Mark Heath

Mark Heath

I am married with four children and live in Southampton, England. I am employed as a computer programmer, and have a passion for studying the Bible. I have a particular interest in reading commentaries, and am a involved in preaching and teaching at my local church. Theologically speaking, I am evangelical, charismatic, reformed, amillennial (at least for now!)
Occupation Computer programmer

Libraries

Reviews

Firth, David G. The Message of Esther. BST. Inter-Varsity Press, 2010.
Mark Heath Mark Heath July 23, 2010
Good exposition of Esther from an evangelical perspective, drawing out lessons of remaining faithful to God in a sometimes antagonistic culture [Full Review]
Jobes, Karen H. Esther. NIVAC. Zondervan, 1999.
Mark Heath Mark Heath July 22, 2010
Outstanding example of the strengths of the NIVAC series - explaining the historical background and meaning, but moving on to very interesting discussion of the theological issues raised by the text. [Full Review]
Stott, John R. W. The Message of Acts. BST. Inter-Varsity Press, 1994.
Mark Heath Mark Heath July 22, 2010
Excellent exposition of the book of Acts from an evangelical Anglican noncharismatic perspective. Lots of attention to matters of theology and practical application. [Full Review]
Wright, Christopher J. H. The Message of Ezekiel. BST. InterVarsity Press, 2001.
Mark Heath Mark Heath July 22, 2010
Superb exposition of the book of Ezekiel. It does not always treat the text in order, and doesn't cover everything, but Wright does a brilliant job of bringing the character of Ezekiel to life, and showing how the theology and challenge of Ezekiel's message matter for us today. [Full Review]
Motyer, J. Alec. The Message of James. BST. InterVarsity Press, 1985.
Mark Heath Mark Heath July 22, 2010
Very helpful and thorough exposition of the book of James. Motyer is not content to merely explain the text, but drives home the challenge of the message of James [Full Review]
Davis, Dale Ralph. Joshua: No Falling Words. FB. Christian Focus, 2000.
Mark Heath Mark Heath July 22, 2010
Not so much a commentary as an exposition of the book of Joshua. Never boring, this is a great model of how to preach through OT books. [Full Review]
Wright, N. T. Colossians and Philemon. TNTC. InterVarsity Press, 1989.
Mark Heath Mark Heath April 8, 2010
Outstanding contribution to this series. Wright is always interesting, and brings a fresh perspective to most subjects he touches on. His take on the false teaching in Colosse being Judaism will not convince everyone. Particularly useful to preachers, as he makes great points of application along the way. [Full Review]
Moo, Douglas J. The Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon. PNTC. Eerdmans, 2008.
Mark Heath Mark Heath April 7, 2010
Very thorough and careful exegesis of the text with good attention paid to structure and often discusses which English translations have done the best job of capturing the sense of a verse. Moo will often interact with a variety of alternative views before selecting his desired option. An ideal resource for those preaching on these books. [Full Review]
Green, Gene L. The Letters to the Thessalonians. PNTC. Eerdmans, 2002.
Mark Heath Mark Heath March 5, 2010
Very illuminating commentary on Thessalonians. Green's lengthy introduction includes a critique of the rhetorical analysis approach and gives a considerable amount of historical background. He often quotes from first century sources and sees the client-patron relationship as key to understanding the letters. [Full Review]
O'Brien, Peter T. The Letter to the Ephesians [Plagiarism Acknowledged]. PNTC. Eerdmans, 1999.
Mark Heath Mark Heath March 5, 2010
An excellent and thorough commentary, including a robust defense of Pauline authorship. He notionally commentates on the NIV text, but doesn't always agree with the translation decisions. Ideal for those preaching or wanting to do in depth Bible study on Ephesians [Full Review]
Patterson, Richard D. “Joel” in Minor Prophets: Hosea–Malachi. CBC. Tyndale House, 2008.
Mark Heath Mark Heath March 5, 2010
A helpful introductory level commentary to Joel, with focus on linking his message to other parts of Scripture. [Full Review]
Patterson, Richard D. “Hosea” in Minor Prophets: Hosea–Malachi. CBC. Tyndale House, 2008.
Mark Heath Mark Heath March 5, 2010
A good introductory level commentary. It strikes a nice balance between illuminating the meaning of the text, and suggesting theological and practical applications. [Full Review]
Hill, Andrew E. “Malachi” in Minor Prophets: Hosea–Malachi. CBC. Tyndale House, 2008.
Mark Heath Mark Heath March 5, 2010
Good introductory level commentary to Malachi, benefitting from Hill's more detailed work as part of the Anchor Bible series. [Full Review]
Hill, Andrew E. “Zechariah” in Minor Prophets: Hosea–Malachi. CBC. Tyndale House, 2008.
Mark Heath Mark Heath March 5, 2010
Helpful introductory level commentary on Zechariah, with a focus on tying in with other related parts of the Old and New Testaments [Full Review]
