Mark is a unique character in the Bible. The New Testament doesn’t say much about him, but what little we do have shows a young man growing up in the new church. His home and his family are at the center of the new movement formed around the risen Jesus.
The little details the Bible gives us include some failures in Mark’s life. But we also see him rise above that failure. We also see the trust that people like Paul eventually come to have in him. You can think of Mark as a kid who grows up in the youth group and eventually becomes a church leader. He even grew up and wrote one of the most famous books ever written.
When is Mark first mentioned in the Bible?
The first mention of Mark is in Acts 12:12. After Peter was released from prison by an angel, he went to the house of Mary, who was the mother of John, also called Mark. Many people had gathered in this house to pray for Pedro’s release. Mark’s father is not mentioned. It could be that he had died or that he was not a believer, but he allowed his wife to use the house as a meeting place for the early church.
Was this the same house that Jesus and his disciples used? celebrate the Passover just before his arrest and crucifixion? There is no way to know that for sure. But it is certainly within the realm of possibility. At the very least, it was a house large enough for many people to gather, indicating that Maria and her family were probably doing well.
A second reference to Mark’s family is found in Colossians 4:10, where he is identified as a cousin of Barnabas. Some translations identify him as a nephew of Barnabas rather than a cousin. But regardless, he was a close relative of Barnabas. And that helps explain Barnabas’s interest in Mark.
Another familiar reference to Mark is made in 1 Peter 5:13. In this passage, Peter identifies Mark as his son. But I think it’s more likely that Peter referred to Mark as a spiritual son rather than a biological son. This would be like 1 Corinthians 4:17, where Paul calls Timothy his son, even though he is clearly not Paul’s biological son.
Did Mark know Jesus?
Marcos is never mentioned by name before identifying Mary, whose house Peter went to after his prison break, as his mother. But there is a curious reference in Mark 14:51-52 that may point it out. When Jesus was arrested in the garden, a young man who had been following Jesus was there, wrapped only in a sheet. When Jesus was arrested, all of his disciples fled, but this young man lingered too long and was seized by the arresting crowd. But he managed to escape, leaving his sheet behind and fleeing naked.
I understand that this is probably a reference from the author of Mark’s gospel to himself. It is a way of saying: “I was there!” Although it is speculation, I can see Jesus and his disciples celebrating Easter in Mary’s house. After they went into the garden, it is possible that Judas first led the authorities to Mary’s house in search of Jesus before going out into the garden. Mark saw the crowd looking for Jesus, covered himself with a sheet, and ran into the garden to warn Jesus. But he was too late to give the warning.
Whether the above was true or not, it is clear that Mark’s family is part of the early church. When he was young, Mark grew up in the early days of the church. There is no way of knowing what kind of role he might have played. But he would have been familiar with everything that was going on there. And, speculation again, it could have been Mary’s house where believers gathered at Pentecost. That would have been an exciting time for a young follower of Jesus.
What does the Bible say about Mark’s ministry?
Shortly after Peter’s release from prison, Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch. And when they did, Mark went with them (Acts 12:25). Barnabas apparently saw some potential in the young man and took him under his wing. At Antioch, Mark would have been exposed to Gentile believers for the first time. And that may have been just as challenging for him as it was for many other Jewish believers.
Some time after their return to Antioch, the church commissioned Paul and Barnabas to take the gospel to the surrounding area. country. As they went, they took Mark with them as a helper (Acts 13:5). Mark traveled with them through the island of Cyprus. But when they left the island to continue their journey, Mark left them and went to his house in Jerusalem (Acts 13:13). No explanation is given as to why he left. It could be that he was homesick. It could be that he wasn’t happy that Paul seemed to have risen to fame over his cousin during the trip. Perhaps the experience was more than he was prepared for. But, for some reason, he left them.
Mark’s next appearance came as Paul and Barnabas were preparing to set out on their second missionary journey. Barnabas wanted to take Marcos away, but Pablo refused. This led to such a sharp disagreement that they split into two teams. Barnabas took Mark and went back to Cyprus while Paul took a new companion and headed north and then west (Acts 15:36-41). And that’s the last we hear from Mark in the book of Acts.
Did Mark write the Gospel of Mark?
The Gospel of Mark is anonymous. But early lore connects him with the Mark of this story. Papias of Hierapolis (60-130 AD) and Irenaeus (130-200 AD) identified this gospel as being written by Mark, a disciple of Peter. According to both sources, Mark essentially took what he learned from Peter and used it to compose what many consider to be the oldest of the Gospels.
Many modern scholars argue that this gospel was written by Mark which we find in the pages of the New Testament. But I have seen no convincing arguments to counter the testimony of these early church fathers. This work of Mark is also widely believed to be a source used by the authors of Matthew and Luke.
Peter’s reference to Mark (1 Peter 5:13), while not confirming that Mark wrote this gospel, adds support for the view. Peter says that Mark was with him in Babylon. This reference to Babylon is widely considered to be a cryptic reference to Rome. What is significant here is that Peter claims that he spent time with Mark, so it is reasonable that he could have passed on to Mark the accounts that he later recorded in his gospel.
What can we learn from life? from Marcos?
Although Mark probably never traveled with Jesus, he was clearly familiar with him. Jesus probably visited his house while he was in Jerusalem. And it is true that the early church used his house as a meeting place. In addition to his early involvement with the church in Jerusalem, Mark was able to experience the early days of the church in Antioch and spend time with Paul, Barnabas, and Peter. That was a privilege few could claim even in the early church.
But Mark’s life had a dark chapter. Her abandonment of Paul and Barnabas on his first journey, for whatever reason, led to a fight between Paul and Barnabas. And he was expressing a lack of maturity in his own life. But he didn’t let that experience define him. He later traveled with Barnabas and was reconciled with Paul. And he went on to write perhaps the first gospel account on record.
Eusebius, in his History of the Church, places Mark (also identified as Mark the Evangelist) as the founder of the church in Alexandria. . Tradition has it that Mark was martyred in Alexandria in AD 68 Many modern scholars question much of the early tradition surrounding Mark, as well as the testimony of the early Fathers. But even based on what little we know of Scripture, we find a man who didn’t let his failures define him. Mark shook off those early failures and found himself very much used of God in the early church.
A prayer for young people who are lost
God our Father, you see your children grow up in an unstable and confused world: Show them that your ways give more life than the ways of the world, and that following you is better than pursuing selfish goals. Help them to see failure not as a measure of their worth, but as an opportunity for a fresh start. Give them strength to keep their faith in you and to keep their joy alive in your creation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Prayer taken from the Book of Common Prayer).