Excellent commentary on Mark. France gives superb insight into the narrative world of the Gospel, and draws out the Jewish feel of the story's historical setting. My only real disagreement was with France's reading that Mark 13 switches topics from the destruction of Jerusalem to the future second coming of Christ at 13:32. His arguments were not enough to persuade me that it's about the destruction of Jerusalem throughout.

Next I consult R.T. France, who has the capacity to write sound commentaries and the efficiency to get it done -- without it become an exercise in bibliographic endlessness -- I've learned lots from France [Full Review]

In my opinion, R.T. France has not only written the best commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, he has also written the best commentary on the Gospel of Mark. The New International Greek Commentary series is technical and does require a knowledge of the Greek language [Full Review]

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Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Fort Worth, TX 76028 As the rash of commentaries on the Gospel of Mark continues unabated, one may search for a work that can offer a definitive wor d. That work comes from R. T. France, a prolific writer on the Gospels who has perhaps written his magnum opus on the second Gospel. This commentary, part of the New International Greek Testament Commentary series, is not a commentary on commentaries, nor is it concerned with theories about the prehistory of the Gospels composition. Rather, it is concerned with the text of Mark itself. France treats Mark as a narrative whole and is guided by the historical awareness brought on by the Third Quest of the historical Jesus. The commentary is based upon 4 27UBS and NA and assumes a working knowledge of Greek. Prior to the introduction there are a list of abbreviations and a bibliography of works cited in the commentary. Following the commentary, there are an index of modern authors, a helpful index of Greek words and phrases, and a listing of biblical and other ancient sources. The introduction deals with issues such as genre, structure, and origin. France classifies Mark as a biography, though its distinctive character is traced to its subject matter. Mark is also distinctive because the Gospel bears the mark of preaching and was not written to be read but to be heard. Showing his inclination toward recent literary methods in New Testament studies, France sees Mark as A Drama in Three Acts. Following the heading of 1:1 and the prologue of 1:213, act 1 centers in Galilee (1:148:21). [Full Review]

University of St. Andrews Scotland This recent addition to the New International Greek Testament Commentary series is a model of tempered scholarship. The series itself is based on the text of the United Bible Societies Greek New Testament (4th rev. ed.) and the Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece (27th ed.). Writing in this series, France strictly interprets the object of his commentary. He states that he does not address form-critical issues regularly, nor does he take up questions of linguistic background and the like. In general, his analysis is contained to the New Testament Greek text and to the textual witnesses referenced in the aforementioned volume. In the introduction, the author attends to the preliminaries of the books genre, structure, message, and purpose. He also addresses the Synoptic problem briefly. On each topic, the reader is in the hands of a master who understands that the minority, while critical and vocal, do not represent the whole of scholarship. Hence, France validates his perspectives by reference to others who hold the same position rather than laboriously rebutting every minority opinion in print. Where it is necessary to nuance his perspective from others, France does so succinctly with his logic simply communicated. The precious value of this style is that it leaves more room for the commentary itself. [Full Review]