Mark Part Two Dive

DUDE, WHERE ARE YOUR CLOTHES?

I am amazed at how much the authors of the scriptures share about themselves, even funny stories that are quite revealing–literally! In the gospel of John, John shares his heart, cheekily calling himself ‘the beloved disciple’. He is only able to get away with that because it is the last book to be written, everyone else is dead so there is no-one alive to refute his claim! Some scholars believe that Mark is writing the gospel from the stories that Peter told him. Mark was not there when this all happened, but Peter was, so this account is written by Mark but the details are from Peter. Mark was the first to write his ‘good news’ account and he puts a funny story in it that is easily missed and really quite exposing for all involved (pun intended!). Open up your Bible to Mark 14:51.

M 14:51 A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.

What a verse to put into your gospel! Every time I read it I can’t figure out why it was put into the story – it doesn’t take the story any further, it’s just a hysterical side-note. Mark doesn’t say who the young man was that lost his clothes in the midst of this action-packed pinnacle moment of Jesus being arrested. Scholars believe the only explanation is that this must be Mark himself, including the story to show that he was in the garden with Jesus, and so committed to the cause that he’s telling the full story of what happened. You can imagine the other disciples, who would’ve seen this play out, wondering if Mark would include it in his gospel. Imagine there fits of laughter when they read that he did! This verse is one of the verses that Matthew didn’t include in his gospel–I wonder why!!

So, who is this cheeky Mark? (excuse the pun☺) Mark is, in fact, quite a controversial person in our Bible. Let me show you what I mean. Remember, we get to know the people in the Bible by finding out where they are mentioned in the rest of the books, especially Acts. To find out about Mark, we need to look at Acts to find out where he is mentioned. Let’s go highlighting!

In Acts, we discover his full name is John Mark and he lived in Jerusalem with his mother Mary (Acts 12:12), who was a leader in the Jerusalem church.

A 12:12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.

Peter called Mark ‘my son’ (1 Peter 5:13), which may indicate that it was Peter who brought John Mark to faith in Christ. John Mark accompanied his cousin Barnabas, as he mentions in Colossians.

C 4:10 My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.)

Let me remind you of who Barnabas is in the story: Barnabas was the one sent to Jerusalem to check out the newly saved Saul and believing Saul. He is described in Acts 11:24 as ‘a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith’ and he took Saul to Antioch to meet the disciples, where they met with the church and taught great numbers of people (check out the story in Acts 11:22-30). This partnership continued with Paul and Barnabas taking Mark and their first missionary journey (Acts 12:25-13:5). But here is the controversial part – he(John Mark) left them at Perga and returned home (Acts 13:13).

A 13:13 From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem.

This one small and seemingly irrelevant statement in Acts changes everything! Paul gets cranky that John Mark deserted them, causing a division between Barnabas and Paul that led to Barnabas taking Mark under his wing (Acts 15:36-41) and separating ways with Paul. Now, like everything in life, there are two ways to look at this: first, that Mark ruined an incredible partnership that was doing great things for the spread of the gospel, but second, that this conflict actually worked out for good. Now there are two strong teams spreading the gospel: Mark + Barnabas and Paul + Silas. Don’t you love how God works everything out for good?

Now, even though Paul was cranky with John Mark for leaving them, just before his death Paul acknowledged Mark's ministry and spoke highly of him (Colossians 4:10; 2 Timothy 4:11).

Don’t you love how the Bible doesn’t hide the conflicts and division in ministry, but shows how God can use them to expand His gospel and how they can be reconciled in Christ. The other thing I love is that God uses this man, who perhaps made a mistake, perhaps got homesick or discouraged on his missionary journeys and ended up leaving to write the most action-packed gospel that the other disciples referenced. It doesn’t matter what happens in your life, God can turn it around. Even if your clothes fall off while you are fleeing, put it in your gospel for all to read, the ‘naked man’ Mark did with boldness and humour. It’s like that saying ‘if it is going to be funny later, why not laugh about it now!’

Have a great time reading the story of Jesus written by John Mark!

Mark Part Two Dive

DUDE, WHERE ARE YOUR CLOTHES?

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