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John Mark's Profile
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Mistakes are effective teachers. Their
consequences have a way of making lessons painfully clear. But those who learn
from their mistakes are likely to develop wisdom. 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 fled in such fear during Jesus' arrest that he left his clothes behind. This
tendency to run was to reappear later when Paul and Barnabas took him as their
assistant on their first missionary journey. At their second stop, Mark left
them behind and returned to Jerusalem. It was a decision Paul did not easily
accept. In preparing for their second journey two years later, Barnabas again
suggested Mark as a traveling companion, 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 apostles became a close friend of
the young disciple.
Mark was a valuable companion to three early Christian leaders -
Barnabas, Paul, and Peter. The material in Mark's Gospel seems to have come
mostly from Peter. Mark's role as a serving assistant allowed him to be an
observer. 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 you need to thank for his or her encouragement to you?
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John Mark's
Strengths and Accomplishments
1. Wrote the Gospel of Mark
2. He and his mother provided their home as one of the main meeting places for
the Christians in Jerusalem
3. Persisted beyond his youthful mistakes
4. Was an assistant and traveling companion to three of the greatest early
missionaries
John Mark's
Weaknesses and Mistakes
1. Probably the nameless young man described in
the Gospel of Mark who fled in panic when Jesus was arrested
2. Left Paul and Barnabas for unknown reasons during the first missionary
journey
Lessons from John Mark's Life
1. Personal maturity usually comes from a
combination of time and mistakes
2. Mistakes are not usually as important as what can be learned from them
3. Effective living is not measured as much by what we accomplished as by what
we overcome in order to accomplish it
4. Encouragement can change a person's life
John Mark's Vital Statistics
1. Where: Jerusalem
2. Occupations: Missionary-in-training, Gospel writer, traveling companion
3. Relatives: Mother: Mary, Cousin: Barnabas
4. Contemporaries: Paul, Peter, Timothy, Luke, Silas
Key Verse
"Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him
with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry" (Paul writing in 2 Timothy
4:11).
John Mark's story is told in Acts 12:23-13:13 and
15:36-39. He is also mentioned in Colossians 4:10; 2 Timothy 4:11; Philemon 24;
1 Peter 5:13.
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