Köstenberger, Andreas J. John [Plagiarism Acknowledged]. BECNT. Baker Academic, 2004.
Mark Heath Mark Heath February 5, 2010
An excellent commentary, but suffers from being a little too similar to Carson. One key difference between the two is that Kostenberger is more concise in the main commentary, and has extensive footnotes. [Full Review]
Hill, Andrew E. “Haggai” in Minor Prophets: Hosea–Malachi. CBC. Tyndale House, 2008.
Mark Heath Mark Heath February 4, 2010
An introductory level but helpful commentary on this short OT book. The CBC series gives you the full text in the NLT version, a set of "notes" which deal with exegetical issues (usually highlighting one or two words per verse), and then "commentary" which explains the meaning of each section and then looks briefly for ways to apply the text theologically. [Full Review]
Patterson, Richard D.; Hill, Andrew E. Minor Prophets: Hosea–Malachi. CBC. Tyndale House, 2008.
Mark Heath Mark Heath February 4, 2010
An introductory level but helpful commentary on this short OT book. The CBC series gives you the full text in the NLT version, a set of "notes" which deal with exegetical issues (usually highlighting one or two words per verse), and then "commentary" which explains the meaning of each section and then looks briefly for ways to apply the text theologically. [Full Review]
Patterson, Richard D.; Hill, Andrew E. Minor Prophets: Hosea–Malachi. CBC. Tyndale House, 2008.
Mark Heath Mark Heath February 1, 2010
An introductory level but helpful commentary on this short OT book. The CBC series gives you the full text in the NLT version, a set of "notes" which deal with exegetical issues (usually highlighting one or two words per verse), and then "commentary" which explains the meaning of each section and then looks briefly for ways to apply the text theologically. [Full Review]
Carson, D. A. The Gospel according to John. PNTC. Eerdmans, 1990.
Mark Heath Mark Heath February 1, 2010
An outstanding commentary that does just about everything an evangelical student or teacher of the Bible could possibly want from a commentary on John. He incisively gets to the meaning of the text, and is quite willing to devote space to interacting with the views of other commentators, meaning there is never a dull moment. [Full Review]
Edwards, James R. The Gospel according to Mark. PNTC. Eerdmans, 2001.
Mark Heath Mark Heath January 27, 2010
An excellent commentary that focuses on the historical setting, the literary devices and the theological purposes of Mark. Includes several useful excursuses on key themes in Mark. [Full Review]
Patterson, Richard D. “Zephaniah” in Minor Prophets: Hosea–Malachi. CBC. Tyndale House, 2008.
Mark Heath Mark Heath January 27, 2010
The CBC series is a good introductory level commentary that helps you grasp the historical context, the meaning and flow of the passage as well as drawing out a few theological themes from each passage. I was a little disappointed with this one for its failure to say much about Zeph 3:17 [Full Review]
Carson, D. A. “Matthew” in Matthew, Mark, Luke. EBC. Zondervan, 1984.
Mark Heath Mark Heath January 26, 2010
An outstanding commentary that perfectly fits the series goals by addressing all the issues that an expositor will be looking for. He addresses not just the meaning and theology of the text, but harmonization with the other gospel accounts, challenges to historicity, and engages with other commentator's interpretations. [Full Review]
Patterson, Richard D. “Habakkuk” in Minor Prophets: Hosea–Malachi. CBC. Tyndale House, 2008.
Mark Heath Mark Heath January 26, 2010
A helpful introductory level commentary on Habakkuk, which helps trace out major themes, and shows how they fit in with the rest of the Bible's teaching. [Full Review]
Patterson, Richard D. “Nahum” in Minor Prophets: Hosea–Malachi. CBC. Tyndale House, 2008.
Mark Heath Mark Heath January 20, 2010
A solid, introductory level commentary on Nahum. The "Notes" section fills you in on the most important translation and exegetical issues, while the "Commentary" section briefly but effectively summarises the overall thrust of each passage, before drawing on other related parts of Scripture to bring out a few points for application. [Full Review]
Silva, Moisés. Philippians (2nd ed.). BECNT. Baker Academic, 2005.
Mark Heath Mark Heath January 19, 2010
Another excellent commentary on Philippians. This one has a very interesting introduction that explores the book from a wide variety of angles. The main focus is exegesis, but he gives space to the various theological issues raised, making this a good resource for preachers. Worth getting hold of even if you already have Fee's NICNT, since Silva doesn't always agree with his conclusions. [Full Review]
Hill, Andrew E. “Micah” in Minor Prophets: Hosea–Malachi. CBC. Tyndale House, 2008.
Mark Heath Mark Heath January 13, 2010
A helpful guide to the book of Micah. Includes full text of NLT. The "notes" section gives insight to key words in most verses. The commentary section gives overview of the main message of the passage, explanation of the type of oracle, and some theological reflection, often drawing insights from other books of the Bible. [Full Review]
