References to a
person named Mark – or John Mark – appear quite frequently in the New
Testament. Saint Paul mentioned him among his companions in the Letter to
Philemon. In the Book of Acts Mark is described as the cousin of Barnabas the
Apostle and the son of a wealthy woman of Jerusalem, whose house was a
meeting-place for the disciples of Jesus. The Book of Acts also says that Mark
accompanied Paul and Barnabas on their first Missionary journey, but then
decided to turn back. Paul and Barnabas fell out over Mark’s decision; they
parted, and Barnabas took Mark with him when he went to preach the gospel in
Cyprus. In the First Letter of Peter, the author called Mark “my son”; and even
if this letter was not written by Peter himself, it bears witness to a close
association between the Apostle and Mark. Tradition identifies the Mark
mentioned in these New Testament passages with the author of the Gospel. It is
generally agreed that Mark’s is the earliest of the
four gospels; scholars say that it was written around the year 68, probably at
Rome. It was contemporary with the Church’s first experience of persecution by
the pagan authorities of the Roman Empire.
This may explain
why, of the four Gospels, Mark’s version has the sharpest edge and offers the
least comfort. He was addressing a Church confused by the gap between the
promise of the “good news” and the reality of persecution. In his account, the
disciples are just as blind and uncomprehending about Jesus as the Pharisees
and rulers; they confess that he is “the Son of God” but refuse to understand
the still greater truth, that the Son of God must suffer and die. Mark
therefore takes great pains to let his readers in on the secret, so that
Christians experiencing persecution would not make the same mistake.His “good news” is demanding news. It is designed to show that Christians can only share in the glory of the resurrection by imitating the same heroic obedience to God which led Jesus to accept death on the cross.
cf. Parish Bulletin, April 22, 2012 / Image above from Google Images
