But as they watched, an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. For five days Herod lay screaming in agony as he was eaten by worms and died.
MEANWHILE, THE WORD OF God grew and multiplied. Barnabas and Saul came from Antioch to Jerusalem with famine relief following the death of Herod, and when it came time for them to return to their church, they invited John Mark to go along. Finally he was of an age and maturity to be right for the job.
Full of wonder and excitement, Mark set out on his first ministry journey and was impressed to find in the church at Antioch that Barnabas and Saul had raised up several prophets and teachers. As they ministered and fasted, these prophets and teachers said that the Holy Spirit had instructed them to “separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
In an impressive service of commission Mark would never forget, the new leaders of the Antiochan church—having fasted and prayed and laid hands on them—sent Barnabas and Saul on their way, with Mark as their assistant. One of their main thrusts was to evangelize the Gentiles all over the world.
They left from the port city of Seleucia, about sixteen miles from Antioch at the mouth of the Orantes River. And from there they sailed to Cyprus, Barnabas’s home country. When they arrived in Salamis, the chief port and commercial center, Saul suggested they first preach the word of God in the synagogues, setting a precedent they would follow for years.
Mark found himself deeply moved by the way God used his cousin and Saul, the former tormentor of the church, and he learned much from these men.
Barnabas, despite being a close relative Mark knew better than anyone, proved one of the most devout and earnest missionaries he had ever met. Mark found himself regretting any envy or jealousy he had ever felt as he watched Barnabas boldly preach the gospel and minister to the sick and lowly everywhere they went. He seemed tireless and wholly devoted to the cause. Plus, his bent toward encouragement caused him to continually compliment Saul on his preaching and arguing for the faith.
For his sake, Saul proved a brilliant apologist, though his tireless intensity wore on Mark. Yet somehow, despite that he was a dynamic and spellbinding speaker, the man never seemed happy or satisfied. There was always something to fear, to watch out for, to battle. Even late into the night, when the three would share a spare room in one or another of the saints’ homes, Saul would still be talking, criticizing, suggesting long into the night. Often he would hold forth until both Barnabas and Mark were snoring, then he would shout to rouse them and insist that they listen and finish some conversation he found important.
Mark could not deny that Saul was devout and passionate and generally right, but his intensity wore on the young man.
And Mark also found himself drawn back to Jerusalem. He missed Peter and wanted to hear more of the early days of Jesus’ ministry. Neither Barnabas nor Saul had been eyewitnesses to the miracles of Jesus, as Peter had. And surprising even himself after all the years he had spent longing to get away, Mark missed his mother. Soon he began longing to return home.
On the island of Paphos, the missionaries found a sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. He was with the proconsul (a Roman provincial governor), Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. Paulus called for Barnabas and Saul, asking to hear the word of God. But the sorcerer opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
Saul, who had begun calling himself Paul (his Roman name), glared at Bar-Jesus and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.”
Immediately the sorcerer went around seeking someone to lead him. At that the proconsul believed, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
Mark marveled at what he had witnessed, yet this did not change his mind about departing for Jerusalem. When he broached the subject with Barnabas, his cousin seemed puzzled but not opposed. “You must do as you believe the Lord leads you,” he said.
But Paul was adamant that Mark remain with them. “We have need of you, and the Holy Spirit called you to accompany us. You must not desert us or your calling.”
Mark certainly didn’t consider it desertion, and by the time they set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia, he had made up his mind to leave. Paul told him in no uncertain terms that he felt betrayed and abandoned, and as much as this troubled Mark in his spirit, he believed he was doing the right thing. He left them there, boarding a ship bound for Israel.
FOURTEEN
Of course I’m delighted you’re back, John Mark,” his mother said. “But what are your plans?”
“To assist the disciples here in Jerusalem in any way they need me and, I hope, to join Peter on his missionary journeys. He has been in Antioch and may go from there to Asia Minor and possibly even to Rome. Why do you look so concerned?”
“Well, is it all right with the disciples that you have returned? With Peter? You seemed so certain of your calling to go with Joses and with Saul.”
“They are known as Barnabas and Paul now, Mother. And I did feel called to go with them to Antioch. But as you know, they were commissioned by the church to venture out, and—”
“And you wrote me that this invigorated you more than ever. What happened?”
“Nothing happened. For years I couldn’t get your blessing to go, and now it seems you don’t want me here.”
