The Gospel of Mark

50 years and this is still a great book in a great series. Unlike so many popular Christian books that become dated over time, William Barclay's Daily Study Bible just seems to get better. He has excellent historical material. He offers valuable insight that will apply to your life as we begin the third millenium. You will be glad you bought this book, or any of the others Barclay wrote in the New Testament Series.

I find that William Barclay's "The Gospel of Mark" is an excelent book to learn more about what is the true meaning of what the Gospel of Mark is all about. It is fairly easy to read and it puts what is written into historical contexts. It let me know a lot more about what was going on during the life of Jesus Christ. so that I could understand the Gospel in much greater depth than I ever had before.I would greatly recommend this book for use as a suppliment to the Bible for study groups or individual study of the Scriptures. I also think that this book is good for both a historical and/or a theological study of the life of Jesus Christ. It really helps to make sense of what Mark had to say by reviewing what the people knew and thought during the time that Jesus was among them so that we could view the Gospel from that perspective as well as what it means to us today.I think that every Christian will find that they will learn a great deal from this book. As a Christian I feel that this book should be on everyone's must read list.

Reading this commentary was like having a daily conversation with a deeply learned companion. Barclay's remarks are always insightful. Without being dogmatic, he brings Mark's prose alive. His understanding of the original Greek and of the customs and mores of the ancient world provides helpful context to the story. What a wonderful personal tutor! I now am reading his book on the letters to the Corinthians and will read the entire series.

Barclay's style is very easy to read. He makes reading the Gospel of Mark very interesting. Just reading about Jesus' miracles is good, but having Barclay to read alongside the miracle stories was fun! Planning on using it in my Bible Study class.

Mark's Gospel is rich with the teachings of Peter, with some personal insight from Mark who was a boy in Jesus' last days. Barclay does a wonderful job of bringing us into Mark's Gospel and explaining the circumstances and meanings of Jesus' words and parables, without putting any personal spin on them. The English translations don't always do the Greek words justice, and Barclay helps develop the rich meanings of the Greek language we often lose in our translations. To read Barclay is to read Jesus as if He were here teaching us, which, really, He is.