UNITED STATES AUTHOR · BIBLE · COMMENTARIES
Benjamin Wisner Bacon
The first three gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, are always known as the synoptic gospels.
— from The Gospel of Mark
Most acclaimed
The Sermon on the Mount
1961
Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755, or 1757 – July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 under the presidency of George Washington. He also founded America's first political party, the Federalist Party, in 1791. Born out of wedlock in Charlestown on the Caribbean island of Nevis, Hamilton was orphaned as a child and taken in by a prosperous merchant. He was given a scholarship and pursued his education at King's College (now Columbia University) in New York City where, despite his young age, he was an anonymous but prolific and widely read pamphleteer and advocate for the American Revolution. He then served as an artillery officer in the American Revolutionary War, where he saw military action against the British Army in the New York and New Jersey campaign, served for four years as aide-de-camp to Continental Army commander-in-chief George Washington, and fought under Washington's command in the war's climactic battle, the Siege of Yorktown, which secured American victory in the war and with it the independence of the United States.
An introduction to the New Testament
"Since its publication in 1997, Raymond Brown's Introduction to the New Testament has been widely embraced by modern readers seeking to understand the Christian Bible. Acknowledged as a paragon of New Testament studies in his lifetime, Brown was a gifted communicator who wrote with ease and clarity. Abridged by Marion Soards, who worked with Brown on the original text, this new, concise version maintains the essence and centrist interpretation of the original without tampering with Brown's perspective, insights, or conclusions. The biblical writings themselves remain the focus, but there are also chapters dealing with the nature, origin, and interpretation of the New Testament texts, as well as chapters concerning the political, social, religious, and philosophical world of antiquity. Furthermore, augmenting Brown's commentary on the New Testament itself are topics such as the Gospels' relationship to one another; the form and function of ancient letters; Paul's thought and life, along with his motivation, legacy, and theology; a reflection on the historical Jesus; and a survey of relevant Jewish and Christian writings."--Back cover.
The Gospel of Mark
Mark is the Gospel for youth; it is so brief, so vivid, so stirring, so strong; and these same qualities adapt the story to the active, restless, vigorous spirit of the whole modern world. It represents our Lord as the mighty, wonder-working Son of God, and thus bears a special message to an age which needs a word of divine authority, and a new vision of the present, limitless, redeeming power of Christ. It is a story of service, and is in harmony with the heroism and self-sacrifice which illumine these dark years of cruel suffering, as it pictures to us the Servant of God who came "not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." The purpose of the following outline studies is to aid in fixing the thought upon the successive, swiftly changing scenes of the story, in order to arouse deeper devotion to the Master and to inspire wider service in his name. - Foreword.