St Mark the Evangelist 		April 26
The church commemorates Mark both as the author of the earliest Gospel and also as one of the leaders of the early church.
The earliest reference to Mark is in the Acts of the Apostles, where he is referred to as “John, whose other name was Mark” (Acts 12:12). The two names, one Jewish and the other Roman, suggest that he was a Hellenistic Jew. His mother lived in Jerusalem, and the home was a meeting place of the early church. Mark was a cousin of Barnabas (Colossians 4:10), who came from Cyprus. The fact that John Mark’s home was in Jerusalem has led to various suggestions that he knew of or even was involved in some of the events of the last days of Jesus’ life, but nothing can be said for certain. A later report asserts that he had not heard Jesus or been one of his followers.
Mark was with Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey as their assistant (Acts 13:5). When they got to Perga in Pamphylia (in modern Turkey), for reasons that we cannot discern, Mark left the group. Two years later, Paul and Barnabas planned another missionary journey, and Barnabas wished to take Mark, but Paul would not agree. So Barnabas took Mark with him and went to Cyprus, while Paul took Silas with him to Syria and Cilicia (Acts 15:36-41).
We next hear of Mark from near the end of Paul’s ministry, when Paul was under arrest (whether in Rome, Ephesus or elsewhere is not certain). Clearly a reconciliation had come about between Paul and Mark. Paul describes Mark as “a fellow worker” (Philemon 24), and it was hoped that Mark might visit Colossae (Colossians 4:10). Paul asked Timothy to bring Mark to him (2 Timothy 4:11).
According to 1 Peter (5:13), Mark was with Peter in Rome (which the text calls “Babylon”, a common early Christian pseudonym for Rome), and is even described as Peter’s “son”, testifying to a close relationship in the faith between the two. The association of Mark with Peter is also made by Papias of Hieropolis about 150, which supports the almost universal attribution of the second Gospel to Mark.
Mark, who had been Peter’s interpreter, wrote down carefully, but not in order, all that he remembered of the Lord’s sayings and doings. For he had not heard the Lord or been one of his followers, but later, as I said, one of Peter’s.
Most scholars regard Mark’s Gospel as the first to be written, and consider that it was used by both Matthew and Luke in their accounts of the good news. The strong evidence for Mark’s authorship of the Gospel and of his association with Peter does not mean that the Gospel of Mark can be viewed simply as a record of Peter’s references in his preaching to the words and deeds of Jesus. Scholars generally maintain that the Gospel has been shaped by other factors before taking the form in which we now know it.
There is a strong tradition that associates Mark with the founding of the church in Alexandria. Still later traditions assert that he was the first bishop of Alexandria and was martyred there during the reign of the emperor Trajan. He is also associated with Venice, because in 829 what were claimed to be his relics were brought there from Alexandria and placed in the original church of San Marco.
For Liturgical Use
John Mark’s mother lived in Jerusalem, and Mark was a companion of Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey. Paul and Barnabas parted company, and Mark went with Barnabas to Cyprus. The rift between Mark and Paul was not permanent, for we later hear of Mark as a companion of Paul, and after that we hear of him in Rome with Peter. He is the author of the earliest Gospel, which is based on Mark’s memories of Peter’s preaching of the gospel.
Sentence, Prayers and Readings as in A New Zealand Prayer Book - He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa, page 648-649