This volume is written for anyone who, for whatever reason, is drawn to the New Testament. It is also for those who are not so drawn, for it is written out of the conviction that good readers need to be formed. Anyone can read the Bible; no particular level of education is required, but readers need to learn what to look for in stories that may seem distant and strange. The long tradition of reading the Scriptures in the church is not the enemy in such an enterprise, but audiences change, and the Bible must be heard and wrestled with in each new situation.

This volume focuses on the Gospel according to Mark, probably the first of the four Gospels to be written. It has received the least attention of the four in the history of the church. The explosion of Markan scholarship in the last decades tells a fascinating story that is not the focus of this study but informs it. The result of intense engagement with Mark within and outside the academic community has not achieved a meeting of the minds. Mark's Gospel does not easily yield its secrets. It is the case, however, that conversing about Mark has been enormously interesting and productive for the church as well as the academy.

This volume is written to open readers to its remarkable story. Where engagement will finally lead remains as unpredictable and as promising as the Gospel itself.

While the relationship between Second Temple Jewish exegesis andearly Christian exegesis as demonstrated in theNew Testament is universally recognized, the reasons fortheirsimilarities and differencesare often elusive. Donald H. Juel in Messianic Exegesis seeks to unknot this tangled web of interpretation. Juel's thesis is simple: Christianity's origins are rooted in the earliest Christian interpretations of Israel'sScriptures. The difficulty resides in showing how thesedistinctiveinterpretations arose. Juel argues that the events of Jesus' life form the fulcrum fortheChristian re-readingofJewishScripture. In particular, Juel shows howChristian beliefin a crucified and risen Messiah guided both the selection and appropriation of Old Testament textsatexts like 2 Samuel 7, Daniel 7, and Psalms 2 and 110. With the confession "Jesus is the Messiah"as the central claim of Christianity,Juel is able toshowthe fluidity of contemporary Jewish exegesis while alsomakingthe anomalous uses ofScripture within theearlyChristian community understandable. Christians proclaimedJesus as Messiahthroughouttheir exegesis and thereby defined their emerging community through the way theyread Scripture.

The late Donald H. Juel (1942-2003) devoted his life to engaging scripture faithfully, intelligently, and imaginatively. For Juel, theological interpretation of the Bible meant having an encounter with the living God. This volume identifies and connects many of the overarching themes that animated Juel's work. Including his thoughts on the rhetorical nature of scripture, the challenges facing academic instruction of the Bible, the reader's place in the biblical narrative, and the hope of resurrection, among others, the selections are accessible and engaging and paint a unique portrait of the way Juel thought and lived. Juel seeks to nourish readers in developing richer imaginations about who God is and how Christians meet God through reading the Bible.