The Victory According to Mark: An Exposition of the Second Gospel

by Mark Horne

What do the words "Gospel" and "Son of God" mean? We are so familiar with them that we fail to look at what they meant in the original context. Mark's Gospel is sometimes assumed to be the least interesting or helpful gospel because it is the shortest and speaks in a plain and direct style. Mark Horne helps us better appreciate this gospel's goals by highlighting features not immediately apparent to the modern eye. Horne uses its Old Testament and first-century context to point out the typological roles that Jesus, John, and the disciples fulfill as the new leaders of their nation, a period when the old Israel was both restored and redefined. He shows the gospel's intricate structures of miracle cycles and other events that bring out the major themes of calling and restoration, all playing into the kingship and triumph of Christ. This devotional-style commentary enables the reader to see through the gospel of Mark's humble exterior into the riches that lie beneath.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Biblical Studies, New Testament

292 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2003

About the author

Mark Horne was born in Melbourne, Florida, but has also lived in Liberia, West Africa, and Kwajalein, Marshall Islands before graduating from high school. After graduating from Houghton College in Western, NY, in 1989, Mark worked for American Vision, Coral Ridge Ministries, and co-authored two books with George Grant. After living in Nashville, TN, where he worked as a writer/editor for Legacy Communications, Mark attended Covenant Theological Seminary here in Saint Louis and earned his M.Div. degree in 1998. Mark has pastored two congregations since his seminary graduation, and he returned here to serve as Assistant Pastor in January 2005. Mark is a prolific writer and the author of a layperson's commentary on the Gospel of Mark.

Reviews

[Caleb M. Powers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good exposition of the Gospel of Mark.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth a read.
Like: not overly academic. Treats the gospel as sacred text and is not afraid to go into preaching mode so to speak.
Dislike: a little too eager to overturn plain readings of the text. You might call it a case of the "um, actually." Helpful sometimes other times the alternate readings stretch seem to lack strong support on the text.

[Jacob Aitken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Particularly good discussions in the early sections of the book. Horne is particularly sensitive to Old Testament echoes in the Gospel.

[Peter Krol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Horne is insightful and fun to read. Sometimes his textual analysis is jaw-droppingly good. But often moves away from the text to fit in his theological presumptions.

[Booketeer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wrote this. And gave it 5 stars for completely impartial reasons.

[Anita Deacon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was more of a pastoral/sermon analysis rather than academic like I was expecting. But Horne does some good literary analysis, and his references back to Old Testament passages are very insightful.
There were some Leithartesque mountains that looked suspiciously like mole hills. But the credible stuff outweighed the eyebrow raisers.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horne has written an outstanding commentary on Mark--asking and answering questions that most other commentators don't even raise.

[Jake Litwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great commentary. The saturated Old Testament typological connections is the strength of the book.

[Ben Emery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smart. Insightful. Shows an excellent awareness of Old Testament imagery and its usage in the Gospel of Mark. Enjoyed reading it as part of my sermon preparation for our series through the second gospel.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful and brief commentary. Very insightful and helpful.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great, introductory-level overview to Mark.

[Trent Still · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading for understanding and preaching Mark's gospel.

[Sharon Janzen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt like the author jumped to some conclusions without explaining where he got those ideas. One of them got to me in particular, about the women who stayed with Jesus until the end - apparently they didn't do enough. This rubbed me the wrong way. Those women were more courageous than any of the disciples, and Horne does not explain with any sort of rationality why he thinks they should've done more, or what more they could've done. It was a weird point and I was offended on those brave ladies' behalf.

[Spencer R · Rating 4 out of 5]

spoiledmilks dot wordpress dot com/2015/02/06/review-the-victory-according-to-mark/

Mark's allusiveness intrigues me. His use of hiddenness to reveal, the secretiveness of Christ, along with Mark's use of the OT descriptions and narrative to spotlight Jesus' divinity and connection with Yahweh are all facets of Gospel theology I'd never really heard much of when I was younger. The Gospels were often harmonized to show the full story, rather than left separate to show each Evangelist's unique perspective.

The Chocolate Milk

Horne does a terrific job of connecting each scene in Mark with what has happened previously or what will happen next. I'm still unsure of how the healing/confrontation scenes in chapter 1 relate, but perhaps the more I read Horne's commentary (and others), the more Horne's might make sense. And he especially does a better job than the commentators on how Jesus is the Son of Man in Mk 2.23-28 and why Jesus said Abiathar and not Ahimelech. Jesus is eating all over the place in Mark (and the Synoptics really), and Home shows how parables are not a new thing to Israel (Ps 78.2).

Horne makes definite decisions. Even if one disagrees, which I did at times, I'm glad to see a commentator who doesn't waffle around about deciding what the text says. Agree with him or not, you know where Horne stands.

The Spoiled Milk

Horne looks up to Peter Leithart and, ultimately, they both takes some cues from James Jordan. I really like Leithart, but James Jordan makes some wild conclusions. Yet in this book, much of what is said appears to be spot on, or close enough to it. Though there are moments of typology that seem reallyyyy stretched.

Horne also appears to have a bone to pick with the Reformed group. There are a few times where Horne could describe a general group pf Christians, or even a different group of christians, but decided to focus on the Reformed group for some reason. I'm not sure why though, but it happens more than a few times.

[Special thanks to Gene at Canon Pr for allowing me to review this book! I was not obligated to provide a positive review in exchange for this book.]

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a keeper. I'll probably have it on my shelf and use it as a reference while I'm reading the gospels. Lots of good stuff.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great short commentary on Mark. Horne exposes the structure of the book as well as it's theology and practical lessons.
Great for daily reading, or sermon prep.

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great commentary on the Gospel of Mark. Very accessible, and full of insightful commentary that can't help but get the reader excited about the Bible.

[Jerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great expositional commentary. Great read before an in depth study of the whole Gospel. Wonderful thematic connections with the rest Scripture.

[Jonah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really a fantastic little commentary. Much is said in a short amount of space making a big deal about a small Gospel.

[Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great short exposition of St. Mark's theology of the Kingdom of God.