Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13).
We all fail. And sometimes we fail miserably.
But must our failures characterize the rest of our lives? Does it mean we are washed up and no longer able to be used of the Lord in His work? Certainly not!
I could point to many in Scripture who have failed, far often in greater ways than we have, yet by God’s grace were restored and went on to enjoy many years of faithful and productive service to the Lord.
John Mark is such a man.
The first clear mention of Mark in Scripture is only a passing reference in Acts 12:12. By the end of that chapter, however, we learn that Mark joined Barnabas and Saul as they returned to Antioch from Jerusalem after delivering a relief offering to them (Acts 12:25).
Chapter 13 sets the stage for the early church’s first missionary journey, and we learn that when Paul and Barnabas set sail for Cyprus, John Mark went along to serve with them (Acts 13:5).
But for some reason, shortly into their first missionary trip, Mark abandoned his brothers in ministry (Acts 13:13) and returned home to Jerusalem.
Luke, as he sets forth the record of the story, gives us no reason for Mark’s abandonment.
Some speculate the trip may have been too physically and mentally demanding for him. Others think that Mark left because Paul, rather than Barnabas, had become the leader at this point (Acts 13:13), and perhaps Mark saw Paul as lacking in caution and felt they would often be in harm’s way. Others have noted that he was possibly just homesick.
Whatever his reason may have been, the Holy Spirit certainly doesn’t paint his departure in a positive light. That seems abundantly clear from the word “departing” in vs 13.
The Greek word translated “departing” is only used three times in the N.T., here, and in two other places, and in neither case is it used in a positive way.
One instance concerns a father telling Jesus of his son’s demon possession, explaining the “… spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him” (Luke 9:39).
The other instance comes nearing the conclusion of The Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus said, “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:23).
So one is in reference to demon possession, and the other is in reference to Jesus telling those who had rejected Him and were eternally lost to depart from Him. This is the same word the Holy Spirit is using to describe what Mark has done.
Not only did the Holy Spirit seem to paint this in a negative way, but Paul saw it that way as well.
Later on, in Acts 15, when Paul and Barnabas were planning the second missionary journey, Barnabas wanted to take Mark with them, but Paul wouldn’t have it:
… Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work (Acts 15:38).
It caused such a division between these two friends, Paul and Barnabas had to go their separate ways.
And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus (Act 15:39).
Regardless of what excuse Mark may have offered, Paul saw it as an abandonment or desertion of his responsibilities.
Now I certainly don’t want to make excuses for Mark, because neither the Holy Spirit, nor Paul, nor Luke in recording it seems to.
But perhaps Mark simply bit off more than he could chew. Maybe he was young or immature or both.
Or maybe it was one of those cases where the whole plan sounded good to the mind, but when it came to implementation, when the rubber hit the road so to speak, there was a whole lot more to it than he could have imagined.
At any rate, he didn’t have the level of zeal and commitment that he thought he had, and his abandonment of his brothers in service is eternally recorded in God’s Word.
But praise God that wasn’t the end of Mark’s story. Mark’s failure didn’t characterize the rest of his life. After some time and growth, Mark proved himself to be a faithful minister for the Lord.
Despite Paul’s anger and disappointment with him early on, Paul would later describe Mark as “my fellowlabourer” (Philemon 1:24).
When Paul wrote to the Colossians while imprisoned, he listed Mark as one of only a few men whom he considered “… fellowworkers unto the kingdom of God, which have been a comfort unto me” (Colossians 4:11).
Knowing the Colossians were likely aware of Mark’s earlier abandonment, and may be bent on rejecting him if he came to them, Paul told them “… if he come unto you, receive him” (Colossians 4:10).
Then, in his final letter to Timothy, nearing the end of his life, Paul told Timothy to come to him, and instructed him to “… Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11).
Commenting on Mark’s restoration to ministry, Alexander MacLaren said, “Is not the lesson out of that, this eternal Gospel that even early failures, recognized and repented of, may make a man better fitted to the tasks from which once he fled?”
What an encouragement to know, as Dr. Adrian Rogers used to say, “Our failures are not final.”
We may not always start well, but by God’s grace, and with His help, we can be like Mark and finish well.
Praise God that He will forgive us, overcome our failures, and He will still use us if we will only be faithful and let Him.
I’ll leave you with this: MacLaren said,
“Think of the two ends of this man’s life – flying like a frightened hare from the very first suspicion of danger or of difficulty, sulking in his solitude, apart from all the joyful stir of consecration and of service; and at last made an evangelist to proclaim to the whole world the story of the Gospel of the Servant. God works with broken reeds, and through them breathes His sweetest music.”
