{"product_id":"the-first-biography-of-jesus-genre-and-meaning-in-marks-gospel-9780802884473","title":"The First Biography of Jesus: Genre and Meaning in Mark's Gospel","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhat difference does it make to identify Mark's gospel as an ancient biography?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eReading the gospels as ancient biographies makes a profound difference to the way that we interpret them. Biography immortalizes the memory of the subject, creating a literary monument to the person's life and teaching. Yet it is also a bid to legitimize a specific view of that figure and to position an author and his audience as appropriate \"gatekeepers\" of that memory. Biography was well suited to the articulation of shared values and commitments, the formation of group identity, and the binding together of a past story, present concerns, and future hopes. \u003c\/p\u003e Helen Bond argues that Mark's author used the genre of biography to extend the gospel from an earlier narrow focus on the death and resurrection of Jesus so that it included the way of life of its founding figure. Situating Jesus at the heart of a biography was a bold step in outlining a radical form of Christian discipleship patterned on the life - and death - of Jesus.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eHelen K. Bond\u003c\/b\u003e is Professor of Christian Origins and Head of the School of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh. She is the author of \u003ci\u003ePontius Pilate in History and Interpretation, Caiaphas: High Priest and Friend of Rome?, The Historical Jesus: A Guide for the Perplexed\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eJesus: A Very Brief History\u003c\/i\u003e. She has also acted as historical consultant and contributor for a number of TV programs.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50919401259282,"sku":"9780802884473","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_c2adc3a6-953f-4369-92e3-14e94088905f.jpg?v=1738892991","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-first-biography-of-jesus-genre-and-meaning-in-marks-gospel-9780802884473","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}