Motyer, J. Alec. The Message of Amos. BST. InterVarsity Press, 1974.
Mark Heath Mark Heath January 6, 2010
Very helpful exposition of Amos, with plenty of attention to application. Interprets Amos in the light of the whole of Scripture. [Full Review]
Nixon, Rosemary. The Message of Jonah. BST. InterVarsity Press, 2003.
Mark Heath Mark Heath January 6, 2010
Very long for the BST series, including plenty of discussion of the literary genre of Jonah, and a number of excursuses on word studies and themes. A very worthwhile resource for preachers preparing to work through Jonah, but may be a little technical and long-winded for usual readers of the BST series. [Full Review]
Sailhamer, John H. “Genesis” in Genesis–Leviticus. REBC. Zondervan, 2008.
Mark Heath Mark Heath January 6, 2010
Strong on how each story fits into the overall purpose of the Pentateuch, but lacks enough space to address many of the issues an expositor would like comment on. The revised EBC is a very well-presented series representing good value for money. [Full Review]
Fee, Gordon D. The First and Second Letters to the Thessalonians. NICNT. Eerdmans, 2009.
Mark Heath Mark Heath January 6, 2010
Another excellent commentary from Gordon Fee, thorough without being long-winded, primarily exegetical, but with helpful bits of theological reflection thrown in. Lots of attention given to the high christology found in these early letters. [Full Review]
Charles, J. Daryl. “1 and 2 Peter and Jude” in Hebrews–Revelation. REBC. Zondervan, 2006.
Mark Heath Mark Heath July 14, 2008
This is a very nicely laid out commentary series, and is aimed at expositors although does not always have the space required to fully explore the kind of details preachers might be interested in. He argues that 1 Peter presents a Christian ethic which responds to suffering by following the example of Christ. He does devote space to demonstrating the similarities between 1 and 2 Peter, and between 2 Peter and Jude, which he argues have different purposes, despite their similarities. 2 Peter is concerned with ethics while Jude is concerned with heresy. [Full Review]
Dearman, J. Andrew. Jeremiah, Lamentations. NIVAC. Zondervan, 2002.
Mark Heath Mark Heath July 14, 2008
Commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations with a strong emphasis on contemporary application. A wide variety of social, political and ethical applications are highlighted, and Dearman believes prophecies of the land and temple have their ultimate fulfilment in Jesus. Due to the limited space available for "original meaning", not every verse is commented on specifically. It would probably complement a more academic commentary well. [Full Review]
Evans, Mary J. The Message of Samuel. BST. InterVarsity Press, 2004.
Mark Heath Mark Heath July 14, 2008
A very practical exposition of 1 and 2 Samuel, highlighting the theme of the abuse of power. Lots of application, particularly in the area of leadership. [Full Review]
Webb, Barry G. The Message of Zechariah. BST. InterVarsity Press, 2003.
Mark Heath Mark Heath July 14, 2008
This exposition of Zechariah focuses on the theme of the coming kingdom of God. The Christological and New Testament connections are highlighted. Webb avoids being drawn into speculative interpretations of the visions, and draws out some practical lessons for leaders. A great resource for anyone wanting to preach from Zechariah. [Full Review]
Williams, David J. Acts. UBNT. Hendrickson, 1990.
Mark Heath Mark Heath July 14, 2008
This commentary on Acts seemed to fall through the gaps. It is not devotional or expositional enough to be first choice for a pastor, nor technical enough for detailed study. It is however a good source for a straightforward explanation of the text along with the necessary filling in of historical and geographical context. Williams doesn't engage in much theological discussion, but does step up to defend Luke's integrity as a historian in several places. [Full Review]
Tidball, Derek. The Message of Leviticus. BST. InterVarsity Press, 2005.
Mark Heath Mark Heath July 14, 2008
Tidball's exposition presents Leviticus as primarily concerned with relationship rather than regulation, and he is concerned to bring out the principles behind those regulations, showing how they apply to Christians under the new covenant. He draws out Christological connections with the sacrificial system, lessons for leaders, as well as showing how Leviticus presents a view of holiness that affects every aspect of daily life. [Full Review]
Stott, John R. W. The Message of Galatians. BST. InterVarsity Press, 1993.
Mark Heath Mark Heath July 4, 2008
Stott defends Paul's apostolic authority and his gospel message of salvation through faith alone from critics ancient and modern. He goes on to explain how Christian liberty does not lead to license, but to a harvest of sanctification by sowing to the Spirit. Despite being slightly dated, this another insightful and accessible commentary from a fine Biblical expositor. [Full Review]