Until recently, there has been a near consensus that the Gospel of Mark is an expression of a Gentile, post-Jewish, form of Christ adherence. In his book, John Van Maaren challenges the notion of 'Gentile Mark' by developing the first narrative-wide reading of the Gospel as an expression of first-century Judaism. He consolidates insights from scattered studies and proposes new interpretations of specific texts and broader themes. He aims to lay the foundation for resituating the earliest extant account of Jesus within the history of early Christ-followers and first-century Judaism, re-examining the place of the law, the nations, the death of Jesus, and the expected kingdom of God.

Born 1984; 2019 PhD, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (2019); 2019?21 Assistant Director of Academic Support, Grants and Fellowships, The Catholic University of America, Washington DC, USA; 2021?24 Alexander von Humboldt postdoctoral fellow, University of Heidelberg, Germany; currently FWF ESPRIT postdoctoral fellow, University of Vienna, Austria.