Cousin of
Barnabas; companion to both Paul and Peter; author
of the second Gospel A member of a Jewish
family in Jerusalem who were early believers in
Jesus Christ, John Mark bore both a Jewish and a
Roman name. The Roman name "Mark" was perhaps a
badge of Roman citizenship, as in Paul’s case, or
was adopted when he left Jerusalem to serve the
Gentile church in Antioch (Acts 12:25). When an
angel of the Lord freed Peter from prison, the
apostle went directly to "the house of Mary, the
mother of John whose other name was Mark" (Acts
12:12, nrsv). This house, described as having an
outer gate, being of adequate size to accommodate a
gathering of many believers, and served by a slave
named Rhoda (Acts 12:12-13), was obviously the
dwelling of a wealthy family. By the time of this
event (c. a.d. 44) Mark may have already been
converted through the personal influence of Peter (1
Pet. 5:13). The fact that he was chosen to accompany
Barnabas and Saul (Paul) to Antioch indicates that
Mark was held in high esteem by the church in
Jerusalem (Acts 12:25).
John Mark accompanied Barnabas and Saul to
"assist them" (Acts 13:5, nrsv) on their expedition
into Asia with the gospel. He soon left the
apostles, however, and returned to Jerusalem (Acts
13:13). Scripture does not reveal the cause of this
desertion. Perhaps the rigors and hardships of the
journey overwhelmed the young man. Another possible
explanation was that at Paphos, shortly into the
journey, Paul stepped to the front as leader and
spokesman (Acts 13:13). Thereafter Acts (with the
natural exception of Acts 15:12, 25) speaks of Paul
and Barnabas rather than Barnabas and Paul. Perhaps
it offended Mark to see his kinsman Barnabas, who
had preceded Paul in the faith (Acts 4:36-37) and
had ushered him into the apostles’ fellowship (Acts
9:27), take second place in the work of the gospel.
But there may have been a deeper and more
significant cause for Mark’s withdrawal. Like Paul,
Mark was "a Hebrew born of Hebrews" (Phil. 3:5, nrsv).
Because of this Mark may have objected to Paul’s
offer of salvation to the Gentiles based only on
faith without the prerequisite of keeping the Jewish
law. It is noteworthy that the Bible uses only the
Hebrew name "John" when recording Mark’s presence on
the Gospel journey (13:5) and his departure at Perga
in Pamphylia (Acts 13:13). Also important is the
fact that John Mark returned, not to the Gentile
church in Antioch, the site of his former service,
but to the Jewish church in Jerusalem (Acts 13:13).
Luke’s history records that later "the disagreement
[between Paul and Barnabas over Mark] became so
sharp that they parted company" (Acts 15:39, nrsv).
Nothing stirred Paul’s feelings more than the
question of justification by faith, and Barnabas had
already demonstrated his weakness on this point
(Gal. 2:13). Therefore it may have been the cause of
their separation: Barnabas and Mark to Cyprus, and
Paul and Silas into Asia to strengthen the new
churches (Acts 15:39-41).
About eleven years pass before Mark again appears
in the biblical record. In Colossians 4:10 and
Philemon 24, he is in Rome with "Paul the aged," who
is there as "a prisoner of Jesus Christ" (Philem.
19). The fracture has been healed, such that Paul
says that Mark and others are "the only ones of the
circumcision [the Jews] among my co-workers for the
kingdom of God" (Col. 4:11, nrsv). Paul, in his last
epistle, pays Mark his final tribute. He tells
Timothy, "Do your best to come to me soon. . . .
Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with
you, for he is useful in my ministry" (2 Tim.
4:9, 11, nrsv, italics added). Although all had
deserted Paul in his trial before Caesar Nero (2
Tim. 4:16), Mark, who in his youth had also deserted
the apostle, traveled from Ephesus to Rome,
endeavoring to come to the beloved Paul with
Timothy.
In 1 Peter 5:13 the apostle Peter sends Mark’s
greeting along with that of the church in Babylon
(signifying Rome), indicating Mark’s close
relationship with the apostle to the circumcision
(Gal. 2:9). The most important and reliable
extrascriptural tradition concerning Mark is that he
was the close attendant of Peter. The early church
Fathers said this association produced the Gospel of
Mark, inasmuch as Mark took account of Peter’s
teachings about Jesus and then used them to shape
his Gospel—perhaps written in Rome between a.d. 55
and 65.
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