Day 0: Introduction to the Gospel of Mark

By Sindhu Nadarajan · September 1, 2026

Who was Mark?

• By tradition, he was born in Cyrene, Libya.

• Peter calls him "my son" (1 Pet 5:13).

• He was Barnabas' cousin (Col 4:10).

• He was Paul's helper, also called John Mark (Acts 13:5).

• Paul and Mark disagreed and parted ways (Acts 15:36–39), but were later reconciled (Col 4:10; 2 Tim 4:11).

• In Philemon 24, Paul names Mark among his fellow workers.

• An ancient list attributed to St. Hippolytus names Mark as one of the seventy disciples.

Tradition holds that the Cenacle, the Upper Room, was in the large house of Mark's mother, Mary, where the early believers gathered (Acts 12:12). What a blessing: his house saw the first Mass and Pentecost! He witnessed the two major events of the early Church.

He went to Alexandria as a missionary and became its bishop. He was martyred by being dragged through the streets.

Mark wrote with honesty

Peter's helper writes about Peter's fall and about the shortcomings of the sons of Zebedee. These men were leaders of the Church, and some of them were still living when he wrote. What honesty and humility!

Other features

Mark skips Jesus' early life entirely. Chapters 1–9 cover about two and a half years of ministry, chapter 10 the next six months, and chapters 11–16 the final week!

Mark uses the word "immediately" about 40 times. His intention is not to linger but to move fast and bring people to the core message: Jesus is the Son of God. Mark's purpose was to teach people about the divinity of Jesus.

Significance of this Gospel

Mark wrote for the Christians of Rome between AD 64 and 70. It was the first Gospel, written within about four decades of Jesus' death.

It was the time of Nero. Rumor held that Nero set fire to Rome to make room for his new palace, and he blamed the fire on the Christians. He killed Peter and Paul. Christians were thrown to the beasts in the arenas and burned as living torches in his gardens. It was to these Christians that Mark wrote. That is why Mark notes that Jesus "was among wild beasts." He wanted to encourage the persecuted Church to keep going, imitating their Master. In the end, he himself received the crown of martyrdom. May the love of this martyr stir the same love in us.