Character Studies - ElectronicGospel

John Marka character study by Jeff S. SmithIntroductionIf the establishment and early years of the church of Christ were occurring under today’s media scrutiny,we would know intimately characters such as John Mark. We would know every detail of his life andlisten to pundits and therapists explain them. The New Testament, however, was not written with the ideaof informing us of every small detail or answering every question. What we learn of John Mark is all thatwe need to know. His life makes for a compelling story, however, based only on what the Bible doesreveal. He experiences a rise, a fall and a resurrection from ignominy within the history of Luke and theletters of Paul, and from all that, there is much to learn.DiscussionI. His CharacterA. His Name and Family1. John Mark’s name is an odd combination of the Jewish Ioannes and the Roman Markos, but whythis Jew added a Roman surname is unknowna. perhaps he added Mark to his name when he began preaching among the Gentiles withBarnabas and Saul, or it might have been a badge of Roman citizenship, as in the case of Paulb. this is just one of several aspects of John Mark’s life that cannot be resolved easily from whatwe learn of him in the text2. we do know that his mother’s name was Mary and that it was in her house that the disciplesprayed for Peter who sat in prison until an angel set him free (Acts 12:12-19)a. we could suppose from this text that his father was likely dead, but that his widowed motherwas rather wealthy, since she had a house with a large room, porch, and servantsb. many zealous Jews became rich in the world beyond Judea, but retired to Jerusalem to becloser to their own people and faith in their final years; perhaps John Mark’s family was of this sort3. Colossians 4:10 identifies John Mark as the cousin of Barnabas, the son of encouragement, as hewas called by the apostles who appreciated his willingness to sacrifice wealth for the needy saints aroundhima. Barnabas’s wealth may indicate further that John Mark was wealthy alsob. their relationship plays a more important role in the development of John Mark’s character,howeverB. His Ministry1. John Mark’s conversion is not specifically described anywhere, but Peter may have beenresponsible for teaching him about Jesus, for the apostle calls him a son in First Peter 5:132. his mother’s home seems to be a place of safety for disciples in Jerusalem and so he may havebeen well acquainted with other leaders of the congregation, such as James and John3. he leaves Jerusalem, though, to accompany his cousin, Barnabas, and Saul of Tarsus on what iscalled the first missionary journey (Acts 13:4-5)a. a great deal of conjecture surrounds his true work with these men, ranging from being abusiness agent to a secondary teacher to a full partner in the ministryb. regardless, his work was an important and necessary one or the apostle never would haveenlisted him; even menial tasks have to be done by someoneC. His Mutiny1. he did not stay with this work for long, however (Acts 13:6-13)2. why did he return so abruptly to Jerusalem in the middle of the journey?a. while it might have been because of homesickness, anxiety or duty to his mother, somereason that he actually objected to preaching the gospel to Gentiles without making them proselyte Jewsb. notably, Luke does not use John’s Roman surname in this chapter, but only his Jewish name3. it had not been long since Peter began sharing the gospel with Gentiles like Cornelius and thelargely Jewish church of Christ was still adjusting to this shift in policya. of the three men on the trip, Paul quickly embraced his ministry among the Gentiles, butBarnabas, influenced by Peter, had misgivings on some level (Galatians 2:11-13)Character Studies! 127