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Mark – The Evangelist
Mark is the first of the four evangelists to write an orderly account in which he describes the great experience of Jesus Christ. Mark is a disciple of Peter and his collaborator.
The ancient tradition refers to him as ‘hermeneutés Petru,’ meaning ‘interpreter ortranslator of Peter.’ Although we don’t know much about him, his name appears in the Acts of the Apostles: John. Mark is a middle name, and he came from an aristocratic and priestly family in Jerusalem. The two names, one of Jewish origin and the other from Roman tradition, reflect the dual context in which the identities of a noble family intersected within the Jewish world.
On the one hand, they honored their ancestors’ traditions; on the other hand, they soughtto embrace the new world, the emerging culture, and the prevailing political climate in Rome. John, known as Mark, found himself experiencing Jesus’ journey in a unique context. Although he likely did not know Jesus personally during His earthly life, he was fortunate to meet the disciples of the first Christian community at his home. What we now call the ‘Cenacle’ was probably his residence.
Most likely, Mark’s parents welcomed Jesus to the Last Supper, a Passover meal held just before his arrest. The Gospel of Mark includes a detail that the other evangelists overlook. While this small detail may seem insignificant, it is particularly intriguing. We find it in chapter 14, verses 51 and 52. During the Gethsemane scene, as Jesus is arrested, the text states: “A young man, covered only by a linen cloth, followed Jesus. When they seized him, he left the cloth in their hands and fled away naked.” Who is this young man? Why do the other evangelists ignore this detail? What significance might it hold in the overall narrative of the Passion according to Mark?
We do not have a definitive answer to these questions, but we can propose a hypothesis. It is plausible that this young man is Mark himself, which could explain how the text’s author signed his work. Artists often use this method to sign significant pieces, and the same is true for painters and film directors. In this context, Mark may have intended to emphasize, ‘even though from afar I was also there.’
What could have happened that night? A young man named Mark observed a group of men arriving at his home for Easter dinner from a distance. He noticed they left late at night and, clearly intrigued, decided to follow them. Because he had already changed for bed, he had only a linen cloth, which was common among the wealthy; in ancient times, the poor typically slept dressed.
Wearing only a linen cloth over his shoulders, this young man follows a group of men descending the still-visible stairway on the Hill of Zion in Jerusalem toward the Kidron Valley. He then follows Jesus and his disciples to the opposite side, where the olive garden known as Gethsemane is located, with the oil mill situated there.
As Jesus walks away to pray, the young man watches him. We can envision the scene in an olive grove, illuminated by the full moon on Easter night. A deep silence prevails until the soldiers arrive and arrest Jesus. An intense uproar follows; the young man hides behind a tree and feels a hand on his shoulder. A soldier attempts to grab him, but the young man is quick,leaving the linen cloth in the soldier’s hand. He flees naked, returns home, and likely saysnothing, except that many years later he will recount this detail to discuss his involvement in the story of Jesus.
After the tragedy of his Master’s death, the disciples are welcomed as guests in that house and remain there until Pentecost. At Easter, Jesus appears to the disciples in the Upper Room. Fifty days later, they are still there, and the Holy Spirit surprises the house’s guests, who had practically made it their headquarters, the main base of the first Christian community.
Mark witnessed the birth of the Church in his home. As a result, he personally knew Peter and the others and was present at the beginning of their preaching. While his parents may have initially felt sympathy for the Master, that emotion gradually transformed into faith and complete devotion to Mark. Coming from a noble, aristocratic, and priestly family, Mark likely continued his education. His teenage studies can be viewed as a pursuit of theology or canon law, as we might say today. In the temple school attended by noble priests, Mark carries within his mind and heart the experience of the first Christian preaching.
Mark has the chance to immerse himself in the culture and connect with Israel’straditions, but his heart is now elsewhere. His mind is captivated by the apostles’ preaching,and he dedicates himself to the Christian faith. He joins his cousin Barnabas on their first apostolic mission alongside Paul. Consequently, he departs from Jerusalem to embark on hismissionary journey.
There is a moment of difficulty during that first trip; at one point, Mark decides to stop and returns to Jerusalem. On his second missionary journey, Paul no longer wants Mark to accompany him. Instead, Barnabas takes Mark with him, and they set out on a new mission. If, in the year 30, the year of Easter, which marks the death and resurrection of Jesus, Mark is a young boy around ten to fifteen years old, by the time the mission begins in the 40s, he is a man in his twenties. In the following years, Mark undoubtedly dedicates himself to this apostolic mission: the proclamation of the Gospel.
