John Mark
- James Collazo
- Apr 16, 2020
- 4 min read
Updated: 6d
Introduction
John Mark (Hebrew: Yochanan—Greek: Iōannēs Markos) was born around AD 15 in the Roman province of Judea. He was a Jewish man named Yochanan (H3076, "God has been gracious"). His other name, Markos (G3138; Latin: Marcus), came from Latin. He lived in Jerusalem, and his mother, Mary, was a wealthy woman (Acts 12:12). Having met Jesus through his connection with Peter, John decided to follow him and then traveled with Paul and Barnabas on missions across the Mediterranean (Acts 12:25, 13:5, 13). Additionally, John and Barnabas were cousins (Col. 4:10).
Mark played a central role in the disagreement between Paul and Barnabas when they parted ways after the Council of Jerusalem around AD 50 (Acts 15:36–40; Gal. 2:13). However, several of Paul's letters suggest that he later reconciled with John Mark, even calling him "helpful to me in my ministry" (Col. 4:10; 2 Tim. 4:11; Phlm. 24). This reconciliation highlights the importance of forgiveness and second chances within the early Christian community. It also reflects the evolving relationships among its key figures, showing growth and maturity in both Paul and John Mark.
Mark the Evangelist
The New Testament contains only one, somewhat vague reference suggesting that John Mark wrote the gospel attributed to him: "She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark" (1 Pet. 5:13). The early church fathers, beginning with Papias of Hierapolis (AD 70–155), believed that Mark followed Peter and recorded his teachings about Jesus. Eusebius of Caesarea (AD 260–340) observed:
When the divine word had made its home among them, Simon's power was quenched and immediately destroyed, together with the man himself. So remarkably did the splendor of holiness illuminate the minds of Peter's hearers that they were not satisfied with hearing once only and were not content with the unwritten teaching of the divine gospel, but with all sorts of requests, they besought Mark, a follower of Peter, and the one whose gospel is extant, that he would leave them a written monument of the doctrine which had been orally communicated to them. Nor did they cease until they prevailed with the man and thus became the occasion of the written gospel, which bears the name of Mark.
They say that Peter, when he had learned, through a revelation of the Holy Spirit, of what had been done, was pleased with the zeal of the men and that the work obtained the sanction of his authority to be used in the churches. In the eighth book of his hypotyposes, Clement gives this account, and the bishop of Hierapolis, named Papias, agrees with him. Peter makes mention of Mark in his first epistle, which they say that he wrote in Rome itself, as is indicated by him when he calls the city by a figure, Babylon, as he does in the following words: "She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark" [1 Pet. 5:13] (Church History 2.15).
Eusebius also wrote this statement about Mark based on Papias' testimony:
The presbyter also said this: "Mark, having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately, though not in order, whatsoever he remembered of the things said or done by Christ. For he neither heard the Lord nor followed him, but afterward, as I said, he followed Peter, who adapted his teaching to the needs of his hearers. Still, with no intention of giving a connected account of the Lord's discourses, Mark committed no error. At the same time, he thus wrote some things as he remembered them. For he was careful of one thing: not to omit anything he had heard or to state any of them falsely." Papias relates these things concerning Mark (Church History 3.39).
The anti-Marcionite prologue to Mark's gospel states: "Mark recorded, who was called Colobodactylus ['stumpy finger'] because his fingers were too small for the height of the rest of his body. He served as Peter's interpreter. After Peter's death, the same man wrote this gospel in parts of Italy."
Conclusion
Eusebius wrote, "They say that this Mark was the first that was sent to Egypt and that he proclaimed the gospel which he had written, and first established churches in Alexandria" (Church History 2.16). Today, Bible scholars generally consider Mark the first evangelist to record one of the four canonical gospels (i.e., Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). He likely composed his gospel using Q (from the German word Quelle, meaning "source"), a probable collection of Jesus' sayings. Being from Jerusalem, Mark had access to early documents such as Q, which circulated after Jesus' resurrection. The Q hypothesis seeks to explain the "synoptic problem"—why Matthew, Mark, and Luke share so much of the same material (Greek: sunoptikos, "seen together"). Mark wrote his gospel first, around AD 60, and may have authored or drawn from the Q source. As a result, he likely influenced Matthew and Luke in their writings. Although Mark appears as a minor figure in the New Testament, he worked closely with Peter and Paul and had access to some of the earliest sources about Jesus.
Prayer
Blessed are you, LORD our God, King of heaven and earth! Through the hand of Mark the evangelist, you gave your church the good news of Jesus. We thank you for his faithful witness and pray that you grant us the grace to discern the truth and stand firm, resisting every wind of false teaching. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Bibliography
"The 'Anti-Marcionite' Prologues to the Gospels." Translated by Roger Pearse. Tertullian Project. 2006. link.
Dobson, Kent. NIV First-Century Study Bible: Explore Scripture in Its Jewish and Early Christian Context. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014.
Eusebius. "Church History." Translated by Arthur Cushman McGiffert. In Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Ser. 2, Vol. 1. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1890.
Nelson, Ryan. "Who Was John Mark? The Beginner's Guide." OverviewBible. April 17, 2019. link.
Strauss, Mark L. Four Portraits, One Jesus: A Survey of Jesus and the Gospels. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2020.
