As the first Gospel in the Christian canon and the first book of the New Testament, Matthew has attracted significant attention. It contains the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord’s Prayer, the Beatitudes and End Times parables and prophecies. It describes the nature of the kingdom of heaven, and reveals the Messiah to a Jewish audience. In his accessible commentary, David L. Turner explores the central themes of the Gospel of Matthew, along with interpretive challenges, and the relationship between Matthew and the other Synoptic Gospels. This commentary also includes a detailed outline of the Gospel and an extensive bibliography. 

The Gospel of Mark contains the shortest and most succinct account of the life of Jesus. In fact, says Darrell L. Bock in the introduction to his commentary, “Mark is more a Gospel of action than of teaching.” Jesus and his disciples move from city to city, and the stories are punctuated by little more than the favorite Markan transition: “Immediately.” Yet Mark, more than any other Gospel, highlights Jesus as the suffering Son of Man, and provides rich parallels to Old Testament themes. And the end of the Gospel shows that the experience of rejection and suffering challenged even the apostle’s commitment to discipleship. Both the original and modern readers have much to learn from the Gospel of Mark and Darrell L. Bock's commentary and exposition. 

Key Features 

• Introductions to the historical and cultural context, the literary style, and the major themes and theological concerns 
• Exegetical and textual notes 
• Commentary pays special attention to context and major theological themes 

Recommendations 

An enormously helpful series for the layperson and pastor alike because it centers on the theological message of each book and ties it directly to the text. This approach has been needed for some time and will be an invaluable supplement to other commentary series. 

—Grant Osborne 

A treasure house of insight into the biblical text. Written by some of the best scholars working today, it is an essential tool for pastors, students, church leaders, and lay people who want to understand the text and know how it relates to our lives today. Like the New Living Translation text it uses as its base, this commentary series is extremely readable. 

—Tremper Longman 

About the Authors 

David L. Turner, PhD, is a graduate of Cedarville University, Grace Theological Seminary (ThD), and Hebrew Union College—Jewish Institute of Religion, Cincinnati (MPhil, PhD candidate). He has been professor of New Testament at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary since 1986 and has previously published several articles on the Gospel of Matthew. 

Darrel L. Bock, PhD (University of Aberdeen), is research professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. His special fields of study include the use of the Old Testament in the New Testament, Luke—Acts, the historical Jesus, and the integration of theology and culture. Among his most recent publications are Breaking the Da Vinci Code (New York Times best-seller, May 2004), and a two-volume commentary on Luke (Baker). 

About the Editor 

Philip W. Comfort has studied English Literature, Greek, and New Testament at the Ohio State University and the University of South Africa. He has taught at Wheaton College, Trinity Episcopal Seminary, and Columbia International University. He currently teaches at Coastal Carolina University and is a senior editor of Bible reference at Tyndale House Publishers. Comfort is co-editor of the Life Application Bible Commentary New Testament, The Text of the Earliest New Testament Greek Manuscripts, and the Holman Treasury of Key Bible Words.

Series Introduction 

The Cornerstone Biblical Commentary series (18 volumes) is the product of nearly 40 scholars, many of whom participated in the creation of the NLT. The contributors to this series, who are well-known and represent a wide spectrum of theological positions within the evangelical community, have built each volume to help pastors, teachers, and students of the Bible understand every thought contained in the Bible. In short, this will be one of the premier resources for those seeking an accessible but fairly high-level discussion of scriptural interpretation.