Yesterday's passage concluded with Luke informing us, "From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem." (Acts 13:13)
Luke offers no explanation for Mark's departure. He makes no personal remarks condemning Mark's actions. He simply reports what happened. This would almost lead us to conclude that Mark had legitimate work to do in Jerusalem with the church that met at his mother Mary's house and that he could not spare enough time away to complete the whole journey. But we learn from Acts 15 that this was not the case, "Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, 'Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.' Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work." (Acts 15:36-38)
Luke says Mark "deserted" Paul and Barnabas. When we look up this word in the thesaurus we find it also means "to betray, to avoid, to backslide, to commit dereliction of duties, to escape, to forsake, to relinquish, to resign, to retreat, to be treacherous, to fall away, to run out on". This is what Mark does when he leaves the group in Pamphylia and returns to Jerusalem. The question is why he does it. So today we are going to take a look at some of the foremost scholarly opinions on the matter.
One opinion is that Mark resented Paul's ministry taking prominence over the ministry of Mark's relative Barnabas. After all, Barnabas is the one who fetched Paul out of obscurity in Tarsus where he had fled for his life. Barnabas is the one who invited him into the ministry at Antioch. If it weren't for Barnabas, Paul wouldn't even be accepted among the apostles at Jerusalem, for they were deathly afraid of him when he first tried to join their group. But all of a sudden, in verse 13, we find the entire missionary team being called "Paul and his companions". Could it be Mark was offended by Paul's meteoric rise in popularity? If so, we can safely conclude that Barnabas himself harbored no jealousy toward Paul. Barnabas wasn't that kind of man. Barnabas was the kind of man who encouraged the spread of the gospel and who encouraged all the preachers and teachers of the gospel. He desired no glory for himself. The suggestion that Mark felt Paul was taking the spotlight away from Barnabas isn't one of my favorite explanations, partly for the very reason that I think Barnabas would have comforted and counseled him through such feelings.
Another scholarly opinion is that Mark isn't comfortable ministering to Gentiles. He's evidently been quite active in the church at Jerusalem which meets at his mother's house, but this group is most likely made up entirely of Jewish Christians. Right before he deserted the team we found them going to the palace of the Roman proconsul Sergius Paulus to preach the gospel to him. This man converted when he heard the word of the Lord and he was probably baptized immediately after. There are some Bible historians who believe Mark's job in the group was to baptize new believers since Paul states that he himself rarely baptized anyone, "Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel." (1 Corinthians 1:17a) Did Mark balk at the idea of dunking believing Gentiles in the water? Did he shrink back from associating with those whom he was formerly taught were unclean? If so, why did he leave Jerusalem with Paul and Barnabas in the first place to go to the Gentile church at Antioch? I don't find the idea very compelling that he suddenly decided he wanted nothing to do with the Gentiles. He knew before he packed his suitcase in Jerusalem that he was going to minister to non-Jews. I think he fully understood the amount of interaction with Gentiles that would be required.
Could it be that Mark was frightened by the spiritual warfare involved in taking the gospel where it had never been preached before? Another thing that happens right before Mark deserts the team is that a sorcerer, influenced by Satan himself, tries to stand in the way of the influential politician Sergius Paulus from coming to Christ. Through the power of Christ, Paul strikes the man blind for a season as a rebuke for his wickedness and in the hope that his blindness will lead him to the light. Was this situation so frightening to Mark that he wanted no more to do with taking the gospel into regions where Satan had strongholds? I've heard missionaries tell stories about taking the gospel to tribes who have never heard it before, and I've heard them speak about the intense feeling of heavy darkness in such regions. It's a spiritual darkness. There's a sense of a very active presence of dark powers. Maybe Mark was horrified by the presence of spiritual darkness. When he set out on the journey he envisioned all the wondrous things he would see accomplished by the mighty power of God, but perhaps he didn't reckon on all the terrifying things he would see attempted by the evil power of Satan. After witnessing these things at Serguis Paulus' house, it could be that he didn't at this time desire to witness any more of it, so he headed back home to Jerusalem to work among those who had already heard and received the gospel. In my opinion this is one of the better theories. Mark is a very young man who has never been far from home. He has certainly never entered regions where Satan holds sway over the citizens through sorcery and idolatry. I can understand him being frightened enough to go home, especially considering his young age, which brings us to our final theory.
Mark may be too immature in age and too immature in the faith to go on a missionary journey at this time. Some Bible scholars and historians have referred to him as a "mama's boy", and while I highly doubt he returns to Jerusalem because he misses his mommy, I think we definitely have to take his youth into account when considering why he deserts the missionaries. It could be that he simply isn't ready. I think he believed he was ready. I think this belief was so strong that Paul and Barnabas were convinced he was ready. A time will come when he is ready, as we will learn later on in Acts as he recommits himself to mission work. He will be so ready to spread the gospel of Christ that Paul, who has written him off, will consider him a valuable co-worker in the ministry. He will be so ready that the Lord will choose him to write one of the gospel accounts contained in the Holy Bible. But Mark isn't ready on this first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas, and that's alright, because which of us has never bitten off more than we could chew? Which of us has never overestimated our courage and abilities? Which of us has never backslidden or doubted our calling?
When Mark runs away from the first missionary journey it may not be the first time he's run away. We find an interesting clue in the gospel he wrote, for he tells us that on the night before the crucifixion there is a young man following Jesus in the shadows. This young man watches the agony of Jesus as He prays to the Father and weeps desperately on His knees. Mark is the only gospel writer who mentions the young man who is the only person who witnesses the distress of Jesus. We know this because the disciples remained at a distance from Jesus while He prayed, plus they fell asleep. So how does Mark know about the young man and about the distress of Christ? It is believed by a large number of well-respected Bible scholars that Mark is the young man. When Jesus is arrested and the disciples flee the scene, Mark tells us, "A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind." (Mark 14:51-52)
The young man (probably in his early to mid teens) is outside during the night in nothing but a linen nightshirt. His parents think he's home in bed. His parents may not even be aware of his interest in the words and deeds of the popular carpenter from Nazareth. He watches the scene under cover of darkness, not understanding the distress of Jesus, not expecting the sudden arrival of soldiers who seize Jesus and take Him away. When he is spotted and seized himself, his desperate fear leads him to struggle so hard he loses his nightshirt and runs home naked. Why would Mark tell such an odd story if it isn't about himself? Why is Mark the only gospel writer who recounts this strange happening? I agree with those who believe he is the young man who flees in terror, leaving his nightshirt behind. He's very young. He's very inexperienced. He isn't yet willing to risk his life for Christ, especially not before His crucifixion and resurrection, and he isn't yet willing to risk his life for Christ on the first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas.
Barnabas immediately forgives his cousin Mark and offers him a second chance, which Mark accepts, in Chapter 15. Paul eventually forgives Mark when he realizes that he has matured and has become a mighty soldier of the Lord. Most importantly, Jesus forgives him, so much so that He chooses Mark to write the story of His own life, death, and resurrection.
Maybe people have written you off because of things in your past. Maybe you've even written yourself off. But Jesus hasn't written you off! He says to you the same thing He must have said to Mark, "You've repented and I've forgiven you. Leave those mistakes behind. I'm not dwelling on them and you shouldn't either. There is still much to be done in getting the gospel out to others and I want you to work alongside Me. You aren't disqualified by your past. It is I who qualifies you for the work. It is My power that gives you courage and enables you to fulfill your calling in life. Stop looking behind you. Move forward with Me."
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