St Mark and Suffering

ST MARK AND SUFFERING

Whenever I think about St Mark, whose feast day we celebrate on 25 April, I always think of suffering. Let me explain.

Firstly, Mark saw suffering.

It is generally thought that it was in the house of the parents of John Mark that Jesus celebrated the Last Supper. In fact, some writers suggest that the Roman guards first went to the house to arrest Jesus, but Jesus had already left for the Garden of Gethsemane, to which John Mark ran to warn Jesus.

Certainly, most commentators suggest that John Mark was the young lad who was chased by the guards in the garden, at the time of arrest, and who fled naked, when his linen cloth got caught on a bush, since it is only in Mark's Gospel that this incident is recorded.

Doubtless he continued to witness the trial and crucifixion as any inquisitive teenager would, which probably accounts for the passion narrative taking up over a third of his gospel, and being copied, and sometimes added to, by Matthew and Luke. Yes, Mark certainly saw suffering.

Secondly, Mark ran away from suffering.

Our next picture of Mark comes many years later when he was working as a secretary and personal assistant to his Uncle Barnabas, and Paul, on their first missionary journey.

However, he does not remain with them for long before he returns home. Why? We do not know and can only guess. Perhaps he was homesick? Perhaps he did not like his Uncle Barnabas being pushed into the background by Paul? Whatever the cause we do know that it was blameworthy, for when he later tried to join up again with Paul, he would not let him.

My own guess is that he suddenly realised that being an evangelist was not exactly a bed of roses. He had already suffered physical and mental tiredness, besides hostility. When Paul suggested going inland from Perga, he was frightened because of the difficulties of the route and the likelihood of being robbed along a notorious ill-fated road. He could suffer no more. He could only turn his back upon the personal suffering involved and return home. St Mark saw suffering and ran away from it.

Thirdly, St Mark endured suffering.

The final picture that we have of Mark in the New Testament comes many years later. He is now in a prison cell in Rome with Paul, who describes him as a 'fellow labourer'.

We can only assume that Mark had come to realise that Paul had obviously forgiven him and received him back.

Peter was also imprisoned with him at the same time, and probably shared a cell with Mark. We can therefore imagine them spending hours talking about Jesus – Peter from first-hand experience, Mark as a later follower trying to fill in the gaps in his knowledge of Jesus. Certainly, Papias, Bishop of Hierapolis, in the second century, talks of having met an 'elder' who used to say: 'Mark, indeed, who became an interpreter of Peter, wrote accurately, as far as he remembered them, the things said and done by the Lord, but not, however, in order'. In other words, we have in Mark's Gospel, the personal reminiscence of Peter.

Finally, Mark was spared suffering.

Although both Peter and Paul were to endure the ultimate suffering of a martyr's death, Mark was spared such suffering at the time.

Why he was spared we do not know. Could it be that it was part of God's overall plan?

Could it be that the suffering which he had watched and run away from, and from which he had now been spared, was all part of his preparation for the most important work God wanted him to do, namely, to be an evangelist to the suffering Gentile Church in Rome?

After all, the Christians there were beginning to suffer persecution at the hands of the Emperor Nero, and were being thrown to the lions in the Colosseum, whilst the pagan population watched and cheered.

Little wonder that St Mark's Gospel is known as the Martyr's Gospel, because suffering runs through its pages like a watermark.

The theme is simply this, just as Jesus suffered, so his followers are now being called also to suffer; this should be of no surprise for Jesus clearly warned his disciples that following him could also involve sharing in his suffering. However, Jesus had also promised great and sure rewards to those who suffered without losing their faith. In other words, Mark's message to the Christians in Rome was that nothing which is happening to them is outside the providence of God.

St Mark saw suffering, ran away from suffering, endured suffering and finally was spared suffering, so that he could be the evangelist to those who were suffering about 65AD when his gospel was written.