Saint Mark, traditionally identified as the author of
the second Gospel, has been identified by some ancient and modern scholars as
the John Mark mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, and also the Mark
mentioned in several Pauline letters (where he is identified as the cousin of
St. Barnabas), as well as in the Letter of St. Peter. These associations have led to various
traditions that Mark was one of the servants at the wedding feast at Cana, that
he was the one who carried water to the house where the Last Supper was held,
or that he was the disciple who ran away naked when Jesus was taken in the
Garden of Gesthemane – none of these pious legends are supported by scholarship
or scripture. Indeed, Hippolytus,
writing in the third century (in his On the
Seventy Apostles) carefully distinguishes Mark the Evangelist from John
Mark and Mark, the cousin of Barnabas.
Of course, modern scholarship contends that none of the gospels were
written by individuals, but were compilations made from largely oral sources.
So what do we really know about St. Mark? It seems likely that he was one of the early
disciples (during Christ’s three years of earthly ministry); and that he was
one of the seventy sent out by Jesus to preach the word and expel demons
(Hippolytus identifies him as such.) He
is also likely to have accompanied St. Paul, and later St. Barnabas on their
early missionary trips. When St. Peter
was miraculously delivered from jail (in the Acts of the Apostles) he went
first to Antioch and then visited churches throughout Asia Minor, ending in
Rome. It is assumed that somewhere
during these travels, Mark joined him as a companion and interpreter. Legend holds that the preaching of St. Peter
forms the basis for Mark’s rendition of the Gospel.
After St. Peter’s martyrdom in Rome, Mark went to
Alexandria, where he founded the Church there, becoming the first bishop of
Alexandria. He was martyred there
approximately 69 AD (by having a rope put around his neck and dragged through
the city.) He is venerated as the
founder of the Church in Africa.
It is not my intention here to wade into the sometime
tedious debate on who exactly Mark was, or whether he really wrote the Gospel
as we have it today. Certainly, the
scope of the Gospel reflects the described persona of Mark – and early disciple
and companion of the Apostles, writing to a largely gentile audience. Mark’s gospel is very Christological; Jesus
is identified as the Son of God, the Davidic Messiah; whose preaching centers
on the Kingdom of God and the good news that the Kingdom is at hand. The shortest of the Gospels, it was likely
the first one written, providing source material for the gospels of Matthew and
Luke.
While historical scholarship is valuable and helpful,
scripture must also be evaluated in the pure light of faith – whether an
individual named Mark actually wrote the gospel is not the main point – the significance
lies in its witness to who Jesus Christ was.
The monumental task of the early disciples, apostles and evangelists, to
spread the Word to a brutal and unbelieving world is evidenced in the legends
that accrue to the writing of this gospel – whether Mark was one person or
three in no way diminishes the profound truth and promise of Jesus Christ. Mark, who probably was witness to Jesus’
ministry and who carried the gospel to the world, even to the shedding of his
own blood, has just as much to say to us today as he did in the first century.
One last legend – in 828 AD, two Venetian merchants
trading in Alexandria, absconded with the remains of St. Mark (although to this
day, the Coptic Church insists that the head of the Evangelist remained in
Alexandria.) The beautiful Basilica of
St. Mark was built to house his relics.
No comments:
Post a Comment