“I want you where God wants you, son.”
“And has He told you where that is?”
“There is no need to be testy with me, John Mark. I just want you to tell me if you had a falling-out with your cousin or with—”
“There was no discord until I announced my leaving. Paul believes he knows best. He has become very forthright.”
“Become?” his mother said. “What was he when he was persecuting believers? I daresay he brought the same personality to the work of Christ. Perhaps that is not always a good thing?”
“I admire him, Mother. How could I not? But he pressed me the way he presses unbelievers. I’m not sure I was up to his passion.”
“And that is why you’re back?”
“I don’t know why I’m back! But I look forward to spending more time with Peter.”
Most disconcerting, despite his age, Mark found his mother always more wise and incisive than he. Had it been a mistake to return? Had he prayed enough over the decision? Much as he wanted her blessing, his mother always seemed right.
PETER RETURNED clandestinely between his trips, and Mark found him no less curious and cautious than his own mother. “There is much for you to do, Mark,” he said. “And I am glad your return does not suggest an aversion to travel, for there are many places I need yet go, and perhaps it is time for me to give in and ask that you accompany me.”
“Truly? I cannot imagine a higher privilege! And we can spend time the way we used to!”
“Well, not quite the way we once did. There will be little time for fishing together, I can tell you that. But you must know that I have already heard from Paul.”
“I can’t say that surprises me.”
Peter shook his head. “He is not happy. I have found him quite gifted in intellect and persuasion, which is a benefit to the gospel. But he has been critical of me as well. Did you find him difficult?”
“Not really. Well, yes. I suppose I always felt a step, and a thought, behind, as if I were always being weighed in the balance and found wanting.”
“Perhaps you should have stayed. If you see me as your elder, would you hear me if I insisted you return?”
Mark found a bench and dropped onto it. “Please don’t, Peter. If I didn’t believe I needed time here and with you, I would not have returned. Put me to work; allow me time with you. I’m not sure Paul would have me back anyway.”
“He is a reasonable man.”
Mark caught P
eter’s eye and grinned. “Is he? I aver that it is his very unreasonableness that made him both a feared opponent and a treasured ally of the gospel.”
PETER AND MARK’S TRAVELS allowed them plenty of time to talk.
“Tell me of John the Baptist,” Mark said one day as they sojourned between Pontus and Galatia.
“Ah, the Baptist. Until I met Jesus, John had to be the most remarkable person I had ever encountered.”
“How so?”
“You have been a student of the Prophets, Mark. Remember this passage?
Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You. The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight.”
“John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. People from all the land of Judea, and those from right there in Jerusalem, were baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
“He wore camel’s hair for clothing with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, ‘There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’ Oh, Mark, he was a dynamic, impassioned man. He cared not a whit what anyone thought of him, small or great. His entire life was dedicated to telling the world of the soon coming of his cousin, Jesus.
“The Master, you know, was from Nazareth of Galilee, and the day finally came when He Himself came to be baptized by John in the Jordan. What a sight! As He rose up out of the water, the heavens parted and the Spirit descended upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’”
“And that’s when He began to gather you disciples and teach and heal?”
“No, that came later, Mark. Once the brothers James and John and I and a few others joined Him, we asked where He had gone after His baptism, as we did not see him for more than a month. He told us that the Spirit had driven Him into the wilderness with the wild beasts, where He was tempted by Satan for forty days. He said angels ministered to Him.”
“Tempted by Satan? How?”
“He urged Jesus to turn stones to bread, offered Him all the kingdoms of the world if He would just serve him. Tried to get Him to leap off a high place to prove the angels would catch Him. But He resisted the devil.”
“And when He returned from the wilderness, then His ministry began?”
Peter nodded. “It was after John was put in prison that Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.’”
“You were with Him then?”
“Soon. In fact, my brother Andrew and I were the first disciples He called. He was walking by the Sea of Galilee as we were casting our fishing net, and he called out to us, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men!’
“Fishers of men?”
“We were as astonished as you, Mark, but we looked at each other, and we knew.”
“Knew?”
“That we had no choice. Others wondered what madness had entered us, but we immediately left our nets and followed Him. Next he called the brothers James and John, who were nearby mending their nets in a boat with their father Zebedee and some hired servants. They simply rose and left everything and everyone and followed after the Teacher.”
“Why did you all do this? How did you know? Was it what He said or how He said it?”
