What do we know about the biblical character named John Mark who wrote the second Gospel? It turns out we know a great deal. Today I want to share with you one of the most interesting books that I have read in a long time, The African Memory of Mark: Reassessing Early Church Tradition, by Thomas C. Oden.
Now, we’ve been working our way through a series of studies on the 15 different homes that Jesus visited in the gospels. Recently I suggested that the upper room was held in the home of a wealthy young man named John Mark and his mother Mary. As I tried to research more about this I came across a book called The African Memory of Mark: Reassessing Early Church Tradition, by Dr. Thomas C. Oden, who was director for the Center of Early African Christianity at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. Oden was a Methodist theologian who was at one time very liberal, but whose views evolved as he studied the early documents of Christianity including the church fathers and those who lived and wrote in the first three or so centuries of the church. He passed away in 2016 at the age of 85. This book, The African Memory of Mark, was published by Intervarsity Academic in 2011.
Oden says that the African continent is exploding with the spread of the Gospel, and it can all be plausibly traced back to John Mark, the writer of the Second Gospel, who was from Africa and returned to Africa. He bases his book on very early oral traditions in the African church which were put into writing in the 200s and 300s and 400s, and which have been passed down for 2000 years. We have early information about Mark in the New Testament, and in an anonymous primitive text dated in the 200s, and in the writings of Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Athanasius, and Cyril.
In the Preface, Oden wrote: “The African memory of Mark… is a story long known by parents of little ones, and by pastors and teachers. It has been learned by heart and celebrated by millions of Africans for over 2000 years….”
In chapter 1, Oden looks into the background of the city of Cyrene in Libya. Many Jews lived there during the difficult and dangerous days before the New Testament era. These Jewish families became wealthy from farming and from trade; and they were serious about their Judaism, serious enough to return to Jerusalem for the major festivals. They also were fluent in Greek, along with Aramaic and Latin. They may have known Hebrew. According to African tradition, the family of John Mark was among the north African families who returned to Jerusalem in the early years of the first century because the area around Cyrene became unstable.
Oden wrote, “Transit from the Liberian Pentapolis to either Alexandria or Jerusalem would have been well within their capabilities. It would even be simpler for a prosperous family proficient in sea commerce, connections and impertinent international languages Greek, Latin and Aramaic. These languages were necessary capabilities among the mercantile Jews of Cyrene. Small vessels could hug the Sea coast of Africa, passing Gaza, continuing to Herod’s spectacular port in Caesarea. From there they could travel overland a short distance to Jerusalem.”
According to African tradition, Mark’s father was Aristobulus and his mother was Mary. They were from the tribe of Levi. He was called John Mark, with John being his Hebrew name and Mark his Latin name.
The New Testament reinforces the idea of Mark being of the priestly tribe of Levi, because Acts 4 tells us that his uncle Barnabas was a Levite and a wealthy man from Cyprus.
At some point, Mark’s father evidently died. And he and his mother owned a large home in Jerusalem. And, according to these early sources from Alexandria and North Africa, their home had a large Upper Room that became the site of the Last Supper, a safehouse for the disciples after the death of Christ, and the place where the Holy Spirit descended on the Day of Pentecost. The traditions locate this home on or near Zion Hill. Oden wrote: “The remnants of a first century house, partly hidden, partly exposed, lies in the upper city on the southwestern heights of Zion Hill. The Monastery of St. Mark now stands on the ancient site of the house of St. Mark the Evangelist according to a sixth-century inscription which was discovered in 1940.”
This site is attested by early references in Christian documents and by pilgrims who visited in the early centuries, including Egeria and the Pilgrim of Bordeaux.
Oden says that the early African sources about Mark identify him as the young man who fled naked from the Garden of Gethsemane on the night Jesus was arrested. He would also have been hosting the apostles after the crucifixion, and it was in his home the risen Christ appeared to the disciples behind closed doors. It was also here that the Holy Spirit descended and that Peter preached his great sermon on the Day of Pentecost.
