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The cross from a distanceAtonement in Mark's GospelInforming the mindTHE CROSS FROM A DISTANCE At a time when the doctrine of atonement is increasingly coming under attack from within ‘evangelicalism’ as well as the expected continued attack from without, it is vital that we allow our minds to be better informed, as well as having our hearts transformed, by what the Scriptures actually say on the subject. This book is an invaluable aid which does just that. Peter Bolt, who lectures in New Testament at Moore Theological College Sydney, is a first rate scholar and brilliant communicator. The title of the book is inspired by the climax of Mark’s account of the crucifixion in which he records that a group of women were watching the events ‘from a distance’. This is the stance we share as readers. It is an event that occurred a long time ago, in a world which, in many ways, is different from our own. And yet when we understand the cross correctly, as presented to us by Mark, that is where we see God close up. In each chapter Dr. Bolt skilfully unpacks what a particular section in Mark says about the cross, and as he works through the Gospel a full and composite picture is gradually built up of how we are to understand Jesus’s death. Special attention is given to the theological background provided by the Old Testament (the book is worth buying for the insights given here alone). The key place of the bridegroom in chapter 2 and its Old Testament setting is wonderfully dealt with. Dr. Bolt is also sensitive to the world of Mark’s first readers and shows how the message of the cross would have been so revolutionary, and why it was a message which prevailed over all the other claims and religions in the Greco-Roman world. But, as Dr. Bolt demonstrates, many of the concerns of Mark’s world are also the concerns of ours — especially as a world living under the shadow of death — and as a narrative Mark’s Gospel communicates very powerfully and directly to people living in our society today. His treatment shows how effectively the gospel story can be used to communicate the gospel (Christianity Explored users be encouraged!). This is a brilliant book and a hugely enjoyable read. Not everyone (including the reviewer) will be convinced that Mark’s ‘little apocalypse’ in chapter 13 can be interpreted in its entirety as referring to the events of the cross, and not in some way to the ‘second coming’ (I think David Wenham’s and Don Carson’s rendering carry more weight). However, there is much food for thought and an exegesis which is highly suggestive and should be carefully considered. Here is a writer with a clear head and warm heart; his book is highly recommended. Melvin Tinker,
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