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Mark....
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"John, also called Mark" (Acts 12:12), like a
number of other apostles and disciples, was known by two names. Mark
(Marcus) was his Roman name, and
John was his Jewish name. He is called John in Acts 13:5,13, and
Mark in Acts 15:39 and 2 Timothy 4:11. His Roman
name was used as the title of his Gospel
probably to avoid the confusion of having 2 Gospel books of John. Mark was
the son of Mary, a prominent Christian woman from
Jerusalem. He may have been born in or near Jerusalem where his mother
lived during the New Testament time.
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Mark's mother's house was apparently a popular place for
Christians, where "many people gathered and
prayed" (Acts 12:12). It was the first place that the apostle
Peter went to after an Angel sprung him from Herod's
prison (Acts 12:6-12). Peter refers to Mark as "his son" in 1 Peter 5:13, so
it is likely that Peter was involved in Mark's conversion. Peter at that
time would have been about 35 years old, and Mark was
substantially younger, so Peter could have been a
father-figure to him. Some have speculated that Peter was actually Mark's
biological father, although there is nothing specific written in the
Bible about that. We do know that
Peter was married (1 Corinthians 9:5), but his
wife's name is not known. |
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Although it is quite likely that the "young man" spoken
of in Mark 14:51-52 was Mark himself, he is first
mentioned by name in Acts 12:25. He accompanied Paul
and Barnabas on their first journey, but for some reason returned home to
Jerusalem after they had travelled as far as Perga in Pamphylia (Acts
12:25; 13:13). It was this incident that later caused a "sharp disagreement"
between Paul and Barnabas. They did however reconcile at a later time because
Mark was with Paul in his first imprisonment at
Rome (Colossians 4:10, Philemon 1:24). |
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At a later time Mark was with Peter
(1 Peter 5:13), and then with Timothy in Ephesus (2 Timothy 4:11). He
then disappears from the record. Mark was one of the fortunate few to have
seen and heard Jesus Christ during His human
lifetime. He witnessed the birth and growth of the Christian church, and
personally knew most of the greatest early
Christians before becoming one himself. All of which well-qualified
him to write the Gospel of Mark that you hold in
your hands today. |
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