According to our ancient sources, this is likely when John Mark made his confession of faith in Christ and was baptized along with 3000 others on that never-to-be-forgotten day. When Peter later wrote his first epistle, he referred to Mark as “my son.”
So let’s review. The family of John Mark lived in North Africa near the Mediterranean coast in the well-populated Jewish quarter of Cyrene, Libya. They were affluent, probably engaged in farming and the trading of commodities, and they were of the tribe of Levi. Mark was born and spent a portion of his childhood there. He would have been fluent in several languages. In the early years of the first century, political conditions deteriorated in that part of Libya, and the family immigrated to Jerusalem and bought a large house on Zion hill.
Jesus chose this home for His Last Supper. We don’t know where that connection was made, but I speculated in last week’s podcast that Mark could have been the rich young ruler. Dr. Oden does not present that hypothesis, but for me it helps connect the dots.
When Jesus suddenly left the Upper Room with His disciples, Mark followed them wearing nothing but a sheet, indicating that he had already gone to bed. But for some reason, he rose quickly and followed the apostolic band through the dark streets of Jerusalem. When Jesus was arrested, a Roman soldier spotted Mark and tried to seize him. But he grabbed only the sheet, and Mark escaped naked into the night.
Mark’s residence became a safehouse for the disciples after the crucifixion, and it was here Jesus appeared to them, and it was here the Holy Spirit descended on the Day of Pentecost. The African records indicate that’s when John Mark was converted by Peter’s preaching and he was baptized.
That brings us to Acts 12. I want to read a portion of this chapter, because it is one of the best stories in the book of Acts. Look at Acts 12, starting with verse 1:
1 It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4 After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.
5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.
8 Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. 9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.
11 Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”
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. 13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!”
15 “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”
16 But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place.
There are several things to notice about this. First, the home of John Mark and his mother was large, spacious, with a gate leading to a courtyard, and with a servant. Second, it was a meeting place for the early church.
Now, here is what is truly interesting to me. After Peter showed up as a literal answer to prayer, it says he left again for another place—and that is the last time we see Peter in the book of Acts except for a cameo appearance in Acts 15 at the Jerusalem Council. The book of Acts divides into two clear sections. Chapters 1 through 11 center around the ministry of Peter. And Acts 12 through 27 center around the ministry of Paul. The title of the book really should be the Acts of Peter and Paul.
When Luke wrote, “[Peter] left for another place, that is Luke’s way of having Peter exit from the story. But where did Peter go? Dr. Oden cites ancient records showing that Peter went to Old Cairo, Egypt, which at that time was called Babylon.
When I think of Babylon, I think of the country of Babylon or the Babylonian Empire, which was to the east of Israel in the land we now call Iraq. But there was a town in Egypt named Babylon. That sounds confusing, but think of this. I live in the city of Nashville. But which one? I happen to live in Nashville, Tennessee, but there are at least 19 other cities and towns that go by that name. There’s a Nashville, Arkansas; a Nashville, Indiana; a Nashville, Ohio; and so forth.
Let me quote Dr. Oden on page 114 of his book: “The location of Peter’s flight to ‘another place’ is the subject of our investigation now. In particular, we explore the possibility that Mark may have accompanied Peter on his flight and what implications that might have for its location. The most logical location for that other place, according to Egyptian reasoning, would have been Babylon of Egypt (later old Cairo), which for many years before the Roman occupation had been a place for receiving refugees….”
“If Mark was indeed accompanying Peter directly from his own mother’s house to another place, another safe house, and probably one far away — out of Herod’s reach — and if Mark knew the lay of the land in Africa, his presumed place of birth, he could have guided Peter safely to old Cairo… If Mark was from a well-travelled and wealthy Diaspora family, as traditional African memory holds, he would have the means and know-how to get Peter safely away from Jerusalem and into a safe house, perhaps at Babylon of Egypt.”
Dr. Oden presents a lot of evidence for this that I don’t have time to cover. But that would explain 1 Peter 5:13, when Peter wrote to the Christians scattered around the empire. He closed the letter saying, “The church is Babylon…sends you greetings, as does Mark, my son” (1 Peter 5:13 HCSB).
