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'''Mark the Evangelist''' was an earlier embodiment of [[Mark L. Prophet]]. | |||
Mark was the son of one called Mary of Jerusalem. He was the companion and the scribe of the early missionaries. He is listed as the probable author of the Gospel of Deeds, whence comes the symbol of Mark the Evangelist as a winged lion—the second “living creature” beheld by Ezekiel in his vision of the glory. | |||
John was his Jewish name; Mark, or Marcus, was his Roman name, in keeping with the custom of Hellenistic Jews of this time. ''John'' means “God is gracious,” i.e., “Upon this place, upon this servant, the grace or the light of Yahweh descends”; ''Marcus'' is from the Latin, “a large hammer.” | |||
== The Biblical account == | |||
When we first meet Mark in the Bible, he is living at Jerusalem, apparently in the home of his mother, Mary. She appears to have been a widow of some means, inasmuch as she is described in Acts as the owner of a house spacious enough to accommodate a large Christian gathering and as having the services of a maid. It has been suggested that the Last Supper was held in her home and that John as a boy may have witnessed some of the final events of Jesus’ life. | |||
There has been conjecture that the young man who fled away naked in the Garden of Gethsemane was John Mark, that he was serving as caretaker of the family garden, and that at the time of the arrest of Jesus he had been sleeping there in the watchtower. When the guard attempted to arrest him, he ran off leaving only his garment, a linen cloth, in the soldier’s hands. | |||
Mary seems to have been intimately acquainted with Saint Peter, as it was to her house that he repaired after his deliverance from prison. This fact could account for Mark’s intimate acquaintance with Peter. | Mary seems to have been intimately acquainted with Saint Peter, as it was to her house that he repaired after his deliverance from prison. This fact could account for Mark’s intimate acquaintance with Peter. | ||
In Peter’s first epistle, Mark is referred to as Peter’s “son”—evidence of close attachment between Peter and Mark. | |||
== In the Acts of the Apostles == | == In the Acts of the Apostles == | ||
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The Acts of the Apostles records that John Mark was taken by Barnabas and [[Saint Paul|Paul]] on their first missionary journey as an assistant. Barnabas and Paul arrived at Jerusalem to bring alms from the Christians in Antioch to the Christians in Judea during the famine of <small>A</small>.<small>D</small>. 45. They needed an assistant, and it is likely that it was Barnabas who chose his young cousin or nephew Mark.<ref>Acts 12:25.</ref> | The Acts of the Apostles records that John Mark was taken by Barnabas and [[Saint Paul|Paul]] on their first missionary journey as an assistant. Barnabas and Paul arrived at Jerusalem to bring alms from the Christians in Antioch to the Christians in Judea during the famine of <small>A</small>.<small>D</small>. 45. They needed an assistant, and it is likely that it was Barnabas who chose his young cousin or nephew Mark.<ref>Acts 12:25.</ref> | ||
We read the occasion when Paul is represented as instructing Timothy to bring him Mark “for he is very useful in serving me.”<ref>2 Tim. 4:11.</ref> John Mark acted as a teacher as well as a travel secretary. | We read the occasion when Paul is represented as instructing Timothy to bring him Mark “for he is very useful in serving me.”<ref>2 Tim. 4:11.</ref> John Mark acted as a teacher as well as a travel secretary. At Perga in Pamphylia, when they were about to enter upon the more arduous part of their mission, Mark left the apostles, and for some unexplained reason, returned to Jerusalem—to his mother and his home. | ||
At Perga in Pamphylia, when they were about to enter upon the more arduous part of their mission, Mark | |||
In <small>A</small>.<small>D</small>. 51, Barnabas and Paul resolved to set out on a second | In <small>A</small>.<small>D</small>. 51, Barnabas and Paul resolved to set out on a second missionary journey. On this occasion, Paul resolutely declined to associate himself again with one who “departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work.” The issue was a “sharp contention” which resulted in the separation of Paul from his old friend Barnabas who, taking Mark with him, returned to Cyprus while Paul proceeded through Syria and Cilicia.<ref>Acts 15:36–39.</ref> | ||
Whatever the cause of Mark’s apparent vacillation, it did not lead to a final separation between him and Paul. Less than ten years later, Mark shared Paul’s imprisonment in Rome, <small>A</small>.<small>D</small>. 61–63, and he is acknowledged by Paul as one of his few “fellow labourers unto the kingdom of God” who had been a comfort to him “during the weary hours of his imprisonment.” | Whatever the cause of Mark’s apparent vacillation, it did not lead to a final separation between him and Paul. Less than ten years later, Mark shared Paul’s imprisonment in Rome, <small>A</small>.<small>D</small>. 61–63, and he is acknowledged by Paul as one of his few “fellow labourers unto the kingdom of God” who had been a comfort to him “during the weary hours of his imprisonment.” | ||
== Later life == | == Later life == | ||
Ecclesiastical tradition affirms that Saint Mark visited Egypt, founded the church at Alexandria, and became its first bishop.<ref>One reason for Mark coming | Ecclesiastical tradition affirms that Saint Mark visited Egypt, founded the church at Alexandria, and became its first bishop.<ref>One reason for Mark coming to Egypt was his earlier embodiment there as [[Ikhnaton]].</ref> | ||
The ''Lives of the Saints'' records: | The ''Lives of the Saints'' records: | ||
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Everywhere in the Book of Mark we find that the servant character of the incarnate Son is manifest. The key verse is Mark 10:45: “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister.” The characteristic word of this gospel is “straightway,” a servant’s word. | Everywhere in the Book of Mark we find that the servant character of the incarnate Son is manifest. The key verse is Mark 10:45: “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister.” The characteristic word of this gospel is “straightway,” a servant’s word. | ||
There is no genealogy in the Book of Mark tracing back the ancestors of Jesus Christ, for who would give the genealogy of a servant? In other words, Mark does not consider | There is no genealogy in the Book of Mark tracing back the ancestors of Jesus Christ, for who would give the genealogy of a servant? In other words, Mark does not consider that the human lineage and descent of [[Jesus Christ]] is important. He is not trying to prove that he is Almighty God incarnate, and if he is trying to prove it, he has sense enough to know that you don’t prove it by human genealogy. The Book of Mark, contrasting the Book of Matthew, begins with the going before the face of Jesus of [[John the Baptist]], then the baptism of Jesus. And before you are through the first chapter, you are with Jesus in the wilderness being tempted of the Devil. Mark begins with the mission. He leaves to others to account for his birth in Bethlehem and his early years. | ||
The earliest statement about the Gospel that is in existence concerning Mark comes from Papias around 140 <small>A</small>.<small>D</small>: | The earliest statement about the Gospel that is in existence concerning Mark comes from Papias around 140 <small>A</small>.<small>D</small>: | ||