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Saint Mark: Difference between revisions
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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.” | 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.” | ||
[[File:Last Supper de Champaigne.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|The Last Supper, Jean-Baptiste de Champaigne (c. 1678).<br />Mark is shown on the left serving at the table.]] | |||
== The Biblical account == | == The Biblical account == | ||
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When the guard attempted to arrest him, he ran off leaving only his garment, a linen cloth, in the soldier’s hands. | When the guard attempted to arrest him, he ran off leaving only his garment, a linen cloth, in the soldier’s hands. | ||
== In the Acts of the Apostles == | == In the Acts of the Apostles == | ||
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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 “fellowlabourers unto the kingdom of God” who had been a comfort to him during his imprisonment.<ref>Col. 4:10–11; Phil. 24.</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 “fellowlabourers unto the kingdom of God” who had been a comfort to him during his imprisonment.<ref>Col. 4:10–11; Phil. 24.</ref> | ||
[[File:Giorgio Vasari, Saint Mark, 1570-1571, NGA 159063.jpg|thumb|upright|''Saint Mark'', Giorgio Vasari]] | |||
== Later life == | == Later life == | ||
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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>: | ||
<blockquote>Mark, who became Peter’s interpreter, wrote accurately, though not in order, all that he remembered of the things said and done by the Lord. For he had neither heard the Lord nor been one of his followers, but afterward, as I said, he had followed Peter, who used to compose his discourses with a view to the needs [of his hearers], but not as if he were composing a systematic account of the Lord’s sayings. So Mark did nothing blameworthy in thus writing some things just as he remembered them; for he was careful of this one thing, to omit none of the things he had heard and to state no untruth therein.<ref>'' | <blockquote>Mark, who became Peter’s interpreter, wrote accurately, though not in order, all that he remembered of the things said and done by the Lord. For he had neither heard the Lord nor been one of his followers, but afterward, as I said, he had followed Peter, who used to compose his discourses with a view to the needs [of his hearers], but not as if he were composing a systematic account of the Lord’s sayings. So Mark did nothing blameworthy in thus writing some things just as he remembered them; for he was careful of this one thing, to omit none of the things he had heard and to state no untruth therein.<ref>''Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible'', s.v. “Mark, Gospel of,” 3:267.</ref></blockquote> | ||
The Gospel according to Saint Mark was, for many centuries, thought to be merely an abridgment of Matthew—and so tended to be the least valued and least read. It is now widely recognized as the earliest of the Synoptic Gospels. The arguments upon which this conclusion is based include the fact that: | The Gospel according to Saint Mark was, for many centuries, thought to be merely an abridgment of Matthew—and so tended to be the least valued and least read. It is now widely recognized as the earliest of the Synoptic Gospels. The arguments upon which this conclusion is based include the fact that: | ||