Foxe: Voices of the MartyrsSample

Mark (AD 64)

As a young man at the time of Jesus’s resurrection, Mark had a long life ahead of him. Some of his learning trajectory was recorded by Luke in Acts. Mark’s cousin Barnabas and his mother, Mary, were recognizable figures in the early church. Barnabas is the one who first brought Mark and Paul together shortly before the first missionary journey out of the Antioch church. 

Apparently the rigors, pressures, and suffering on the road affected Mark early in the trip. By the time they reached Pamphylia in southern Turkey, he left Paul and Barnabas and returned to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13).

Mark’s departure became an issue between Paul and Barnabas that led to their split as a partnership (Acts 15:36-40). Barnabas insisted that Mark deserved another chance. In the outcome, Barnabas proved to be a better judge of Mark’s character than Paul, who later acknowledged that fact by expressing his appreciation of Mark’s capabilities (Colossians 4:10; 2 Timothy 4:11; Philemon 23-24). After a stint with Barnabas, Mark spent time traveling with Peter (1 Peter 5:13). These various apprentice trips took him from Jerusalem to Antioch to Babylon to Rome. 

A capable evangelist in his own right, Mark had a longstanding connection with the city of Alexandria in Egypt and was instrumental in founding and nurturing the church there. As was often the case, the good news about Jesus was bad news for the existing pagan religious structures in communities. As a result, within days of his arrival in Alexandria, Mark was a “marked man.” Though years passed before action was taken, a mob eventually exercised its demonic energy against him. Mark was tied with ropes (hooks may have also been used) and dragged through the cobblestone streets of Alexandria until his body was ripped, wounded, and badly injured. After a night in prison, he received the same treatment until he died. Though the crowd intended to burn Mark’s body, there is a persistent account that a storm delayed the process and allowed other Christians a chance to retrieve and bury his remains.