Christology, Religion & Spirituality 

For centuries, Mark was the Cinderella among the Synoptic Gospels, thought to be an abbreviation and copy of Mathew. Then it was treasured above all as a historical account, the version thought to bring us closest to the life and work of Jesus. Neither of these approaches in fact does justice to the nature of Mark as a theological portrait of Jesus.
Tracing the outlines of that theological portrait is not, however, an easy task. We can see the emphases in the picture of Jesus offered by Mathew and Luke by comparing them with Mark, on whom they drew; but what came before Mark is a much more complex question. Some would say that it is almost impossible to answer. However, with great skill Professor Hooker teases out the secrets within the Gospel, and in so doing takes us once again, from a new perspective, through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus as seen by one of the earliest church communities. (From the back cover) - from Amzon