Friend or Foe?

     Its early days in the Church. Paul and Barnabas are local leaders of the Antioch believers- now known as "Christians"- and have travelled South to Jerusalem with a collection for the poor there. Herod the King has clamped down on this new cult spreading in his realm- he has killed James, the apostle and has arrested Simon Peter. Gathered in the home of Mary, the mother of a young boy named John Mark, the Jerusalem Church, along with their guests from Antioch*, pray earnestly for their friend Peter. A knocking starts on the door, Rhoda, a young girl, goes to answer. Moments later she runs back to the gathering and joyfully shouts that Peter is here, now! They are disbelieving, but it is really Peter. Later, Paul and Barnabas return to Antioch, taking with them the boy, John Mark.
      The Elders amongst the Antioch Church receive word from the Holy Spirit, Paul and Barnabas must be "set apart" for  a great work. So, taking Mark with them, they sail to Cyprus, and so begins the first of Paul's journeys across Asia, Greece, Macadonia and Italy.



     Mark is perhaps not the person you would expect- as the author of one of the four Gospels, you would expect him to be a great Christian, one full of bravery and charisma. However, although a fair bit of Mark's story is intuition, it would seem that he was hardly the hero we would perceive him to be. For a long period Paul, at least, viewed him as a deserter to the cause. If speculation is correct then Mark's first mention in the Bible is hardly great either:

'And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.'    Ooops.

     Its interesting that some commentators think that, if this was Mark, then he could  have been sleeping in a hut on family  property guarding the fruit!

    ( I had planned to be writing only about Mark, however I have decided to talk also about Barnabas, as he is such a great, heart-warming Christian character! His and Mark's stories seem so intertwined, that it is tough to break them apart!
    Barnabas was part Cyprian, part Jewish and was also cousins with Mark. He came from a Levite, or 'priestly' family. He is first mentioned in the Bible in connection with his selling of a field he owned, and his giving of the money to the Church. After Paul's record of attacking the early believers, manly apostles found it hard to believe in his conversion, it was Barnabas that sailed to his rescue!

^'And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him. And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.'

    While Paul spent time in Tarsus, learning more of his saviour and growing in spiritual maturity, Barnabus was helping with the Church:

'So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built  up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multipied.'

    After Stephen was killed in Jerusalem, many believers went away and some of them travelled to Antioch, where they  preached to the Greeks there. Many came to believe in Jesus as  their Messiah, and a  Church began. Barnabas was sent by the apostles there:

'The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.'

     However Barnabas's first act was to fetch back the forgotten Paul from Tarsus, who he thought would be a great help in the mission to the gentiles (good  thinking Barnie!!) and together they ministered the church for a year. It is  here that our story  rejoins, becuase Barnabus, and his "protege" Paul, head to Jerusalem with the collection. As you already know, they return with Mark and head to Asia Minor, and so the story continues. )

(You may wish to look back at the start to remind yourself of the story thus far! Please excuse my slight deviation from the plot!)

    Jumping right back to the first missionary trip of Paul, the three of them pass through Cyprus and then sail onto Asia Minor, arriving at Perga. The group would  then have to travel North across one hundred miles of mountainous terrain to arrive at Pisidian Antioch. This may well have been a dangerous journey, taking brigands and robbers into account. It is here that Mark abandons the trip and returns home. Paul views this as nothing short of desertion and says so later on:

'And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are." Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other.'

    What happened to Mark between these first and second journeys is not written, however I think it is possible to have an idea. We know that Mark returned to Jerusalem and the Church there, where, it is possible to imagine, he came under the influence of Peter. Peter had also once been full of bravado and been prepared to do anything for his Lord, however when the moment arrived, he had ran and even denied his God three times. Peter knew what it was like to fail and to do so publically as well. It was at this time, under the leadership of Peter, that Mark probably either came to believe for the first time upon the Lord Jesus Christ as his saviour, or to realise that his pride had been blinding his walk with the Lord, and renewed his love and devotion to Jesus in repentance and tears. Either way, it seems probable that it was here that Mark became the man that later would write the Gospel. Peter, himself, mentions Mark in his first letter, and regards him as his son:

'She who is in Babylon, (Rome?) who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son.'

    After their missionary journey, they return to Antioch, during their time there, ("And they remained no little time with the disciples") false teachers come from Judea, saying that all believers, wether Jewish or Gentile, must be circumsised. Wanting to clear up this issue, the duo head South and attend the "Jerusalem Council". They return to Antioch with a letter from the Council regarding the whole issue:

"So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.  And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, encouraged and strengthened  the brothers with many words. And after they had spent some time, they were sent off in peace by the brothers to those who had sent them. But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also."

     Doubtless this was a great time in the Church at Antioch, however it came to an end when Paul and Barnabas disagreed ("a sharp disagreement") over taking Mark on the next missionary journey. They split up:

"Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches."

     Although the close companionship between them had been broken, Paul still viewed Barnabas highly and spoke with apparent warmth about him in his letters. This might be a good place to point out that up until their journey together and even sometimes afterwards (like the Jerusalem Council) Barnabas is listed in the Bible before Paul, suggesting that Barnabas was held as the "senior" of the two, particully as far as the apostles were concerned.
     It is at this point, that Barnabas dissapears from the scene, we can only imagine what works he went on to do. However Mark is seen again, and, suprisingly, he reemerges as a friend and companion of Paul!! Obviously under the guidance of Peter and Barnabas he had become a worthy teacher! The next mention, chronologically, of Mark is during Paul's imprisonment in Rome, in the letters to the Colossions, and Philemon (who lived at Colossae). You may remember  that it was our friend Tychicus who carried those letters!!
      Quite a long time has passed since Mark left Paul on the first missionary journey. Paul is ending his letter, and lists the people with him at the time. These include:

• Aristarchus
• Justus
• Epaphras
• Luke
• Demas
• Mark, the cousin of Barnabas

     Here Paul says an intersting thing concerning Mark- "Mark, the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have recieved instructions- if he comes to  you, welcome him)"  Why did Paul have to stress that the Church should welcome Mark? Surely they would have? Well, they wouldnt have welcomed  him if all they knew about him was that he had abandoned Paul and Barnabas and run away. Obviously Paul had told them, in his instructions, how much Mark had changed. In "Philemon", Paul says:

"Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers."

     Obviously Mark is now counted as a "worker" with Paul.
     The last mention of Mark is a very touching one: Paul is in Rome, under arrest for a second time, this time he faces execution. He writes to his spiritual son, Timothy, who is acting as Pastor to the Church in Ephesus:

"Do your best to come to me soon......Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry."

     Obviously Mark has been entrusted with a mission in Asia Minor, around Ephesus; but the main point here is how much Paul seeks to be with him. It is a wonderful demonstration of God's love, grace and transforming power, that he has changed Mark, from a coward, reknown for his ability to run away, to one of the Church's most valuable teachers, travelling around Asia in Paul's name, and also the writer of one of our Gospels!

    This is really all we know about Mark, however by piecing together the various passages on him, we can see how much of a "Trophy" of God's Grace he was! So here are two more of Paul's friends, Barnabas, his mentor  in his early years, and Mark, a failure who was transformed for God's work!





*I cannot know for certain that Paul and Barnabas were present, but it does seem that they were in Jerusalem at the time, and one can safely assume that they would have been present, praying for Peter.