Dowd examines the Gospel of Mark from literary and theological perspectives, suggesting what the text may have meant to its first-century audience of Gentile and Jewish Christians. Mark is a Greco-Roman biography of Jesus written in an apocalyptic mode. Its theology is based on the message of the prophet Isaiah— the proclamation of release from bondage and a march toward freedom along the "way of the Lord."

Sharyn Dowd is an associate professor of religion at Baylor University, Waco, Texas.

Edited by Charles H. Talbert, Distinguished Professor of Religion at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, the Reading the New Testament commentary series presents cutting edge biblical research in accessible language that is both coherent and comprehensive.