Steven Cuffle lives with his wife, Karen, and their seven children in Columbus, TX, where he works with the church of Christ at West Oaks. He can be contacted at Steven@Cuffle.com, 409-543-2589, or P.O. Box 1306, Columbus, TX 78934.

Synopsis: Mark demonstrates the powerful impact one person's faith can have regardless of how important history perceives him to be. By examining Mark's life, we can see the importance of our own faith and the great opportunities we have to grow spiritually and help the body of Christ glorify God.

Mark is only mentioned by name in the Bible eight times. Called either Mark or John, we might consider him to be a relatively minor player in the grand scheme of the Biblical narrative. However, God doesn't pass judgment based on the amount of face time you get in the Scriptures; God judges a person's heart and is concerned with his faithfulness and devotion rather than his fame and notoriety. Despite historically being referred to as a minor Bible character, Mark traveled the ancient world preaching the gospel, "invented" the gospel genre, and played critical roles in the ministry of both Peter and Paul.¹ In fact, Mark is the epitome of just how important someone can be to the body of Christ, regardless of how history views him.

Mark is a great example of how God uses people in the condition in which they were called (1 Cor. 7:20-24). Mark was in an uncommon position in the first century as a Hebrew who was also a Roman citizen. While there is no verse specifically stating Mark's citizenship, in all likelihood it was purchased at some time in his youth. His family's wealth is indicated by their spacious home where the church gathered for prayer when the apostle Peter was arrested. Additionally, they also had at least one household servant named Rhoda (Acts 12:12-13). Couple these things with both a Hebrew and Roman name given when Mark first appears in the Acts narrative, and it's almost a closed case.

Both Mark's wealth and dual citizenship likely are the reasons for his being chosen to accompany Barnabas and Paul in Acts 13, gave him unique opportunities in the first century to help spread the good news about Jesus. All of the first converts to Jesus were Jews, and it was a long time coming before Gentiles were welcomed into the kingdom. Even after their official entrance, much of the conflict in the first century is over exactly how the Gentiles and Jews fit together. By being, in a sense, both a Gentile and a Jew, Mark and Paul were perfect to take the gospel to the God-fearing Gentiles. Mark's affluence may also have made it possible for him to leave home for extended periods of time, and perhaps he even financed part of the journey himself. Throughout the rest of the New Testament, Mark will be involved in sharing the gospel to both Jew and Gentile, helping both Peter and Paul spread the faith to all people in all places, so that as many as possible might come to believe in Jesus as the Christ.

We may not all be in situations similar to Mark, but we all have a particular set of circumstances unique to us when we are called. The power of God's word works on everyone everywhere, regardless of circumstance, and God is more than able to use our situations to bring glory to Himself and to bring the lost to Jesus. If you are a student when you are called, study hard to the glory of God and mention Jesus to people in your study groups. If a professional, work as to the Lord and, through your diligence, bring glory to the Creator. Parents, strive to bring your children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Retirees, help those who struggle through daily life with your wisdom, insight, and availability. Like Mark, our circumstances exist for the purpose of expanding the kingdom of Christ, so let us use them diligently for this purpose.

Mark's life also exemplifies the power of apprenticeship in the lives of young people. From the time that Mark was a youth, he was around Jesus and His disciples (Mark 14:15-52). He was with them when times were good and when things were difficult. He learned how to be a disciple by spending time with the disciples. He learned to teach the gospel by listening to Jesus and the apostles teach. The same method of apprenticeship used by Jesus and the apostles in the first century to instill faith and dedication still works today.

The importance of apprenticeship cannot be overstated. Young men and women today are constantly hounded by negative examples. Satan relentlessly attacks, using movies, television, school systems, government agencies, and a whole host of other weapons against the hearts and minds of young people. With so many negative influences, how can they hope to overcome? What road is there to victory against such onslaught? Older men and women must step into the breech and offer their wisdom and insight (Titus 2:2-8). Young people need examples to follow, lights amid the darkness to show them what it means to follow Christ, to love God with all of the heart, soul, mind and strength (1 Cor. 4:16; 11:1). Having never seen Jesus in person, they need to see the effects of Jesus on the person. The examples Mark was blessed with taught him to be a man of diligence and integrity, to the point where Paul saw him as someone indispensable to his ministry (2 Tim. 4:11).

