Mark

About Mark Written by AI

Mark, also known as John Mark, was a prominent figure in the early Christian church. He was the son of Mary, whose house in Jerusalem served as a meeting place for the believers (Acts 12:12). Mark was also the cousin of Barnabas (Colossians 4:10) and accompanied Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey (Acts 12:25). However, he left them at Perga and returned to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13), which later caused a disagreement between Paul and Barnabas (Acts 15:37 to 39). Despite this, Mark remained active in ministry, as evidenced by Paul's later references to him as a fellow worker (Philemon 1:24; 2 Timothy 4:11). He also worked closely with Peter, who referred to him as "my son Mark" (1 Peter 5:13). Tradition holds that Mark wrote the Gospel that bears his name based on Peter's teachings, making it one of the earliest written accounts of Jesus' life and ministry.

Drafted by an AI model for STEPBible's TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Check it against the verses below.

Easton's Bible Dictionary, 1897

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.

M. G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, third edition (1897), public domain, from CrossWire. Shown as written; its Scripture quotes are from older translations.