the text shapes the ministry of Christian leaders).

      It is our hope that these volumes will represent serious engagements with the New Testament writings, done in the context of faith, in service of the church, and for the glorification of God.

      MARK

      A New Covenant Commentary

      New Covenant Commentary Series

      Copyright © 2015 Kim Huat Tan. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.

      Cascade Books

      An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers

      199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3

      Eugene, OR 97401

      www.wipfandstock.com

      isbn 13: 978-1-60899-512-7

      Cataloging-in-Publication data:

      Tan, Kim Huat

      Mark : a new covenant commentary / Kim Huat Tan.

      xviii + 268 p. ; 23 cm. —Includes bibliographical references and index(es).

      New Covenant Commentary Series

      isbn 13: 978-1-60899-512-7

      1. Bible. N.T. Mark—Commentaries. I. Title. II. Series.

      BS2585.53 T17 2015

      Manufactured in the U.S.A.

      MOCH

      yty(r hpy Knh

      Acknowledgments

      The sense of being an indebted member to a large and nurturing community grows with the writing of a commentary. It is not an exaggeration to say that a tome is certainly needed for me genuinely to thank everyone. Perhaps this is why I find the Christian concept of eternal life so enthralling. But this also means I find writing just a page of acknowledgments so difficult.

      Nevertheless, opportunities must be seized, even if they are not ideal. I would like therefore to thank the editors, Mike Bird and Craig Keener, for their patience, encouragement, and trust. I mention trust because they have committed to me the task of writing a commentary on one of the most significant books of the Christian church and, dare I also say, of this world. Great is your faith, my friends! If there are faults in this enterprise, it has nothing to do with vision but everything to do with execution.

      The Principal of Trinity Theological College, Singapore, deserves special mention for his support and understanding, as I stole what little time I had left over from administrative duties to pen some rather “bitty” thoughts. My colleagues have been stimulating, and I find myself inexorably applying some of their wisdom and insights into my work. Thanks also should be given to the librarian, Michael Mukunthan, for helping me trace some obscure sources.

      A busy husband also means a harried wife, especially when there are three children in tow. That my home remains one that is orderly and nurturing bears testimony to her patience, love, and competence. Perhaps I may one day write a book on Proverbs 31 as penance! But I do hope her sacrifice has not been in vain.

      Preface

      When there are so many major commentaries on the Gospel of Mark available in the market, what place is there for another? This question has been uppermost in my mind as I write this volume which the reader now have in his/her hands.

      Without competing with these major commentaries, I have nonetheless utilized their research findings, and summarized them for an audience which may not have the time or expertise to pore through them. Moreover, I have kept in view the notion of a New Covenant Commentary Series. A new covenant presupposes a previous one, I have therefore sought assiduously to show how Mark is connected to the OT. Furthermore, the word covenant reminds me of a community, and hence, I have written this with a view to making Mark’s message applicable to the challenges of being a Christian community in this complicated world. I have introduced as best as I can some Asian insights—I hope this has not been too obtrusive—believing that my social location may bring some benefits to a worldwide audience, for after all this may very well be the reason why the editors of the series approached me to contribute this volume.

      I have kept in mind that my primary task is to explain Mark’s message, not to show the prehistory of his sources, or attempt to justify his point of view (although I must add that at times resistance was futile). No attempt is made to treat completely or eruditely every issue connected with the interpretation of the Markan text. There are commentaries that have taken on this task, and there is no need to match their feat. Focusing on Mark’s text also means I’ve given scant attention to historical issues or problems raised by parallel accounts in the other Gospels. My task is to explain Mark’s tale, and not to assess whether it stands up to historical or synoptic scrutiny. Otherwise this commentary would have been twice as long.

      As this is not a commentary on commentaries of Mark, certain issues that have taken much space in them are sometimes given scant notice, if I have judged that their resolution does not illuminate Mark’s text. On the rare occasion I have struck out on my own, generating new issues and offering interpretations hitherto