Person
John Mark
Also called Marcus
Mentioned in 10 verses across 5 books, first in Acts 12:12. The verses below are the ones linked to this person (the Theographic dataset, with our sourced corrections).
In the Bible
All 10 verses, in Bible order. Text from the Berean Standard Bible; verse numbers follow the KJV.
Acts
- Acts 12:12
And when he had realized this, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered together and were praying.
- Acts 12:25
When Barnabas and Saul had fulfilled their mission to Jerusalem, they returned, bringing with them John, also called Mark.
- Acts 13:5
When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. And John was with them as their helper.
- Acts 13:13
After setting sail from Paphos, Paul and his companions came to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem.
- Acts 15:37
Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark.
- Acts 15:39
Their disagreement was so sharp that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus,
Colossians
- Colossians 4:10
My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you greetings, as does Mark the cousin of Barnabas. You have already received instructions about him: If he comes to you, welcome him.
2 Timothy
- 2 Timothy 4:11
Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is useful to me in the ministry.
Philemon
- Philemon 1:24
as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.
1 Peter
- 1 Peter 5:13
The church in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, as does my son Mark.
Events
Events the dataset lists John Mark as taking part in. Dates follow its Ussher–Jones reckoning (one of several traditional counts), not established history.
- no dateFirst missionary journey begins
- c. AD 45First Missionary Journey
- no dateBarnabas and Saul go to Cyprus
- no dateMission to Antioch in Pisidia
- c. AD 46Second Missionary Journey
- c. AD 47Paul and Barnabas part ways
Dictionary
From Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), as attached to this record by Theographic. The entry is for the name and can describe more than one person who bore it. Easton wrote in 1897, and some of his views are now debated.
Read Easton’s entry
The evangelist; “John whose surname was Mark” (Acts 12:12, 25). Mark (Marcus, Col. 4:10, etc.) was his Roman name, which gradually came to supersede his Jewish name John. He is called John in Acts 13:5, 13, and Mark in 15:39, 2 Tim. 4:11, etc.
He was the son of Mary, a woman apparently of some means and influence, and was probably born in Jerusalem, where his mother resided (Acts 12:12). Of his father we know nothing. He was cousin of Barnabas (Col. 4:10). It was in his mother’s house that Peter found “many gathered together praying” when he was released from prison; and it is probable that it was here that he was converted by Peter, who calls him his “son” (1 Pet. 5:13). It is probable that the “young man” spoken of in Mark 14:51, 52 was Mark himself. He is first mentioned in Acts 12:25. He went with Paul and Barnabas on their first journey (about A.D. 47) as their “minister,” but from some cause turned back when they reached Perga in Pamphylia (Acts 12:25; 13:13). Three years afterwards a “sharp contention” arose between Paul and Barnabas (15:36-40), because Paul would not take Mark with him. He, however, was evidently at length reconciled to the apostle, for he was with him in his first imprisonment at Rome (Col. 4:10; Philemon 1:24). At a later period he was with Peter in Babylon (1 Pet. 5:13), then, and for some centuries afterwards, one of the chief seats of Jewish learning; and he was with Timothy in Ephesus when Paul wrote him during his second imprisonment (2 Tim. 4:11). He then disappears from view.