Mark Through Old Testament Eyes

Mark Through Old Testament Eyes

Mark Through Old Testament Eyes, is the first in a new series of NT commentaries from Kregel Publications focusing on the significance of the OT for understanding the NT.

Because of the plethora of commentaries available today, each series seeks for legitimate reasons to be written. One can at times see the tortuous twists and turns an editor makes in the series Preface to substantiate their reason for yet another commentary series. No such twists and turns are necessary, however, for this new commentary series. Mark Through Old Testament Eyes is the first commentary in a series whose main focus is how each New Testament (NT) book reflects the Old Testament (OT) and how an understanding of that will deepen the reader’s appreciation for that particular NT book. While other commentaries will sometimes pause to point out an obvious OT quotation or allusion, due to other objectives, they cannot focus on the overall influence that the OT may have had on a given NT book. The “Through Old Testament Eyes” series seeks to fill this much-needed void.

Mark Through Old Testament Eyes not only seeks to illuminate Mark’s use of the OT, it is also a practical and applicational commentary. The commentary is interspersed with sections entitled: “Going Deeper,” in which author Andy Le Peau takes a more practical look at various topics and subjects found in the Gospel. Le Peau also includes helpful sections entitled: “What the Structure Means.” These sections highlight the literary features of Mark’s Gospel, helping readers to see the Big Picture. A third section is entitled: “Through Old Testament Eyes” and, as you guessed, focuses on how the Gospel of Mark engages the OT in it’s telling of the Jesus story. Each of these sections are set off from the regular commentary by gray boxes with the titles in bold print. A final feature of the commentary is a number of useful charts comparing and contrasting the story in Mark with itself or some aspect of the OT. A side purpose of Mark Through Old Testament Eyes is to introduce the reader to pertinent cultural background material. The commentary is well-suited for teachers and preachers but is written in a lay style that will benefit a Bible study leader or an average Christian who wants to go deeper into the message of Mark’s Gospel.

Jesus, the New Exodus, and Other Insights

Le Peau notes how Mark’s quotation of Isaiah and Malachi in Mark 1:2-3 echo the Exodus tradition and set the stage for the theme of the New Exodus led by Jesus, a theme enunciated throughout the gospel. Le Peau divides Mark’s Gospel into three sections centered around the theme of the Exodus and compares it with the OT theme of the Exodus in a helpful chart (18). The three divisions of Mark are: 1) The Liberator Arrives (Mk 1:1-8:27); 2) The Way to Jerusalem (Mk 8:22-10:52); and 3) Conquest in Jerusalem (Mk 11:1-16:8). Continuing the Exodus theme, Le Peau demonstrates that Jesus is presented as a new Moses by comparing Mark chapters 1-4 with similar scenes in Exodus-Deuteronomy, once again using a helpful chart (102).

Here is a sample of other helpful tidbits throughout the commentary:

  1. Herodias’s request at a banquet (Mk 6:23) contrasts with Esther’s request (119).
  2. The perplexing statement that Jesus was “about to pass by them,” when walking on the water (Mk 6:48) is clarified by OT expressions which show “passing by” to be an activity of God (see e.g.,Exod. 33:19, 22; 34:6-7; 1 Kgs. 19:11; Job 9:8, 11),  (124-125).
  3. Mark’s language throughout the gospel demonstrates that Jesus is God. Le Peau pauses to list all of the verses that demonstrate this (179-182).
  4. The 5 questions regarding Jesus’s authority over the law at the beginning of the gospel (Mk 2:1-3:6) are balanced by the 5 questions regarding Jesus’s authority over the Temple toward the end of the gospel (Mk 11:27-12:37), (211-212).
  5. Le Peau’s division of Mark 13 which confuses many because of it’s conflation of the Temple’s destruction with end-time events, is very helpful. He finds a parallel step-structure: (vv. 1-4 act as intro); A Destruction of Temple (5-23); B Coming of Son of Man (24-27); A’ Parable about the Temple (28-31); B’ Parable about the 2nd coming (32-37) (235-237)
  6. Le Peau notes that Zech 9-14 plays a prominent role in the last chapters of Mark. The Lord comes to the Mount of Olives to save his people (Mk 11:1; Zech 14:4); a king rides triumphantly but humbly to Jerusalem on a donkey (Mk 11:1-10; Zech. 9:9); followed by a reference to a cup as the blood of the covenant (Mk 14:24; Zech. 9:11); and finally the striking of the shepherd to scatter the sheep (Mk 14:27; Zech. 13:7). (262)
  7. Jesus’s warning in chapter 13 to “watch” is followed in 14:41 with Jesus’s own ability to watch at the time of trial, but the inability of the disciples to watch even for one hour. This theme is picked up again in 15:40-41 which pictures a group of women disciples who do “watch.”

Evaluation

Andrew T. Le Peau was the longtime associate publisher for editorial at InterVarsity Press and taught the gospel of Mark for over a decade at InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. He is also the author of Paths of Leadership and Heart, Soul, Mind, Strength.

There are times in which the author’s OT usage seems a bit stretched. For example, Le Peau contends that the mention of the Spirit at Jesus’s baptism (Mk 1:10) and subsequent act of driving him into the wilderness (1:12) recalls the mention of the Spirit hovering over the waters in Genesis 1:2. What am I missing here? He also draws some interesting parallels between Mark 6 and Ps. 23, but a few seemed forced (Table 6.1, 127). While Le Peau has a very interesting discussion on the significance of the number 3 (“What the Structure Means: The Power of Three, 272-273), his insistence throughout the commentary that 3 represents completeness (90-91, 187) is only his opinion. Finally, I am not in favor of endnotes, especially when my copy of the book is in PDF format!

Despite these minor issues, Mark Through Old Testament Eyes is a gem that should be in every pastor’s/Bible Teacher’s library. Le Peau not only demonstrates that the Gospel of Mark is indebted to the OT on every page, but how a deeper understanding of the OT will enhance a believer’s understanding of Mark. Le Peau has done a remarkable job chasing down OT references and allusions. Whether it’s OT info on “figs,” “widows,” or OT imagery (sun and moon blotted out, darkness, the sea, etc.) Le Peau demonstrates his knowledge and proficiency with the OT text which translates into a gold mine for the reader.

(Many thanks to Kregel Publications who provided a copy of Mark Through Old Testament Eyes in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.)

Purchase your copy of Mark Through Old Testament Eyes at Kregel Publications or at Amazon USA / UK

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