John Mark: From Deserter to Gospel Writer

Have you ever had a failure in your Christian walk or ministry that left you second-guessing yourself?

In Acts 12, we were introduced to "John, also called Mark" (Acts 12:12). His mother, Mary, had a house large enough to be one of the meeting places for the early church in Jerusalem. John Mark is also the young man who, after all the disciples left Jesus at His arrest and after those arresting Jesus tried to grab him, "fled from them naked" (Mark 14:51-52). This tendency to flee seems to be characteristic of John Mark, whom Luke records in Acts 13 as someone who abandoned the Apostle Paul and Barnabas after the first stop of their first missionary journey.

On their second missionary journey, Barnabas, the cousin of John Mark (Col. 4:10), "was determined to take" John Mark with them. "But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had abandoned them" and "had not continued with them in the work" of the ministry (Acts 15:37-38). The contention was so sharp "that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took John Mark and sailed to Cyprus; but Paul chose Silas and departed … And went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches (Acts 15:39-41). John Mark's character flaw had caused contention in the ministry.

However, the rift between the Apostle Paul and Barnabas and John Mark was repaired, as evident by the writings of the Apostle Paul himself (Col. 4:10–11, Philem. 24). As a young man, John Mark had a tendency to flee from difficult situations and ministries. But towards the end of his life, he had the strength of character to narrate his own failure as the young man who fled naked. That's correct! The pathetic naked young man mentioned in the Gospel of Mark was the writer himself. John Mark persisted beyond the weaknesses of his youth to become Mark, the writer of the second book in the New Testament canon.

John Mark, however, did not get there on his own. God used the discipleship of Peter, the encouragement of Barnabas, and the discipline of Paul. The Apostle Peter called John Mark a son, indicating he had discipled him personally (1 Pet. 5:13). Barnabas, his cousin and the son of encouragement, provided loyalty, support, and of course encouragement. However, even the Apostle Paul played a crucial role in the life of John Mark. He provided the discipline. John Mark needed to realize that his actions have consequences. But even the Apostle Paul encouraged John Mark. In Colossians 4:11, Paul refers to him and two others as "my only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who … have proved to be a comfort to me." In 2 Timothy 4:11, the Apostle Paul asks Timothy: "Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry." Is this not a beautiful testimony about someone who had started his vocation as a missionary by being a deserter?

Are you useful in the ministry?
If not, why not?
Are you persisting beyond the failures of your youth?