TODAY'S BIBLE TWEET
John Mark, whose Hebrew name was John and whose Greek name was Mark, is mentioned at least ten times in the New Testament. His mother, whose name was Mary, allowed her house to be used as a meeting place for the early Christians. This explains why Peter, upon his miraculous deliverance from prison, made a beeline to Mark’s mother’s house, knowing that his Christian brothers and sisters would be gathered there in prayer for him (Acts 12:12). This story also shows us that the Apostle Peter was a close acquaintance of Mark and his family.
Mark was a cousin of Barnabas, who accompanied his cousin and the Apostle Paul on Paul’s first missionary journey (Acts 12:25; 13:5-13). However, because Mark deserted them in Perga and returned to Jerusalem, Paul refused, despite Barnabas’ insistence, to take Mark along with them on their second missionary journey. As a result, Mark became such a sore point of contention between Paul and Barnabas that they separated. Paul took Silas and went to Syria, and Barnabas took his cousin Mark and went to Cyprus (Acts 15:36-40).
That Mark eventually regained Paul’s confidence and was reconciled to him is proven by the fact that Mark was later with Paul in Rome, as well as highly commended and spoken very affectionately about by Paul near the end of the great apostle’s life (Colossians 4:10; 2 Timothy 4:11).
Mark is last mentioned in the New Testament by the Apostle Peter. According to Peter, who calls Mark his “son,” which probably means Mark was Peter’s convert and disciple, Mark was with him in Rome, where tradition tells us Peter’s apostolic ministry concluded (1 Peter 5:13).
Not only is the Gospel of Mark the first of the four Gospels to be written, but Mark is the first person to ever write a Gospel. Following Christ’s resurrection, the story of His miraculous life, atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into Heaven, and promised Second Coming was being preached everywhere orally. Originally by those who were eyewitnesses, and afterward, by converts of the eyewitnesses, who were converted by the testimonies of eyewitnesses.
As the number of converts grew and churches began to be formed, letters (epistles) were written and circulated to combat heresies, settle disputes, and answer questions being asked by congregating Christians. A good example of these letters are the New Testament epistles of the Apostle Paul.
As time passed, the number of eyewitnesses to the events in the life of Christ dwindled. As a result, written documentation was needed to preserve for posterity the greatest story ever told. It was into this gap that Mark stepped with his divinely inspired pen to write the first Gospel ever written.
Many people do not realize that the Gospels were written after most of the other books of the New Testament, in a period of time between 60-90 A.D. According to tradition, Mark wrote his Gospel in or near Rome, during a time of persecution, probably somewhere between 60-75 A.D.
The Gospel of Mark was probably initially penned to encourage Roman Christians in their struggles, dangers, and doubts. Evidence that Mark’s Gospel was originally intended for Gentiles is found in his explanation of some Jewish customs and words (Mark 7:3-4; 14:36).
It is generally believed that Mark got much of his information about the life of Christ from the Apostle Peter, who had a front row seat to the life of our Lord. In light of this, we could say that Mark wrote his Gospel with the Holy Spirit guiding his hand and the Apostle Peter looking over his shoulder.
It is also widely believed that both Matthew and Luke got the outline of their Gospels from Mark’s Gospel, although they both added to it and expounded upon it.
As the first of the four Gospels, it is safe to say that Mark introduced a brand new kind of literature to the world. Whereas histories, biographies, letters, and other kinds of literature had been written in the Greek and Roman worlds, no one had ever written a Gospel before Mark.
Finally, it should be understood that the Gospel of Mark is no mere biography of Jesus Christ, but the divinely inspired written revelation of the “Good News” of salvation wrought by God for this fallen world in and through His beloved Son.