Study Five.
John Mark.
Bible readings will be from: Acts 12:12, 25; 15:39; Colossians
4:10; 2 Timothy 4:11; 1 Peter 5:13, and other readings.
“So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the
mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together
praying” Acts 12:12.
Date: About a.d.
45.
Name: Mark
(“large hammer”).
Greatest
Accomplishment: Mark became
Peter’s companion and wrote the Gospel of Mark.
1.
Mark’s life and times.
As a teen, Mark may have
witnessed the capture of Jesus in
After the resurrection, Mark
involved himself in prayer meetings of the young church held in his mother
Mary’s home, Acts 12:12 “So, when he had considered this, he came to
the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were
gathered together praying.”
He had another important
Christian connection; his cousin Barnabas was one of the young church’s most
notable leaders, Colossians 4:10 “Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, with
Mark the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions: if he comes
to you, welcome him).”
It was not surprising that Mark
should go together with Paul and Barnabas as a member of their team on their
first missionary journey. However, for some reason, young Mark abandoned them
and returned to Jerusalem, Acts 15:38
“But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed
from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work.”
Later, when Barnabas wanted to
take Mark on another missionary journey, Paul refused. Paul and Barnabas
separated.
And each led a separate
missionary team. John Mark went with Barnabas. Under Barnabas’s gentle guidance
Mark matured as a Christian. Years later, Paul asked Timothy to send Mark to
him because “he is useful to me for
ministry” 2 Timothy 4:1.
Tradition tells us that Mark
became the companion of Peter, who described him as “my son” 1 Peter 5:13. The same tradition states that Mark related
in his Gospel the stories he heard from Peter.
2.
Mark’s Gospel.
Mark’s Gospel reflects the
stories told by Peter in his ministry to the Jews (the Jews living outside the
The Romans were people of action
who respected authority and strength of character. Mark’s portrait of Jesus,
which tells His story briefly but with glowing scenes often linked by “then immediately,” appealed to the
Roman mind. This Jesus was a Man of strength and honour, a Man of action, a Man
with power and authority.
While Mark’s Gospel is the
shortest of the four accounts of Jesus’ life and closely parallels Matthew’s
Gospel in structure, it has a quite different tone.
1. Matthew
presents Jesus the Messiah. Mark presents Jesus, the Man of action and
authority, stripped of those details that were necessary to answer questions
Jewish readers might ask.
2. The
Jesus of Mark’s Gospel was an attractive figure to the first-century Roman, a
Man to whom one might boldly pledge commitment and become His follower,
confident that Jesus would be able to protect and care for His own.
3.
Mark: An example for today.
Mark at best is a minor character
as far as the Gospels and Acts are concerned. Yet, he seems representative of
many young people who come to faith early but grow into commitment only after several
false starts or failures. From Mark we learn several important lessons about
nurturing faith in young people.
A. Mark had much family and other links to Christian faith.
Through them he was exposed to
the gospel early in life. Mature believers need to help young people establish
relationships with as many committed believers as possible.
B. Mark, in Barnabas, had a Christian friend who would not
give up on him.
Young people may fall short of
our and their own expectations. We need not only to support them but also to
give them additional opportunities to succeed.
C. Mark had a more important role in God’s plan than anyone
might have expected.
When we invest in a young person,
we never know how important that investment might become!
Conclusion:
We need more people like John
Mark, to assist us in our faith today!
