Seminar 6 - New Testament Word Studies

Introduction

Let us now take a closer look at the authors of the Gospels. The casual reader of the New Testament often assumes that he knows what in fact he has very little knowledge of. Who among us has really studied each of the gospel writers to know the historical significance of their lives, a fact known by all the church during their lifetimes? The study of the history of the church is often neglected in discipleship and church ministries. When is the last time your church offered a Sunday School class on the History of the Church? History, or the story behind the headlines is often as significant as the story itself. Once we know the context in which the authors wrote the gospels it sheds new light on our interpretation of the events they recorded. So, let's learn a little about each of these gospel writers.

Who was Mark?

John Mark was no average Christian who happened to be Peter's translator. We have every evidence to lead us to believe that Mark who wrote the gospel was the John Mark of the New Testament.

ASSIGNMENT: Do a search of "Mark" in the New Testament to find how often he had been referred to there. Read each passage to become familiar with the comments surrounding his life. It will not be necessary to share this with the class.

John Mark is first mentioned in Acts 12:12 on the event of Peter's release from prison by an angel. He hurried to the house of "Mary the mother of John," whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered praying. John Mark was then a young man living in Jerusalem in a large home that often housed the church and its prayer meetings. Peter refers to John Mark as "John Mark my son." Mark had become the spiritual son to Peter and perhaps it was Peter who led Mark to personal faith in Jesus Christ. Other internal and external evidence indicate that John Mark's home may well have been the center of activities for the apostles during the early years after Christ's ascension. It has long been suspected and traditionally held that Mary's house was the place of the upper room where the last supper was held, and where Jesus reappeared to his disciples after the resurrection, and it was the large upper room where the Holy Spirit descended on the 120 on the day of Pentecost. A recent discovery of the actual foundation of the house of Mary, mother of Mark, has been made in the basement of the church of St. Mark in Jerusalem. An ancient inscription affirms that this was indeed the place of the upper room where the church was gathered at Pentecost. (p258 Jeffrey)

Further biblical evidence reveals much more about John Mark. Mark's gospel records a unique event in the garden of Gethsemene with the appearance of an unidentified young man wrapped only in a linen cloth about his naked body. It is just a glance from an obvious eyewitness account but is suspiciously like the self revelations in the writing of John. There is no proof but it is very likely that this is John Mark having left his home where the last supper had been held to follow the soldiers to the garden to arrest Jesus.

John Mark was chosen to accompany Paul and Barnabas to Antioch on their first missionary journey, and why not? He was a nephew to Barnabas! (Col. 4:10 reveals that Barnabas' sister was Mary mother of John Mark) It was on this journey that John Mark "chickened out" and returned home rather than follow on to Turkey with Barnabas and Paul. (Acts 13:13) We are not given full details on why John Mark left their company but we do know that his departure left Paul unimpressed with the young man and so prejudiced against him that on the next journey when uncle Barnabas wanted to take him along Paul adamantly refused causing a strong dissension between the two that led to the break up of this missionary team. (Acts 15:36-39)

Fortunately the story does not end there. Eleven years later Paul, writing from Rome, compliments John Mark as one of the few Jewish believers who stood by him. He describes him in Colossians 4:10-11 as a fellow worker whom he recommended to the church at Colosse as one who brought him comfort in prison.

Our last few biblical glimpses of Mark are in Peter's epistle from Rome in which he sends greetings from John Mark. Also Paul mentioned him once more (2 Tim. 4:11) and again with a complimentary note, "Get John Mark and bring him with you, for he is profitable to me for the ministry." What a turn around for a young man who once was disdained by the apostle.

We know that John Mark traveled with Peter to Babylon from whence Peter sends his and Mark's greetings to the church. Some think that Peter is writing from Rome and figuratively calling it Babylon. There is no reason to disbelieve Peter when he says, "The church that is at Babylon...salutes you." A good principle of interpreting scripture is this, "When the first sense makes good sense, seek no other sense." There was a town on the Euphrates called Babylon, as well as a military post of Egyptian Babylon, and a Mesopotamian Babylon.

Mark's Later Life

John Mark may have been a witness to the death of Peter and Paul in Rome during Nero's persecution. (2 Timothy 4:11) Historical tradition passed down by the church reveals that they received a vision that should take the gospel to Rome, and Alexandria, Egypt respectively. Alexandria was the eastern counterpart to Rome, having also a large settlement of Jews and being the place where the Hebrew Old Testament was translated into Greek, known as the Septuagint.

Mark traveled extensively as did his missionary contemporaries Barnabas and Paul. That he made his way to Alexandria after a missionary journey through Turkey and Babylon is without question. Here is his story as heralded through reliable oral and very early written traditions.