If we want the youth of today to grow into men and women who are powerful in the Scriptures, who are sound in the faith, and who are diligent in their service, then we must give them the things they need to stay pure. How can a young person keep his way pure? David's answer still rings true today: "By guarding it according to [God's] word." This is the theory (and it's a great theory), but people need practical ways to fulfill the teaching. By taking youth aside, showing interest in their lives, and giving them the spiritual insight and wisdom gained from years of fighting the good fight in the trenches, we can help equip and assist young people in resisting the devil and standing firm in the faith. There are few things as encouraging to young people as the faithful words of a believer who has "been there."

Finally, Mark's life is a good example of how to overcome disagreements with fellow saints. Unfortunately, there may come a time when well-intentioned children of God disagree on the best way to obey God's commands. In Acts 13, when Paul and Barnabas are sent out by the Holy Spirit, they have Mark with them to assist in teaching. When they got to Perga, for some reason, Mark felt compelled to return to Jerusalem. His leaving would later cause a division between Paul and Barnabas when an agreement couldn't be reached on Mark's continued role in their journeys.

There are many different theories as to why Mark might have left before the journey was over, and, in the midst of all this speculation, we might learn something about ourselves: whether we are prone to evil suspicions (1 Tim. 6:4). We aren't told why Mark left, but historically many have assumed poor or even wicked motives on his part. Why? What evidence is there of wrongdoing or indignity? We ought always to give our brothers and sisters the benefit of the doubt; that's what love does (1 Cor. 13:7). We ought to look for good reasons why Mark decided to return home instead of assuming something negative. Perhaps there was some struggle in Jerusalem and he felt the need to help. Maybe Peter requested his return. Whatever the reason, Mark is never called out as having done something wrong, so we shouldn't assume that is the case.

In our personal relationships with brothers and sisters today, we must take the same course of action. Unless there is evidence that some sin or wrongdoing has occurred, then we need to take everything in the best light possible. What fellowship and peace are forfeited when we assume the worst! Countless divisions, severed fellowships, and broken friendships might have been avoided if we could all learn this lesson from Mark's life.

Instead of being crushed by Paul's rejection when this argument arose, and it seems to have been a fairly significant row, Mark set out to continue his work elsewhere with the help of Barnabas. Mark learned to place his trust in the Lord rather than a fellow worker, even someone as prominent and prodigious as the apostle Paul. There will be times when Christians honestly and sincerely disagree on the best way to go about the work of the Lord. We ought not to pretend those disagreements don't exist but learn to deal with them in a spiritual and Biblical manner.

We must take this attitude of Mark to heart in our working for the Lord today. Sinful divisiveness should not be tolerated, and fellowship and unity should always take precedence over pride, but in those times when cooperation isn't possible, it may be necessary for us to continue working apart from others, or in different roles, for a season. There may be times when elders need to step down, preachers need to move on, teachers need to become students, or a variety of other circumstances. When these are the case, we should not and cannot let personal pride or ambition overtake our knowledge that we are but servants for the Lord. Wherever there are good works to fulfill zealously, and whatever our role is in fulfilling them, may that be the place the Lord finds us, diligently working toward His glorification and the salvation of sinners.

To refer to Mark as a minor Bible character is much like referring to one of the prophets as minor; there really is no such thing. Mark's belief in Jesus Christ as the resurrected Son of God gave him strength and persistence to grow into a faithful man who will continue to impact the lives of believers throughout time. When it comes to our life in and fellowship with the body of the Lord, as Mark perfectly illustrates, no one is minor and every one's faith is important.

¹ Bonnie Thurston, Preaching Mark (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002), v.