mark Summary and Overview

the evangelist; "John whose surname was Mark" (Acts 12:12, 25). Mark (Marcus, Col. 4:10, etc.) was his Roman name, which gradually came to supersede his Jewish name John. He is called John in Acts 13:5, 13, and Mark in 15:39, 2 Tim. 4:11, etc. He was the son of Mary, a woman apparently of some means and influence, and was probably born in Jerusalem, where his mother resided (Acts 12:12). Of his father we know nothing. He was cousin of Barnabas (Col. 4:10). It was in his mother's house that Peter found "many gathered together praying" when he was released from prison; and it is probable that it was here that he was converted by Peter, who calls him his "son" (1 Pet. 5:13). It is probable that the "young man" spoken of in Mark 14:51, 52 was Mark himself. He is first mentioned in Acts 12:25. He went with Paul and Barnabas on their first journey (about A.D. 47) as their "minister," but from some cause turned back when they reached Perga in Pamphylia (Acts 12:25; 13:13). Three years afterwards a "sharp contention" arose between Paul and Barnabas (15:36-40), because Paul would not take Mark with him. He, however, was evidently at length reconciled to the apostle, for he was with him in his first imprisonment at Rome (Col. 4:10; Philemon 1:24). At a later period he was with Peter in Babylon (1 Pet. 5:13), then, and for some centuries afterwards, one of the chief seats of Jewish learning; and he was with Timothy in Ephesus when Paul wrote him during his second imprisonment (2 Tim. 4:11). He then disappears from view.

one of the evangelists, and probable author of the Gospel bearing his name. (Marcus was his Latin surname. His Jewish name was John, which is the same as Johanan (the grace of God). We can almost trace the steps whereby the former became his prevalent name in the Church. "John, whose surname was Mark" in #Ac 12:12,25; 15:37| becomes "John" alone in #Ac 13:5,13| "Mark" in #Ac 15:39| and thenceforward there is no change. #Col 4:10|; Phlm 1:24; 2Tim 4:11 The evangelist was the son of a certain Mary, a Jewish matron of some position who dwelt in Jerusalem, #Ac 12:12| and was probably born of a Hellenistic family in that city. Of his father we know nothing; but we do know that the future evangelist was cousin of Barnabas of Cyprus, the great friend of St. Paul. His mother would seem to have been intimately acquainted with St. Peter, and it was to her house, as to a familiar home, that the apostle repaired, A.D. 44, after his deliverance from prison #Ac 12:12| This fact accounts for St. Mark's intimate acquaintance with that apostle, to whom also he probably owed his conversion, for St. Peter calls him his son. #1Pe 5:13| We hear Of him for the first time in Acts 15:25 where we find him accompanying and Barnabas on their return from Jerusalem to Antioch, A.D. 45. He next comes before us on the occasion of the earliest missionary journey of the same apostles, A.D. 48, when he joined them as their "minister." #Ac 13:8| With them he visited Cyprus; but at Perga in Pamphylia, #Ac 13:13| when they were about to enter upon the more arduous part of their mission, he left them, and, for some unexplained reason, returned to Jerusalem to his mother and his home. Notwithstanding this, we find him at Paul's side during that apostle's first imprisonment at Rome, A.D. 61-63, and he Is acknowledged by him as one of his few fellow laborers who had been a "comfort" to him during the weary hours of his imprisonment. #Col 4:10,11|; Phle 1:24 We next have traces of him in #1Pe 5:13| "The church that is in Babylon ... saluteth you, and so doth Marcus my son." From this we infer that he joined his spiritual father, the great friend of his mother, at Babylon, then and for same hundred years afterward one of the chief seats of Jewish culture. From Babylon he would seem to have returned to Asia Minor; for during his second imprisonment A.D. 68 St. Paul, writing to Timothy charges him to bring Mark with him to me, on the ground that he was "profitable to him For the ministry." #2Ti 4:11| From this point we gain no further information from the New Testament respecting the evangelist. It is most probable, however that he did join the apostle at Rome whither also St. Peter would seem to have proceeded, and suffered martyrdom with St. Paul. After the death of these two great pillars of the Church; ecclesiastical tradition affirms that St. Mark visited Egypt, founded the church of Alexandria, and died by martyrdom.--Condensed from Cambridge Bible for Schools.--ED.)

MARK or JOHN MARK as he is also called, Acts 12:12, Gal 4:25; Acts 15:37, was a Jew, probably a native of Jerusalem, where his mother, Mary, resided. Acts 12:12. She was a person of some repute among the early Christians, as Peter, when released from prison, naturally went to her house. Mark was probably converted through that apostle, who calls him "his son." 1 Pet 5:13, and the minute account of the young man who followed Jesus on the night of the betrayal, Mark 14:51-52, together with the omission of the name, points to the evangelist as the person concerned. Going with Paul and Barnabas, who was his cousin. Col 4:10, as their minister, Acts 12:25, on their first missionary journey, he left them at Perga, Acts 13:13, and in consequence became, the occasion of "sharp contention" between them. Acts 15:36-40. Afterward he appears as a companion of Paul in Rome. Col 4:10; Phile 24. He was with Peter when that apostle wrote his first Epistle, 1 Pet 5:13, but was at Ephesus with Timothy at a date probably later. 2 Tim 4:11. Respecting his after-life trustworthy details are wanting, but ancient writers agree in speaking of him as the "interpreter" of Peter, which may mean that he translated for the apostle, but more probably means that he wrote his Gospel in close conformity to Peter's preaching. According to the unanimous testimony of antiquity, the second Gospel in our canon was written by Mark, and numerous details of the work indicate the close relation between its author and Peter. Many events are recorded as if from the lips of an eye-witness, and some have suggested that the Gospel is based upon a diary of Peter, sketching his fresh impressions of events as they occurred. The style shows the influence of that apostle. Peter's address to Cornelius, Acts 10, has been called the Gospel of Mark in a nutshell. A comparison of the accounts in Matt 16:13-23 and Mark 8:27-33 indicates that Peter himself (or an enemy of his, which is impossible) occasioned the omission of the praise, and yet the insertion of the rebuke. Mark alone mentions the two cock-crowings, Mark 14:72, thus increasing the guilt of Peter's denial. Although written in Greek, the Gospel was designed for Roman readers, and is especially adapted to their minds, so easily impressed by exhibitions of energy and power. It exhibits Christ as the spiritual Conqueror and Wonder-worker, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, filling the people with amazement and fear. Mark introduces several Latin terms; he even substitutes Roman money for Greek, Mark 12:42, which Luke does not, and notices that Simon of Cyrene was the father of Alexander and Rufus, Acts 15:21, who probably were Christians in Rome. Rom 16:13. It is therefore most likely that the Gospel was written in that city. The great similarity between the Gospel of Mark and that of Matthew has led some to consider the former a mere abridgment of the latter, but without sufficient reason. It occupies an independent position as the connecting-link between Matthew and Luke, Peter and Paul, the Jewish and the Gentile Christianity. The last part of the closing chapter, Mark 16:9-20, is not found in the two oldest and best manuscripts of the Bible, of which circumstance some have taken occasion to declare it a later addition. But it has been recognized as part of the Gospel and quoted by the Fathers of the second century - for instance, Irenaeus, whose testimony is older than the oldest manuscript. Possibly it was a later postscript of Mark, added to a second copy; hence its omission in some manuscripts.