Mark entered Alexandria about the year AD 60. As he entered by the eastern gate his sandal strap broke. So he sought out a cobbler to fix it. When the cobbler took the awl to work on it the awl slipped, severely wounding his hand. At this the cobbler cried out the name of God. Mark used the man's utterance as a bridge to tell him of the true and living God and His Son Jesus Christ. The cobbler's name was Anianus. Mark prayed and the wounded hand was immediately healed. (This cobbler became the first convert of Alexandria and later became Mark's successor.) The man took Mark to his home where he and his family were baptized and the gospel began to spread rapidly . News that Mark was allegedly preaching the destruction of idols also spread rapidly resulting in pressure for Mark to leave because of threats on his life. Before leaving Alexandria Mark ordained Anianus as bishop with three priests and seven deacons to watch over the church. From there he sailed to Rome to be with Paul and Peter in their imprisonment where he stayed until their martyrdom around AD 64. For several years he traveled, visiting and confirming other churches before returning to Alexandria. He was overjoyed on his return to find the church had multiplied greatly and they had been able to erect a large building in Baucalis by the sea. In the year AD 68 Easter fell on the same day as the pagan Serapis festival. An angry mob descended on the church while they celebrated Easter at Baucalis. Mark was caught and dragged through the streets with a rope around his neck. That night he was imprisoned only to receive the same torture the next day until he died. His body was secretly interred in a carved rock under the altar of the church. (McBirnie p 257)

According to the New Testament witnesses Matthew was a brother of James the Less. Both were sons of Alphaeus. (Mark 2:14) Luke and Mark respectfully refer to him by his other surname, Matthew the Levi rather than by the pejorative term which Matthew applies to himself, Matthew the publican. The true humility of Matthew is evidenced in subtle ways as in the listing of the disciples. Mark lists Matthew before Thomas while Matthew puts his name after Thomas.

Matthew was a tax collector for the Romans, which in the eyes of the Jews was an act of treason. Tax collectors were puppets of a foreign invader who cruelly treated and defrauded their own countrymen. As a tax collector he would have been well educated and able to speak and write in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin.

Matthew tells the story of his own life-changing encounter with Jesus identifying himself with publicans and sinners. He includes the remarks of the Lord the that "the whole need not a physician but they that are sick..." (Mt 9:9-13, Luke 5:27-31, Mark 2:13-17)

Matthew seemingly disappears, as do most of the other disciples, after the day of Pentecost, yet he became a missionary to the Hebrews for at least 15 years also going to Ethiopia, northern Greece, Syria and Persia as well.

The Talmud declares that Matthew was condemned to death by the Sanhedrin possibly in Alexandria, Egypt either by sword, spear or beheading. The legends and tradition of Matthew's life recount his appearance before kings and other high governmental officials. It is alleged that when Matthew went to Ethiopia he was entertained by the Ethiopian eunuch who Phillip led to Christ. (Acts 8 ) While there he performed miracles, one of which was the healing of the king of Egypt's daughter of leprosy, as well as raising his son to life. (p 180 McBirnie)

It is likely that many of these stories may be true (but certainly not all) since he was of all the disciples the most highly educated. It is fairly certain that he made it to Persia where he may have followed up on the story of the Magi. A copy of Matthew's gospel has been found as far east as India indicating that he may have sojourned there or at least the gospel was carried there, perhaps by Thomas, the missionary to India.

Luke was mentioned three times in the Pauline epistles each reference complimentary. (Colossians 4:4, 2 Timothy 4:11, Philemon 2:4) He is probably not the Lucius (Latin for Luke) referred to in Acts 13:1. Luke was probably born in Antioch in Syria of a Macedonian family. He was a gentile of Greek education and upbringing. His name, Luke, is the contracted from Lucanus (Greek), and Lucius (Latin). Luke was a common name of a slave. Physicians were often slaves educated at the expense of their masters and later released as freemen. (Faussett p 440) Some think he had been a Jewish proselyte, but this is probably not so since Paul says he was "not of the circumcision." (Col 4:14) Some have speculated that since he is the only gospel writer to refer to the seventy sent out by Jesus he was one of the seventy, but then he would not have excluded himself as an eyewitness. Others believe him to be one of the Greeks that Phillip brought to Jesus, and still others think that he was one of those on the road to Emmaus. It was believed by early Christian writers that he came to Christ out of heathenism. (Jeffrey p 267) Some believe him to be the brother of Titus for which there is some biblical hints. (2 Cor. 8:18, 12:18) (Tenney, p.999)

Luke first appears is Acts 26:10 on a missionary journey with Paul at Troas. He traveled with the apostle Paul and was considered his "fellowservant." He obviously would have been Paul's personal physician attending to his "oft infirmities." He was with Paul in prison just before Paul's execution.

