A comprehensive examination of all the passages in the New Testament, together with key documents from the apostolic Fathers, which allude to baptism.

Synopsis: Mark for the Nations is a translation by the author of his Swedish commentary on the Gospel of Mark. It is meant both for students of theology and for pastors, as well as for lay people. Hartman reads Mark's Gospel through the eyes of an early Gentile-Christian reader. For this reason he quotes much material from the Hellenistic world in translation. To some extent this material appears here for the first time in a gospel commentary. The analysis makes use of literary criticism and text linguistics, but avoids the technical terminology. To stimulate a modern reader's understanding of the evangelist's message to his first-century audience Hartman has endeavored to translate traditional terms into slightly more common language. Endorsements: "Few commentaries on Mark provide so rich a knowledge of the first-century cultural background as Prof. Hartman's. By extensive use of contemporary literature, he helps us to experience the text the way Mark's first readers did. Here is first-rank scholarship that provides a mine of information, but without the baggage of a heavy scholarly apparatus. The erudite Hartman has produced an outstanding commentary that exhibits both an unusually perceptive analysis and the wisdom of a masterful veteran scholar." --Donald A. Hagner Fuller Theological Seminary "This book is a masterpiece. It maintains a very clear profile all through with precision and elegance. It is not too long or cluttered with superfluous learning. Nor is it too short so as to leave the many riches of the Markan text unexplored. Instead, it maintains a wonderful balance that will genuinely help its reader to get deeply into another masterpiece: the Gospel of Mark itself. This is vintage Hartman at the height of his powers." --Troels Engberg-Pedersen University of Copenhagen "It is a unique privilege to read the Gospel of Mark with Prof. Lars Hartman as a guide. His excellent commentary combines keen erudition in philological and historical matters with a cogent and lively narrative-critical reading of the first gospel. This is a virtuoso performance by a major scholar, which not only gives a compelling and informative interpretation of Mark's Gospel, but also opens up a vital conversation about the tasks and goals of New Testament commentary. Not to be missed " --Margaret M. Mitchell University of Chicago Divinity School Author Biography: Lars Hartman is Professor Emeritus of New Testament Exegesis at Uppsala University, Sweden. He is the author of Prophecy Interpreted: The Formation of Some Jewish Apocalyptic Texts and of the Eschatological Discourse Mark 13 Par. and Asking for a Meaning: A Study of 1 Enoch 1-5.