Read Mark and Learn

Mark's Gospel ends in an open-ended manner that puzzles many readers. This is part of the evangelist's strategy, so this book maintains; it raises questions about who Jesus is and what it means to follow Jesus. The Gospel writer addresses these two themes as he develops his story of Jesus. Readers are drawn in to consider these themes for themselves. Although there is an open end to the story of the disciples' discipleship, there is an ending to their story embedded in the narrative. Read Mark and Learn aims to help readers engage with this Gospel's intriguing story and to learn from it. "Mark's Gospel contains two messianic secrets: who the Messiah is, and what disciples of the Messiah do. Derek Tovey expertly reveals the secrets, using his knowledge of narrative technique and his scholarship of the Gospels. In doing this, a beautiful and fresh reading of the Gospel is given for the modern reader. There are hidden depths in Mark's Gospel. This guide brings each of them into the light." --Peter Carrell, Director, Theology House, New Zealand "In this engaging and readable book, Derek Tovey uses a narrative-critical approach to Mark's story of Jesus. He shows that, while the story ends abruptly at 16:8, the real ending is in Mark 13. Here the author encourages the rehabilitated disciples, and indeed Mark's readers of every generation, to 'keep awake' until the kingdom of God is established. This is an insightful treatment of Mark's story. It deserves to be widely read." --Philip Church, Senior Lecturer in Biblical Studies, School of Theology Mission and Ministry, Laidlaw College, New Zealand "This is an accessible, yet profound, invitation to the Gospel of Mark, and its concluding questions will enable both the sole reader/disciple as well as various study groups to encounter the story of Jesus as told by the evangelist, Mark." --Professor Elaine Wainwright, Head of School of Theology, University of Auckland, New Zealand "Beginning with the troubling original ending of Mark's Gospel, Derek Tovey takes the reader on a journey to discover the identity of Jesus. En route he finds an account of Jesus that gently but firmly leads readers of the Gospel . . . to begin to write their own lives into the story. Backed by non-intrusive scholarship, this highly accessible investigation is filled with insight both on the Gospel of Mark and on the figure of Jesus." --Tim Meadowcroft, Head of School of Theology, Mission and Ministry, Laidlaw College, New Zealand "For those of us--myself included--who think we have more or less grasped what Mark is doing in his Gospel, Derek Tovey gives us ample reason to think again! This is an engagingly written journey though Mark that will, for example, offer Lenten and other study groups a refreshing, rewarding, and readable account of who Jesus is, and what it means to follow him today." --Bob Robinson, Senior Lecturer, Laidlaw College, New Zealand Derek Tovey is lecturer in New Testament at the College of St. John the Evangelist, Auckland, New Zealand, and an honorary lecturer in the School of Theology, University of Auckland. He is the author of Jesus, Story of God: John's Story of Jesus (2007).