It is surmised that Luke wrote the gospel during his stay in Palestine while Paul was in prison in Caesarea probably in the late 50's or early 60's. Luke would have had close contact with his first hand resources and eyewitnesses which this period would have given him. As a historian recent scholars are discovering that his dates and secular historical references to people and places (while disputed as incorrect for years) are extremely accurate. Recent archeological findings confirm a number of disputed references by Luke.

John was one of three brothers who were first chosen and called by Jesus, John and James the sons of Zebedee. Jesus later referred to them as the "sons of thunder," when they wanted to call down fire from heaven to consume those who opposed the gospel. (Mark 3:17) John was a first cousin of Jesus. His mother was Salome, a sister of Jesus' mother, Mary. (Mark 16:1 and Matthew 27:56) This explains the command of Jesus to John from the cross to take care of his mother, "Son, behold your mother." Indeed John records that he did take her to his home from then on. History records that John remained in Jerusalem to care for Mary until her death. (Whether she died in Jerusalem or moved with John to Ephesus just before the destruction of Jerusalem is up to speculation. Both places claim her tomb.) (p110 McBirnie)

John was a fisherman from Galilee near Capernaum on the sea of Galilee. He was a disciple of John the Baptist before following Jesus and was close fishing associates of Peter and Andrew. He was among the first disciples, one of the twelve, and one of three of the inner circle of Jesus. He was known as the disciple whom Jesus loved and was probably the youngest of the disciples. John is the only disciple who apparently witnessed the crucifixion. He was the first disciple at the tomb having outrun Peter.

John wrote the gospel, three epistles or letters to churches, and the book of Revelation. John's brother, James, was the first disciple to die (Acts 12) and John was the last having allegedly lived 68 years after the resurrection and died peacefully during the reign of Trajan.(p117 McBirnie)

Many legends surround the later life of John; some are reliable, some are not. Shortly before the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. John moved to Ephesus to pastor the church that the apostle Paul founded there. It is probable that Mary traveled there with him since a House of St. Mary is found there. If she did arrive with John she probably died shortly thereafter. It is possible that her remains may have been taken back to Jerusalem where her alleged tomb is.

While at Ephesus, during the emperor Domitian's persecution of Christians in the 14th year after Nero, John was exiled to a penal colony on the island of Patmos off the coast of Turkey, where he received the Revelation and recorded the same. Tertullian related a story of John being tortured and being lowered into a boiling pot of oil and coming out unharmed. The legend is improbable since no other historians record it and boiling in oil was not a torture practice by Romans. Roman Catholic tradition tells of an attempt to poison John but as he took the cup the poison slithered out in the form of a serpent. The Roman Catholic symbol of the apostle is a cup with a snake crawling out of it.

Eusebius tells of a humorous episode in which John, upon entering a public bath, discovered the heretic Cerinthus inside. He leaped out of the bath and fled for the door exclaiming, "Let us flee lest the bath fall in, as long as Cerinthus, that enemy of the truth is within" (p 116 McBirnie)

Finally, a tradition handed down by Jerome states that John had become so old while living in Ephesus that he had to be carried to church in the arms of other disciples. He was so feeble of mind and body that all he could repeat was, "Little children, love one another." The disciples wearied of hearing this mantra week after week so they ventured to ask him, "Master, why do you always say this?" He replied, "Because it is the Lord's command." (p 117-118 McBirnie)

As evangelical Christians we tend to ignore the histories of the Roman Catholic Church as though all traditions, oral or written, were fictitious. In fact, many of the traditions are fables and unreliable, but on the other side many of them are very reliable historical records. As students of the Word we need to be discerning students of history. It would do much good for every bible student to read and study the history of the early church, at least through the fourth century to gain a grasp of our legitimate roots.

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ASSIGNED READING
There are many non-canonical books circulated in what we will call pseudo-gospels. Read one or more of them and report back your impressions of these "gospels." How are they different than canonical gospels? (Bookmark this page as we will ask you to return here.)

The Pseudo-Gospels

Sources and Recommended Reading:

We highly recommend that you do further reading into the life and death of each of the apostles. McBirnie's work is only one of many.

William Steuart McBirnie, The Search for the Twelve Apostles, Living Books/Tyndale, 1973
Hurst, John, F. D.D., The History of the Christian Church, Eaton & Mains, New York, 1897
Kenneth Scott LaTourett, A History of Christianity, Vol. 1, Harper and Row, New York, 1953
Andrew. R. Fausset, Bible Encyclopedia and Dictionary, Zondervan Publishing, Grand Rapids,
Merrill C. Tenney, editor, The Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, Vols. 1-4 Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1975