Jesus Biographers - Flipbook - Page 5
John Mark
MISTAKES CAN BE EFFECTIVE TEACHERS. Their consequences have a way of making lessons
painfully clear. Those who learn from their mistakes are wise. John Mark was a good learner who just
needed some time and encouragement.
Mark was eager to do the right thing, but he had trouble staying with a task. In his Gospel, Mark
mentions a young man (probably referring to himself) who had fled in fear during Jesus’ arrest,
leaving his clothes behind. This tendency to run when faced with difficulty showed up later when
Paul and Barnabas took him as their assistant on their first missionary journey. At their second stop,
Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem. It was a decision Paul did not easily accept. In preparing
for their second journey two years later, Barnabas suggested bringing Mark as a traveling companion
again, but Paul flatly refused. As a result, the team was divided. Barnabas took Mark with him, and
Paul chose Silas. Barnabas was patient with Mark, and the young man repaid his investment. Paul
and Mark were later reunited, and the older apostle became a close friend of the young disciple.
Mark was a valuable companion to not only Barnabas and Paul but also a third early Christian
leader—Peter. The material in Mark’s Gospel seems to have come mostly from Peter, though Mark
himself may have been an eyewitness to the final days of Jesus’ ministry. Mark’s role as an apostolic
assistant gave him special, prolonged insight. He heard Peter’s accounts of the years with Jesus
over and over, and he was one of the first to put Jesus’ life in writing.
Barnabas played a key role in Mark’s life. He stood beside the young man despite his failure, giving
him patient encouragement. Mark challenges us to learn from our mistakes and appreciate the
patience of others. Is there a “Barnabas” in your life whom you need to thank for encouraging you?
Strengths and accomplishments
Wrote the Gospel of Mark
Provided his family’s home as one of the main meeting places for the Christians
in Jerusalem
Persisted beyond his youthful mistakes
Served as an assistant and traveling companion to three of the greatest early missionaries
Jesus’ Biographers: A look at the writers of the four Gospels.The inside story of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
