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Preaching the Word
Mark: Jesus, Servant and Savior
In our age of aggressive evil and apathetic faith, the Gospel of Mark resounds with the dynamic power of the Lord Jesus Christ. In what is perhaps the most dramatic and action-packed of the Synoptic Gospels, Mark’s writing continues to inspire increased commitment in the church at large. His portrayal of Christ as the servant-savior takes on fresh relevance in these expositions by respected pastor and author R. Kent Hughes. With careful exegesis and numerous illustrations, the author draws many practical lessons for everyday living and ministry from the text. Written to help preachers and Bible teachers communicate God’s Word more effectively, this engaging commentary covers the entire book of Mark and now includes Scripture quotations drawn from the ESV Bible.
- GenresChristian
585 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2015
33 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
R. Kent Hughes
111 books86 followersR. Kent Hughes (DMin, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is senior pastor emeritus of College Church in Wheaton, Illinois, and a visiting professor of practical theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Hughes is also a founder of the Charles Simeon Trust, which conducts expository preaching conferences throughout North America and worldwide. He and his wife, Barbara, have four children and an ever-increasing number of grandchildren.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 19, 2021
Another brilliant set of (52) sermons by Hughes, very useful for sermon ideas and quotes.
September 26, 2015
Great commentary from a great series. Explains and preaches at the same time. Informative and devotional.
May 7, 2017
R. Kent Hughes is solid in his exposition as usual. I like the gospel of Mark because in my view, it emphasizes the spiritual growth of Jesus' disciples. The author helps you to see that. My only complaint is that he does not treat or mention 'the longer ending of Mark' at all.
July 13, 2020
A thoughtful and encouraging commentary.
November 2, 2020
Fantastic and easy to read commentary through Mark! Thoroughly enjoyed having this open while going through the book of Mark.
June 16, 2023
Always enjoy reading R. Kent Hughes' commentaries. He gives me new understanding to verses and stories I've read many times over.
October 31, 2024
Excellent on the gospel of Mark. Good for study, or for personal reading. Short chapters make it very readable
October 31, 2015
In recent months, I have been doing a bit of purging when it comes to my personal library. After years of accumulating books, many in relation to various classes in both Bible College and Seminary, things had gotten a bit out of hand. Furthermore, the subject matter of my theological interests has changed a bit over the years. Included in the great book purge were quite a few commentary sets. Several of those sets were helpful at the time for a good quote to insert in a research paper or some matter of practical application. With that said, as I reviewed whether to let those sets remain in my library, the answer was no far more often than it was yes.
A commentary set that has remained an important part of my library is the venerable Preaching the Word series from Crossway Books. This recently revamped and relaunched series, while particularly aimed at preachers, is also a series I would highly recommend to the layman audience as well. It is accessible, scholarly when it needs to be without becoming overwhelmed with technical jargon, and most importantly, it relates the truth of Scripture to everyday life.
Recently, I had the pleasure of taking a look at a recent release in this series on the Gospel of Mark authored by R. Kent Hughes. My review of this particular volume was rather fortuitous timing as the Gospel of Mark will shortly be the focus on our homeschool Bible class. Needless to say, I was in need of a valuable resource from which to glean instruction material that would be appropriate for a middle school aged child while still providing an adult audience (namely myself) food for thought as well. The Mark commentary fit both of those needs and more.
The Gospel of Mark is action packed with the word “immediately” being used numerous times. Contained within the action are important matters of theological truth that can be gleaned if we take the time to ask the question why when reading for example John the Baptist declaring his message of repentance or Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee. Hughes expertly analyzes the Gospel of Mark, interacting with the text in such a way that both explains the context while also digging into those important matters of application.
For instance, in the section on the aforementioned calming of the Sea of Galilee, Hughes saliently comments, “Jesus came in the darkest part of the night when they had exhausted their energies and were in deepest despair. This is how he often comes to us, that we might learn the futility of our own strength and depend upon him. The very waves that distressed them became a path for his feet – so transcending was his power. His feet upon the waves bespoke his familiarity with their plight. He not only sees, but enters the human struggle.”
Such commentary again recognizes the important theological points of the calming of the Sea of Galilee, namely that of Jesus power and authority over creation as God, while also noting to the reader what that means in their everyday life. Jesus is God and Jesus understands and cares for us in the midst of the storms of life and most often intervenes when we have recognized that our futile efforts are in vain. Truly such an event speaks of the need for dependence on a sovereign and mighty God, something Hughes picks up on in his commentary and aptly relays to the reader.
This is just one of a plethora of examples I could have presented of quality exegesis and helpful application of truth. If you are in search of a quality commentary series or in particular a study on the Gospel of Mark, I highly recommend R. Kent Hughes contribution on Mark.
I received this book for free from Crossway Books and the opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
A commentary set that has remained an important part of my library is the venerable Preaching the Word series from Crossway Books. This recently revamped and relaunched series, while particularly aimed at preachers, is also a series I would highly recommend to the layman audience as well. It is accessible, scholarly when it needs to be without becoming overwhelmed with technical jargon, and most importantly, it relates the truth of Scripture to everyday life.
Recently, I had the pleasure of taking a look at a recent release in this series on the Gospel of Mark authored by R. Kent Hughes. My review of this particular volume was rather fortuitous timing as the Gospel of Mark will shortly be the focus on our homeschool Bible class. Needless to say, I was in need of a valuable resource from which to glean instruction material that would be appropriate for a middle school aged child while still providing an adult audience (namely myself) food for thought as well. The Mark commentary fit both of those needs and more.
The Gospel of Mark is action packed with the word “immediately” being used numerous times. Contained within the action are important matters of theological truth that can be gleaned if we take the time to ask the question why when reading for example John the Baptist declaring his message of repentance or Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee. Hughes expertly analyzes the Gospel of Mark, interacting with the text in such a way that both explains the context while also digging into those important matters of application.
For instance, in the section on the aforementioned calming of the Sea of Galilee, Hughes saliently comments, “Jesus came in the darkest part of the night when they had exhausted their energies and were in deepest despair. This is how he often comes to us, that we might learn the futility of our own strength and depend upon him. The very waves that distressed them became a path for his feet – so transcending was his power. His feet upon the waves bespoke his familiarity with their plight. He not only sees, but enters the human struggle.”
Such commentary again recognizes the important theological points of the calming of the Sea of Galilee, namely that of Jesus power and authority over creation as God, while also noting to the reader what that means in their everyday life. Jesus is God and Jesus understands and cares for us in the midst of the storms of life and most often intervenes when we have recognized that our futile efforts are in vain. Truly such an event speaks of the need for dependence on a sovereign and mighty God, something Hughes picks up on in his commentary and aptly relays to the reader.
This is just one of a plethora of examples I could have presented of quality exegesis and helpful application of truth. If you are in search of a quality commentary series or in particular a study on the Gospel of Mark, I highly recommend R. Kent Hughes contribution on Mark.
I received this book for free from Crossway Books and the opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
July 17, 2016
I have read several of Kent Hughes' commentaries now and I have found them all to be very insightful, helpful, and honest. The commentary is effectively a collection of sermons so they are easy to follow, but they still have a great deal of depth. I would highly recommend this book.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews