Although we are fairly certain that Mark was the author of the second gospel, we know very little about his life. The Bible doesn’t give us any information about his early life, but there are ancient traditions that suggest that Mark was born in the North African city of Cyrene (modern day Libya) and migrated to the Galilean village of Cana with his family, where they came into contact with Jesus when young Mark was one of the servants at the wedding who poured out the water that Jesus turned into wine. After this, Mark and his mother Mary became his disciples and eventually followed them to Jerusalem.
Another tradition that suggests that Mark was one of the 72 disciples that Jesus sent out two by two to preach about the kingdom of God and that he was the young man at Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane who, when the soldiers grabbed him, slipped out of his robe and ran away naked. If this is true, Mark was one of the first streakers in the history of the world.
Mark and Peter (Acts 12:12; I Pet. 5:13)
Whether or not these early traditions about Mark are true, we cannot know for sure. If they are, Mark would have spent considerable time with Jesus and his disciples, and this is where he would have forged a close spiritual relationship with Peter. If these early traditions are not true, then Mark would have met Peter for the first time Acts 12, where after an angel miraculously freed Peter from prison, Peter went to Mary, Mark’s mother’s house in Jerusalem and met with a group of Christians that had been praying for him. Many biblical scholars believe that it was Mark’s mother Mary who provided the upper room in which the Last Supper was held and where the apostles gathered after Jesus was crucified.
Mark eventually left Peter to go with Paul and his cousin Barnabas on their first missionary journey. Then, after returning to his homeland of North Africa and serving as Bishop of Alexandria in Egypt for 11 years, as providence would have it, he met up with Peter again in Rome toward the end of Peter’s life. Peter was writing from prison in Rome when he says in I Peter 5:3—“She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and does my son Mark.” Babylon was a code word for Rome. Mark was with him and ministered to him as a son in the faith during the last days of his life. It was at this time and place where Mark wrote down Peter’s memoirs and sermons and used them to compose his gospel. Peter was then martyred in Rome by being crucified upside down.
Mark and Peter’s relationship shows the familial nature of discipleship. Peter became Mark’s spiritual father and mentor when Mark was a young man. He played a prominent role in forming Mark’s faith and molding his ministry, and Mark played a prominent role in ministering to Peter at the end of his life. This spiritual father and son relationship produced the first of the four gospels, which has blessed God’s church over the past 2000 years and continues to testify about the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ today.
This spiritual relationship between Mark and Peter should cause us to think about our spiritual relationships with people in our lives. Just as in biological families, where parents provide, protect, and nurture their children when they are young, and children provide, protect, and care for their parents when they are old, so should it be in the family of faith. Not only should fathers and mothers invest in the spiritual lives of their own children, but we should all be looking for opportunities to be spiritual fathers and mothers to others in our church. Likewise, those of us who are younger should be looking for opportunities care for and minister to the older people in our church.
It is providential that on the same day I happen to be preaching on the topic of spiritual parenthood and childhood, I am also appointed to bury Russell Dodd, one of my fathers in the faith. Over the past 8 years, I have spent many hours sitting and talking with Russ. During this time, his body was waning, but his mind was as sharp as ever. Not only did he teach me most of what I know about farming, but he also taught me how to suffer with grace and die with dignity. One time I asked him what God had taught him through his battle with Parkinson’s disease. He said, “Over these past few years, I have really learned about the power and importance of prayer. When I was younger and healthy and working all the time, I didn’t think much about prayer, but now that I am old and my body failing, I find myself praying all the time.”
That was a powerful lesson for me to learn! I have been blessed to have Russell Dodd as a spiritual father. If you are an older member of our congregation, who is your spiritual child? How are you investing in the spiritual lives of the younger people around you? Are you passing along the things that God has taught you over the years?
If you are a younger member of our church, who is your spiritual parent? How are you caring for the needs of the older people in our faith community? Do you have any relationships like that of Mark and Peter? If not, I hope you get one!
Mark and Paul (Acts 12:25; 13:13; 15:36-41)
Well, as I mentioned before, Mark eventually left Peter in Jerusalem and went with Paul and Barnabas to Antioch, where they started their first missionary journey. (Acts 12:25) They sailed to the Cypress and preached the gospel all the way across the island. From there, they sailed to the city of Perga in the province of Pamphylia, where Mark, abruptly and unexpectedly abandoned them and returned to Jerusalem. (Acts 13:13) There is no explicit reason given for this, but scholars have proposed some possible theories. Some suggest that Mark simply got homesick. Others suggest that the ministry was too hard for him and he simply didn’t want to continue. A more plausible theory is that Mark became frustrated with Paul for assuming the leadership of the mission when his cousin Barnabas had clearly been the leader of the journey as it was organized. You know what they always say, “Blood is thicker than water!”
Regardless of the reason, Mark’s leaving angered Paul, who refused to take him on any more missions. This conflict led to a rift in Paul and Barnabas’ relationship when they were planning their second missionary journey. (Acts 15:36-41) Barnabas wanted to take Mark along, but Paul didn’t trust him from his previous desertion and thought it not wise allow him to go. This caused such a sharp disagreement among the two leaders that they parted ways. Barnabas and Mark sailed for Cypress again, but Paul chose Silas and headed for Syria and Cilicia. Mark and Paul did not speak for many years. It is amazing that Mark had such a good relationship with Peter, but had such a poor relationship with Paul.
For some of us, it is surprising to think about how these heroes of the faith and leaders of the early church got into such a sharp conflict that it actually caused them to part ways in ministry, but we must remember that the writers of the New Testament were sinners just like us. Since all Christians are sinners, we should not be surprised that we sometimes butt heads with each other. This is not a modern phenomenon; it has been an issue in the church since its beginning.
From an outside perspective, we can empathize with both leaders. On the one hand, we can understand Paul’s point that Mark messed up, couldn’t be trusted, was too big of a liability, and therefore should be disqualified from this mission trip. On the other hand, we can understand Barnabas’ argument. Mark seemed repentant from his earlier mistake, he had a lot of ministry experience, and he could prove to be a valuable asset to their ministry. Like Paul and Barnabas, in any given argument, we think that we are the one who is right.
One time a pastor got on the phone said: “Bad news, Bishop. Our church-planting team is divided on whether to call the new congregation ‘First United Church’ or ‘United First Church.'” At the board meeting one deacon said: “So the vote is as follows: Larry, Ruth, Dan, Sid, and Marcia are for the proposal. God and I are against.”
It is always sad when disagreements turn into divisions: whether it’s a marriage that breaks up, a church split, a partisan government, or when two ministry leaders decide that they can’t work together anymore. Have you ever had such a sharp disagreement with someone that your relationship suffered? Are you in the midst of an unresolved conflict with someone right now? Many Christians become frustrated with someone in the church and instead of working through the problem, they just go to another church or stop going altogether. Most of the time, it is easier to run from the problem instead of resolving it, but in the long run, it only leads to prolonged bitterness and lingering disunity.
Mark and Paul Reconcile (Col. 4:10; 2 Tim. 4:11)
Even though Mark and Paul had this conflict and didn’t speak to one another for many years, there is some biblical evidence that they reconciled sometime before Paul’s death. Paul was beheaded in Rome about the same time that Peter was crucified upside down. In Colossians 4:10 and Philemon 24, Paul wrote that Mark was with him in Rome and he instructed the Colossians to welcome him if he comes to their church. Then in II Timothy 4:11, Paul asks Timothy to brink Mark with him from Ephesus to Rome because Mark was “helpful to him in his ministry.” Although we do not know the exact nature or circumstances, Mark and Paul reconciled their differences and worked together for the gospel until Paul was martyred.
The story of Paul and Mark is a dramatic picture of forgiveness, redemption and second chances. An ugly conflict was resolved. A bitter dispute was reconciled. And a young man’s ministry was restored after he made an embarrassing mistake. This is the way New Testament Christianity is supposed to work. Jesus constantly taught on the primacy of forgiveness, and the early apostles urged their disciples to keep short accounts.
So, allow me to ask you again: Are you living in the midst of an unresolved conflict right now. Is there someone in your family, workplace, or church with whom you are holding a grudge? Are there certain people who you just try to avoid? Let us practice Christian forgiveness and reconciliation! I’m not saying that we have to be best friends with everybody, but I am saying that we should be willing to work with anybody for the purpose of Christ. Let the grudge go! Let us restore any broken relationships in our lives.
Isn’t this why Jesus died on the cross? Our relationship with God was broken because of our sin. Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin and to reconcile us to the Father. We can have a new relationship with God today because of what Jesus has done for us. We can have a new relationship with others because of what Jesus has done for us! May we practice forgiveness and reconciliation just as we have received forgiveness and reconciliation! And like Mark and Paul, may we do it before it is too late!
Well, Mark didn’t really rob Paul to pay Peter, but he maintained a father-son relationship with Peter throughout his life, while breaking off his relationship with Paul, but at least they reconciled before it was too late.
After Peter and Paul were both martyred, ancient tradition says that Mark returned to Alexandria in Egypt and live out his days until he was martyred. The pagans of Alexandria tied one end of a rope around his neck and other end to a horse’s tail and dragged him around the city streets for two days until his body was torn to pieces.
Even though Mark dropped out of ministry earlier in his life, he learned from his mistake and persevered to the end. He exhibited tremendous courage in the face of suffering and faithfulness to Jesus in the face of death. If it ever came to it, I wonder if we would do the same?