John Mark Rises Up Stronger

Have you ever felt like a failure after letting someone down? It's unfortunately not uncommon for anyone struggling with addiction or other hurts, harmful beliefs, or bad habits. And it can also cause other people to regard you as being unreliable and untrustworthy. 

This week in the online Freedom Ascent addiction recovery meeting that I lead, we studied a Bible story that relates to the eighth of our ten Strength Builders, "Rising Up Stronger." In it we learned about a person from the Bible who probably felt like a loser at one point: John Mark (also simply known as Mark). He isn't mentioned much in Scripture, and the first references to him from the book of Acts paint a less than admirable picture of him. He served as an assistant to his older cousin Barnabas and the Apostle Paul on their first missionary journey in Acts 13. 

But abruptly part way through their travels, John Mark suddenly abandoned his companions and returned to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13).Meanwhile, Paul and Barnabas continued on their journey.

Why did John Mark leave his older cousin Barnabas and the Apostle Paul partway through their travels? We'll probably never know, but a few years later when Paul and Barnabas decided to retrace their steps to visit the churches they had planted, a division arose between the two men about whether to take John Mark with them again. In fact, "their disagreement was so sharp that they separated. Barnabas took John Mark with him and sailed for Cyprus. Paul chose Silas, and as he left, the believers entrusted him to the Lord’s gracious care" (Acts 15:38-40).

But then something interesting happens during the intervening years after this feud. About fifteen years later, Paul wrote a letter to the church at Colosse. As he closes his letter, he mentions that "Aristarchus, who is in prison with me, sends you his greetings, and so does Mark, Barnabas’s cousin. As you were instructed before, make Mark welcome if he comes your way" (4:10). Then a few years after that, in his second letter to his protégé, Timothy, Paul writes, "Only Luke is with me. Bring Mark with you when you come, for he will be helpful to me in my ministry" (4:11).

What had happened? Obviously, a deep healing of Paul's relationship with John Mark had occurred. This healing had given John Mark new opportunities to serve the Apostle Paul, which enabled Paul's ministry and writings to became part of the New Testament canon we have today.

Not only that, but John Mark also became famous in his own right: he is the author of the first written Gospel, which bears his name. What a work of God in this man's life, and a great example of Freedom Ascent's eighth Strength Builder, "Rising Up Stronger: If we relapse, we keep moving forward and grow stronger through forgiveness and the lessons we learn." May this story help us all remember that "all things are possible" through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ" (Mark 10:27).