Book Notes: Mark, Joseph, Hosea, and Galatians (Matthew Barrett)

P. W. Smuts. Mark by the Book: A New Multidirectional Method for Understanding the Synoptic Gospels. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2013.

In this new book Smuts advocates a “multidirectional” hermeneutic: downward to the immediate context, sideways into parallel traditions, backward into the OT background, and forward into NT passages. Smuts works his way through Mark’s gospel applying this multidirectional hermeneutic. Michael Horton praises Smuts’ scholarship, saying, “We are blessed with scholarly commentaries on Mark’s Gospel as well as more popular surveys. Rarer are those that bring out the richness of the text with the research of the former and the pastoral sensitivity of the latter…This approach exposes the meaning in each pericope with powerful effect and remarkable insight. I highly recommend this exploration of Mark.”

Iain M. Duguid and Matthew P. Harmon. Living in the Light of Inextinguishable Hope: The Gospel According to Joseph. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2013.

Here is the latest addition in the series, The Gospel According to the Old Testament. Joseph is certainly one of my favorite OT figures and in this book the authors draw our attention to how Joseph points us to the gospel.

Todd Wilson. Galatians: Gospel-Rooted Living. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2013.

The Preaching the Word commentary series continues to release new volumes to help pastors work through the text in preparation for their sermons. This newest volume comes from Todd Wilson, pastor of Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park, Illinois, and, like others in the series, is directed towards practical application.

John L. Mackay. Hosea: A Mentor Commentary. Fearn, Ross-shire: Christian Focus, 2012.

John Mackey, principal of the Free Church College, Edinburgh, has pumped out another OT commentary. Having written on Exodus, Jeremiah (2 vols.), Lamentations, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, this new volume is on Hosea. If you are a pastor preaching through OT books, take a look at Mackay’s OT commentaries.

Douglas J. Moo. Galatians. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013.

Douglas Moo is one of the top Pauline scholars of our day. His most recent contribution is a commentary on Galatians in the BECNT series. No doubt this will be a commentary to dig your teeth into as he walks us through the terrain of Galatians, interacting with the current literature and scholarship. Thomas Schreiner praises Moo’s work, saying, “Douglas Moo’s expertise as a commentator is well known, and his skill is on display in this outstanding commentary on Galatians. Moo is scrupulously fair to opposing viewpoints and nuanced and careful in his explication of the text. In addition to a line-by-line explanation of the letter, Moo also offers a substantive and satisfying explanation of Paul’s theology in Galatians.”

Matthew Barrett (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is Assistant Professor of Christian Studies at California Baptist University, as well as the founder and executive editor of Credo Magazine. He is the author and editor of several books, including Salvation by Grace: The Case for Effectual Calling and Regeneration. You can read about Barrett’s other publications at matthewmbarrett.com.