Peter shrugged. “I don’t know. God must have put it in our hearts. None of us were out of sorts or unhappy with our lives or looking for anything new or different. This man simply appeared and told us, didn’t ask us, to follow Him, and the time was right. He carried Himself with such authority—and yet humility—that we somehow understood that we were to go with Him and that our lives would never be the same.
“On the Sabbath we followed him to my hometown, Capernaum, and immediately He entered the synagogue and began teaching! We weren’t the only ones amazed, for He taught as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”
“What did the authorities do?”
“At first nothing! I believe they understood that He had some wisdom beyond theirs, but there was a man there with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, ‘Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!’
“But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be quiet, and come out of him!’ When the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him. Everyone questioned among themselves, ‘What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.’
“Mark, I believe the people there ran out and told everyone they knew, because immediately Jesus’ fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.
“As soon as we left the synagogue, Andrew and I invited him to our home, where my wife’s mother lay sick with a fever. With James and John also bearing witness, Jesus took her by the hand and sat her up, and immediately the fever left her. Soon she was helping serve us.
“That evening, when the sun had set and Sabbath was over, people began showing up with all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed. It seemed the whole city was gathered at our door. Jesus healed many and cast out demons, but this time He did not allow the demons to speak.
“The next morning I rose long before daylight, but Jesus was nowhere to be found. I roused the others and we went searching for Him. We found Him in a solitary place praying. I said, ‘Teacher, everyone is looking for You.’
“He said, ‘Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.’
“He preached in synagogues throughout all Galilee, casting out demons. And a leper came and knelt before Him, saying, ‘If You are willing, You can make me clean.’
“I could tell the Lord was moved. He reached out and touched the man and said, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.’ And as soon as He had spoken, the leprosy left the man. Jesus said, ‘See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.’”
“Peter, why did Jesus not want anyone to know?”
“I believe He knew it would create a sensation and that He would be mobbed, thus curtailing what He hoped to accomplish. Which was exactly what happened. The man began to proclaim it freely, and Jesus could no longer openly enter the city. He retreated to deserted places, but still people came to Him from every direction.
“Finally we sneaked him back to my home in Capernaum, but it wasn’t long before word got out and so many gathered that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom to them. While He was preaching, someone tore open the roof above Him and lowered a cot bearing a paralyzed man, because it was so crowded they could not otherwise get in. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic man, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven you.’
“Now, Mark, I recognized certain of the scribes who had come to hear Him, and I was alarmed when He suddenly turned His attention to them. He said, ‘Why do you sit there reasoning in your hearts and wondering why I speak blasphemies like this? You’re asking who can forgive sins but God alone. But I ask you, which is easier, to say to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven you,” or to say, “Arise, take up your bed and walk”? So that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins’—He turned to the paralytic—‘I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.’
“Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, ‘We never saw anything like this!’
“Then He went out again b
y the sea, and the multitudes came to Him, and He taught them. When He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, ‘Follow Me.’ And he arose and followed Him. Levi, as you know, is the disciple we call Matthew.
“Now as we were dining in Matthew’s house, the scribes and Pharisees saw Jesus and asked us, ‘How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?’
“Jesus said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
“Astonishing,” Mark said. “Now tell me—”
“Mark, I am happy to tell you of Jesus, but you need to know that my highest goal is to prepare you for ministry.”
“Is not my work with your ministry?”
“It is, but you should be out spreading the gospel, and not just with me on the occasional journey.”
“Learning the history of the Master when He was with us is wonderful training.”
“Perhaps, as it informs your own work of spreading the gospel. But I would be remiss if I did not make clear that you are not here merely to listen to my stories.”
“I have told you, sir, that it is my intention to help you write them one day.”
“I am still not convinced of the need for that, but all in good time. Let us not interrupt the work of God by dwelling on mere memories.”
“To you they may be mere memories, Peter. To me, they are life.”
FIFTEEN
Changes in the leadership of both the Romans and Jews meant the disciples had little way of knowing from one regime to the next whether they were to be tolerated or in danger of imprisonment or worse. Mark realized that it fell to Peter to decide how overt the believers could be in ministering. The local rulers had little problem with the ones they mockingly called Christians, as long as they were helping the poor. It was when they preached and taught of the resurrection and deity of Jesus and led new people to come to faith that they aroused the suspicion and ire of the leadership.