Basic HTML Version
to church members. Simon Peter
writes, "She who is at Babylon,
who is likewise chosen, sends you
greetings; and so does
my son
Mark"-the
Authorized Version
uses the Latín
M arcus
(1
Pet.
5:
13).
This reference indicates that
Mark was so clase to Peter that the
older man refers to him as his son
in the faith. Perhaps Peter 's
preaching brought about Mark's
conversion. Remember Paul re–
ferred to both Timothy and Titus
as his sons in the faith.
Additionally, if Mark's real
father were dead, Peter may have
increasingly stepped into his shoes
as a sympathetic adviser and coun–
selor to the young man.
Exactly whe n John Mark
served Peter as helper is not clear.
lt may have been at various points
in Peter's ministry when Mark
was not serving either Paul or
Barnabas. The Acts of the Apos–
tles and the New Testament let–
ters show that these men (apostles
and assistants) moved about a
great deal.
The Evidence of Tradition
Extrabiblical tradition unanimously
links up the gospel of Mark with
the preaching of Peter. Details tend
to vary, but there is no disagree–
ment on this central point.
Papias of Hierapolis in Asia
Minar spent much time in collect–
ing traditions of the early church.
He lived from about A.D. 70 to
130. He is said to have been a
friend of Polycarp of the city of
Smyrna in Asia Minar.
·
Papias wrote an extensive work
in five volumes.
lt
was called
The
ELECTION
(Continued from page 4)
ing decade" that West Germany
and France will pool their military
resources to form what he called "a
new axis of power."
Business Week
magazine warns
that "the Paris-Bonn axis" and
other steps to strengthen autono–
mous European defense arrange–
ments "tend to set Europe apart
from the U.S."
Sorne leaders in Europe are
openly thinking past current taboos
into the future. For example,
42
Exposition of the Oracles of the
Lord.
The work itself either was
lost or perished in a pagan,
book~
burning exercise. Fortunately sorne
interesting fragments survive in the
form of quotations in Eusebius'
Ecclesiastical History.
Succeeding church writers re–
ferred to Papias in their own
statements about Peter's relation–
ship to Mark's gospel. Their dec–
larations are thus less valuable.
But hear just one. Irenaeus wrote:
"After their death [Pau l and
Peter's] Mark, the disciple and
interpreter of Peter, also handed
down to us in writing the things
preached by Peter"
(Against Her–
esies,
3.1.1 ,2; Eusebius,
Ecclesias–
tical History,
5.8.2). Back now to
the Bible.
Further Biblical Evidence
Certain points about Mark's gospel
account tend to bear out its inti–
mate connection with the apostle
Peter. Mark, of course, begins his
book with the onset of Christ's
public ministry. Early events in this
gospel account occur at Peter's
house (Mark 1:16-18, 29, 36).
Near the end there is a prívate mes–
sage to Peter found in no other gas–
pe! account (Mark 16:7).
Further, Mark's gospel account
is harder on Peter, in a concen–
trated form, than the other three
gospels. A.E.J. Rawlinson remarks
that Peter is hardly ever mentioned
except in terms of Jesus' rebuke
and disgrace (see
The Gospel
According to Mark,
1925, page
28).
A faithful helper and assistant
is highly unlikely to picture Peter
in such unfavorable terms-either
Juergen Todenhoefer, the chief dis–
armament spokesman for West
German Chancellor Helmut Kohl' s
Christian Democratic Union,
called, on April 17, for a greater
role for Europe in its own nuclear
defense, and, eventually, a West
German voice in the use of nuclear
weapons.
Todenhoefer 's remarks do not
constitute official West German
policy and they received consid–
erable criticism. Nevertheless they
reflect a growing West German
concern for greater control by
Europeans of their own defense.
befare or after his death- unless
he had his explicit direction.
About Mark's Gospel
Mark had unique qualifications for
authorship. His family home· was a
center of the early church. What
Jesus said and did was repeated
over and over again in his presence
as the years sped by. Many people
were still alive who knew exactly
what had happened.
Mark has many parallel accounts
with Matthew and Luke. That's
why these three are often called
the
synoptic gospels.
Of course, both
Matthew and Luke contain much
material that Mark omits altogeth–
er. But where they are al! parallel
or very similar in content, Mark
nearly always remembers in more
vivid detail. Perhaps this is Peter's
as well as Mark's memory. Mark,
in any case, must have been an
observant person.
Apart from his importance as a
writer of the gospel account, there
would be no real reason to write an
article about Mark's life. His life is
only significant to a wider public
because of his gospel. He was a very
human person. He made sorne seri–
ous mistakes. When young he
tended to flee a crisis. Yet Mark was
used of God to write a portion of the
gospel of the kingdom of God.
Maybe you are a person who
would like to get started reading
about J esus. Maybe you want to
know more about the kingdom of
God. Why not request, free of
charge, the Ambassador College
Bible Correspondence Course? It
will take you through a study, in
your own home, of the big ques–
tions in life. o
Thus, the potential for further
wi ld swings in American policy
from election to election and the
grave uncertainty that these will
produce, could have a great deal to
do with the eventual emergence in
Europe of the final stage of the
historie revivals of the Roman sys–
tem, prophesied in your Bible.
It
will comprise a political, eco–
nomic, military-and even reli–
gious-union.
If
you have not
already done so, write for our free
booklet
The Book of Revelation
Unveiled at Last,
which explains the
future in significant detail. o
The PLAIN TRUTH