Building on Keown's earlier two-volume work, Jesus in a World of Colliding Empires, Understanding Mark's Gospel gives an easily readable introduction to Mark's Gospel. Designed as a textbook, it includes eleven lessons on Mark's Gospel. The first lesson covers background issues important for understanding Mark. The Gospel is then divided into ten sections, each forming a lesson. After reading the biblical passages, students can read each lesson and get a succinct commentary with exegetical insights on the Markan passages. Each lesson ends with questions that can be discussed by readers. All Greek is transliterated, and the book is an excellent and simple introduction to Mark's Gospel.

Mark J. Keown is Head of Bible and Senior NT Lecturer at Laidlaw College and a Presbyterian minister. His writings include Congregational Evangelism in Philippians (2008), What’s God Up to on Planet Earth? (2010), Philippians (2017), Jesus in a World of Colliding Empires (2018), Discovering the New Testament (2018–), The New Testament: A Taster (2020), and Galatians (2020).