Who Was Mark?

All three of my children are growing up in the church. Yet, if you were to ask them about the author of The Gospel According to Mark (or Saint Mark), they probably could tell you little. This is more evidence that “growing up in the church” rarely exposes our children and teenagers to extra-biblical information that helps them understand the Bible. But I will not divert into that deficiency now. Furthermore, if you question that whether Mark authored the Gospel bearing his name, I find the evidence compelling and will not presently oblige readers with presenting that case. So, what do other sources tell us about Mark, who is also likely John Mark (Acts 12:12, 25; 15:37) and who is probably associated with Paul, Luke, Peter, and Barnabas (Col. 4:10,14; Phm. 1:24; 2 Tim. 4:11; 1 Pet. 5:13)?

One prominent theory is that Mark learned his stories from Peter. This is taught by several early church fathers, who called Mark Peter’s disciple and interpreter. Irenaeus (AD 115-202) chronicled that Mark handed to them the writings of Peter’s preaching. Papias (AD 60-130) wrote that Mark was careful not to include anything fictitious. Another theory suggests that Mark is the young man who fled naked when Jesus was arrested in Gethsemane (Mark 14:51-52). This theory rests solely on the Gospel of Mark including a story absent from the other gospels. It probably cannot be proven, and the only relevance would be that it would move Mark from hearing a first-hand witness to becoming a first-hand witness of Jesus Christ.

Regardless of these theories’ veracity, being an integral part of early church planting, letter carrying, and evangelizing seems to be a part or the whole of Mark’s post-conversion life. What may seem surprising is not that Mark is named in the five aforementioned New Testament books but that he is not named once in the Gospel bearing his name in the title. This is not to suggest that his authorship is in question. After all, neither Luke nor John identify themselves in their Gospels either.

The legends of Mark’s life outside the Bible are few but fascinating. Mark is said to have visited the city of Alexandria in Egypt (AD 49), healed a cobbler, and was established as patriarch of Alexandria before leaving for Rome. Following Peter’s and Paul’s deaths, Mark returned to find that the cobbler and other converts had built a church in a suburb of the city. Whether responsible himself, Mark receives historical credit for the church’s formation and is therefore honored as the first Bishop of Alexandria and founder of Christianity in Africa.

Mark is listed in Foxe’s Christian Martyrs of the World as being burned during Trajan’s reign. This may be an oversimplification. As Christians multiplied in Alexandria, so were rumors that they desecrated and destroyed pagan deities. While celebrating Easter in AD 68, a mob dragged Mark through the streets, bruising and bleeding his body. His murderers attempted to burn him, but a violent storm was said to have prevented them. He died from his injuries and Christians secretly buried him beneath the altar of their church.

But wait! There’s more! Because of the obsession many religions have with relics, Mark’s skull and vestments were stolen by Arabs in 642. Furthermore, Venetian merchants smuggled the rest of his bones in 828 in a container of pickled pork. These bones are still venerated at Saint Mark’s Basilica in Venice, Italy (but are no longer in pickled pork).

January 22, 2025