We cannot follow him because we have no information in the Acts of the Apostles or from other sources, except that ancient documents from the Fathers indicate that his literary work took place in Rome while Peter was still present. Peter died a martyr in 64 A.D. Therefore, we can hypothesize that Mark’s literary work took place in the empire’s capital, Rome, during the early sixties.
Mark highlights key figures in Rome, including Peter, Paul, Barnabas, Luke, Titus, Timothy, and other notable individuals. The Christian community in Rome is thriving andgrowing; newcomers are welcomed into the fold, but these sympathizers must undergotraining to become catechumens, which includes enrolling in catechism to learn about Jesus and follow his teachings. They must also prepare for baptism. It is likely that the Gospel ofMark was developed as a foundational text for the catechumens of Rome.
A recently proposed hypothesis by Belgian scholar Benedictine Benoit Standaert suggests that the book of Mark could serve as a Christian Easter Haggadah. He titled his recent book with an ambiguous and somewhat unusual phrase: “Mark: Gospel of One Night, Gospel for Life.” I admit that when I first saw the announcement for this publication, I didn’t understand the title; I needed to read the book to fully grasp and appreciate the hypothesis itpresents.
Easter is considered the one night. In Hebrew tradition, the Jewish Passover dinner is accompanied by a story known as the ‘Haggadah,’ which simply means ‘story.’ This story recounts the Israelites’ departure from Egypt, enriched with many details and comments passed down through tradition.
The Christian community that maintained its connection to the Jewish traditioncontinued to celebrate Passover, a night feast that evolved into the Eucharist. However, onthis occasion, they couldn’t simply read the Exodus narrative; they needed to recount the new exodus—specifically, what had happened to Jesus Christ—which was pivotal to the emergingChristian faith.
There was a need for a Christian ‘Haggadah’ centered on the paschal account of Jesus Christ. We can call it ‘One Night’s Gospel’ because it was likely designed as a comprehensive reading for that Easter dinner. In modern terms, we might refer to this as ‘the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday.’
The entire reading of this story (the Gospel according to Mark) takes about an hour and a half. This is the key moment when the catechumens hear the narrative of Jesus. At the end, they give their consent and, through the profession of faith, commit themselves to Jesus. They celebrate Easter by entering the waters of baptism and emerging as new creations. The Gospel of one night is entrusted to the catechumens to become a ‘Gospel for Life.’ This single-night liturgical reading becomes a tool for shaping a life of faith.
Mark would have considered a formative catechetical text for Christian aspirants that serves a liturgical purpose, yet its role is fundamentally that of a formative catechetical instrument. This introductory text is meant for life, and revisiting it helps us assimilate thementality of Jesus Christ.
On that occasion in Rome in the 60s, the various authorities present must have assignedMark the task of writing this text. Perhaps he was chosen because he was exceptionally gifted in this literary work. However, it does not seem that Mark composed this text from scratch. It is more accurate to say that he reworked it; in fact, we should refer to this process as ‘redaction.’
There must have been other texts. At least two collections of Jesus’ teachings and deeds likely circulated in different Greek versions of a Semitic original, written in Jerusalem in the early years, possibly by Matthew, the former tax collector who could read and write. That original Gospel of the Twelve, composed in a Semitic language, was taken to the missions, reaching Antioch and Greece; it was translated into Greek, revised numerous times, and expanded with many additions.
Many authorized missionaries worked on the initial drafts in Rome in the early 1960s. The idea of compiling this material likely originated there, leading to the creation of a unified text that encapsulated apostolic preaching about Jesus. Mark served as a skilled editor who compiled this content, infusing it with personal nuance through minor yet significant and lively editorial adjustments that gave each page a distinct character.
It is often said that the Gospel of Mark is the first, closest to the facts, most historical, and most essential. We should not start with the mistaken belief that Mark wrote a factual chronicle. Mark intervenes in the text by introducing enhancements; he adds contemplations and showcases world-class symbolic artistry.
We return to the detail of the young man who flees naked, leaving the linen cloth in the soldier’s hands. I’ve mentioned before that it could be an autobiographical image, but that doesn’t detract from the detail’s immense symbolic value. Picture that full-moon night among the olive trees, a soldier holding a linen cloth, and a young man running naked through the valley. It is a foreshadowing of the Resurrection. On Easter morning, they will find only one linen cloth in the empty tomb. The soldiers on guard held just one linen cloth, yet the body of Christ fled naked. This serves as a biblical-theological image; it refers to a passage from the prophet Amos that reveals the nakedness of baptism: the catechumens undress, descend into the water, reemerge renewed, and are clothed in a white robe.
The autobiographical detail can also take on theological and symbolic value. All of thiscan be attributed to the splendid and concise Gospel of Mark, which is designated as the liturgical text for Easter night and as a catechetical document for life.