Oden says, “Let us suppose that Peter’s motive in coming to the house of Mary was not only to reestablish contact with the disciples but also to pick up her son Mark to accompany him and assist him to another safe place. If this were the case, the likelihood that Babylon of Egypt is where they fled is not surprising.
Oden even suggests that this was just the spot where the Holy Family took refuge when they fled to Egypt after the birth of Christ, in Babylon of Egypt, which is now Old Cairo.
In Acts 13, Paul and Barnabas were sent from Antioch on their first missionary journey, and by this time Mark was in Antioch too. So he went as their helper, but for whatever reason, he returned home before the end of the tour. That upset Paul so much that he refused to let Mark go with them the next time. So Paul left with Silas, and Barnabas took his nephew Mark and sailed for Cyprus.
But later, Mark reunited with the Apostle Peter and became his assistant and interpreter. We have records from very early telling us that Mark heard Peter tell stories about Jesus over and over. And Mark wrote them down. And the Gospel of Mark is essentially the Gospel of Peter, as recorded by his interpreter Mark. We believe Mark was with Peter in Rome, perhaps during the time when Peter and his wife were both executed by Nero’s government. And then Mark traveled back to Africa, to the great city of Alexandria.
Oden then tells how Mark first planted the Gospel in Africa. Let me re-tell the story from pages 143 and 144 of his book.
“This is the story learned by almost every child in Coptic Christianity: So Mark journeyed to the city of Alexandria. And when he entered in at the gate at a place called Mendion, the strap of his shoe broke. He immediately turned and saw a cobbler there, went to him, and gave him the shoe that he might mend it. And when the cobbler received it, and took the awl to work upon it, and the awl pierced his hand. He shouted out ‘Heis ho Theos’, that is, “God is one!’ Mark was overjoyed because nearly everyone there polytheistic, and if this man, even in his oath, cried that God is one, it meant he had some knowledge of Judaism or was in fact himself a Jew. Mark prayed for him and his hand was healed. And Mark immediately began telling him about Jesus. The man was wonderfully saved and became Mark’s first convert in Africa and later became his successor as bishop of the area. The cobbler’s name was Anianus, and soon others in that community were converted and baptized. And this is the beginning of the remarkable 2000-year history of missions in Africa.”
For many years, Mark used Alexandria as his headquarters by traveling widely in his missionary work. And then during Easter season on April 26 of the year AD 68, Mark was seized and tied to a rope, which was attached to a horse. And he was dragged through the streets until his flesh was lacerated and body was battered and bloody. Oden wrote, “A dragging death was intended to be a slow and tortuous death. This form of torture was public and prolonged, similar to crucifixion.” After this, Mark was thrown into prison half-dead, and the next morning he was again dragged over the cobbled roads of Alexandria until he was dead.
The old traditions say that the authorities intended to burn his body, but a sudden rainstorm quenched the flames. So his friends gave him a burial at a rocky place near the sea, and for many centuries people came to worship there and to remember him. A monument was built even before the reign of Constantine.
Then in the year 828, some men from Venice stole Mark’s body, took it to Venice, and built a great church building over it, which some of you have seen—St. Mark’s Basilica.
Oden wrote,
- [Mark] became the apostle to everywhere. It was from Libya that he became the universal evangelist. Geographically he covered more of the earth than Paul, witnessing on all three known continents.
- [He] became the patriarch of the whole family of African Christianity. He was Africa’s first evangelist, apostle, and martyr…. Apart from Thomas [who went to India], Mark is likely the most widely traveled of all the [New Testament evangelists].
I simply found this material helped bring John Mark to life for me. I can’t wait to meet him in Heaven. I don’t know for sure he was the rich young ruler, but it’s possible. I certainly believe the bulk of Oden’s recounting of history is more than plausible; it’s possible. And it inspires me not to quit when I mess up; not to give up when I fail; and to keep on going to the end. I hope it’s done the same for you.