Mark
Was born
of Jewish parents of the tribe of Levi. He is supposed to have been converted to
Christianity by Peter, whom he served as an amanuensis, and under whose
inspection he wrote his Gospel in the Greek language.
Mark of the Pauline Epistles is specified as a cousin of Barnabas (Colossians
4:10); this would explain Barnabas' special attachment to the Mark of Acts over
whom he disputed with Paul (Acts 15:37-40). Mark's mother, Maria, was a
prominent member of the earliest group of Christians in Jerusalem. It was to
her house that Peter returned on his release from prison; the house was a
meeting-place for the brethren, "many" of whom were praying there on the night
of Peter's release. (Acts 12:12-17). Evidence for Mark's authorship of the
Gospel that bears his name originates with Papias.
Coptic Church tradition additionally states that Mark is the one who hosted the
disciples in his house after the death of Jesus, into whose house the
resurrected Jesus Christ came (John 20), and into whose house the Holy Spirit
descended on the disciples at Pentecost. Mark is also believed
to be one of the servants at the Marriage at Cana who poured out the water that
Jesus turned to wine (John 2:1-11), and was one of the Seventy Apostles sent out
by Christ (Luke 10:1).
According to the Coptic church, Mark was born in the Pentapolis of North
Africa. This tradition adds that he returned to Pentapolis later in life after
being sent by Paul to Colosse (Colossians 4:10) and serving with him in
Rome (Phil 24; 2 Tim 4:11) ; from Pentapolis he made his way to Alexandria. Peter wrote his first epistle from Babylon (north of Old Cairo),
when visiting Mark (1 Peter 5:13). When Mark returned to Alexandria, the pagans
of the city resented his efforts to turn the Alexandrians away from the worship
of their traditional Hellenistic gods. In AD 68 they placed a
rope around his neck and dragged him through the streets until he was dead.