NT Characters: The Four Evangelists (gospel writers)

<p>For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ <a href="https://www.douglasjacoby.com/nt-character-podcast-53-the-four-evangelists-gospel-writers/">website</a>.</p><p><strong>John Mark</strong></p><ol><li> <ol><li>Identity<ol><li>Mark may not be John Mark. John was a common name in the Jewish world, and Mark a common name in the Roman world. And having a Greco-Roman name along with a Semitic name was not uncommon.</li><li>Even if John Mark is not the writer of Mark, you can still derive some benefit from our study.</li><li>Some identify him with the young man who fled naked (Mark 14:52), but this is unsure.</li><li>He is associated with Peter, according to Papias (early 2nd C.).</li></ol></li><li>Acts 12:12<ol><li>Mid-40s AD</li><li>Peter returns to John Mark’s house once released from prison.</li><li>Prayer meeting. [Listen also to the Rhoda<i> NT Character podcast</i>]</li><li>John Mark's family were people of means.</li></ol></li><li>Acts 12:25<ol><li>He is a missionary.</li><li>And connected with Saul and (esp.) Barnabas.</li></ol></li><li>Acts 15:36-41<ol><li>49 AD.</li><li>Paul felt young John Mark should not join them. Too much pressure? Untested or fragile? In some other unreliable? Not a good chemistry between Saul and John Mark?</li><li>The brothers and sisters support Saul/Paul. This must have been hard for Barnabas, who had believed in Saul when no one else did—and for John Mark, too.</li><li>Barnabas chooses to remain with Mark.</li><li>Cyprus is the ancestral home of Barnabas. Jews had been scattered all over the broader Mediterranean world.</li></ol></li><li>Col 4:10<ol><li>c.60 AD.</li><li>Mark was Barnabas’ <i>cousin</i>. </li><li>Mark has reconnected with Paul, more than a decade after the time of Acts 15. People change in 10 years.</li></ol></li><li>Philemon 24<ol><li>Mark is numbered among other colleagues of Paul.</li><li>He sends greetings to those in the Lycus Valley. He knew many people around the world, e.g. in Cyprus, Syria, and quite likely Egypt.</li></ol></li><li>2 Tim 4:9-1