Mark's Story: The Gospel According to Peter Read online

  Mark marveled. “I would have been entirely lost, Peter. In fact, I still am. What did you make of all that?”

  “Well, we had been raised to believe that the greatest among us were rulers and leaders. He was now saying that the truly greatest was a servant. And to be sure, He was the greatest example of that I have ever known. I have come to believe that the greatest in the kingdom is the one willing to serve humbly.”

  “And what was He saying, using the child as an example?”

  “I believe He was speaking of people new to the faith. They are young and defenseless and easily swayed, so woe to anyone who leads them astray.”

  Mark fell silent and stared into the distance.

  “You’re troubled,” Peter said.

  Mark nodded. “And you know why.”

  “Of course. For the same reason I was when first Jesus spoke of cutting off body parts rather than sinning. You and I are believers in the Christ, and yet as our colleague Paul preaches, we continue to fight the old man of sin. We are sinners. You don’t want to have to cut off parts of you that seem to cause you to sin.”

  Mark cocked his head. “Obviously. So what was Jesus implying?”

  “I think He used such a gruesome comparison to show how futile it is for us to try to do anything about our sin. No matter what we do, even mutilate ourselves, we cannot rid ourselves of it. We repent of our sins and accept His forgiveness and His payment for us on the cross. Of course at that time I didn’t know or understand either.”

  That made Mark feel a little better. “Part of me wishes I had been a disciple, but another part of me knows I would have been the least among you.”

  “You were but in your teen years then, Mark. Imagine your mother allowing you to traipse around Judea and Galilee with us.”

  They shared a laugh.

  “Did Jesus get some peace and rest at your house?”

  “Some, but soon He arose from there and came to the region of Judea by the other side of the Jordan. And multitudes gathered to Him again, and as He was accustomed, He taught them again. Of course, when He was around and the crowds were following and—worse, to the leaders—listening, the Pharisees were never far.

  “They came and asked Him, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?’”

  “They were testing Him,” Mark said.

  “Of course. And He answered, ‘What did Moses command you?’

  “They said, ‘Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her.’

  “Jesus said, ‘Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation, God “made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” So then they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.’

  “Later, in private, we asked Him to elaborate. He said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.’”

  “What did the Pharisees say to that?”

  Peter smiled. “They seldom said anything. They had a lot of questions, all intended to trip Him up. But once He spoke, they had little to say.

  “Later the crowds brought little children to Him, that He might touch them. To my shame, some of the other disciples and I rebuked those who brought them. Jesus was greatly displeased. He said, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.’ He took them in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.

  “One day as He was going out on the road, a man came running, knelt before Him, and said, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?’

  “Jesus said, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not bear false witness,” “Do not covet,” “Honor your father and your mother.” ’

  “The man said, ‘Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.’

  “Jesus looked lovingly at him, and said, ‘One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.’

  “The man’s countenance fell and he left sorrowful. It was obvious from his dress that he had great possessions and was unwilling to sacrifice any.

  “Jesus said to us, ‘How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!’ We were astonished at His words, but again He said, ‘Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.’

  “We were greatly puzzled, saying among ourselves, ‘Who then can be saved?’

  “Jesus said, ‘With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.’

  “Mark, I felt I needed to remind Him. I said, ‘See, we have left all and followed You.’

  “Jesus said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.’”

  “His message on humility and servanthood again.”

  “We would hear it over and over. But what troubled us most at that time was that He began warning us of ominous events. We were on the road to Jerusalem, and we were both amazed and afraid. He took us twelve aside again and began to tell us things that would happen to Him: ‘Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.’”

  “He was that clear that early about His resurrection? How could you have all missed that, or forgotten it?”

  “You see, Mark, it strikes me now that it was as if we were deaf. We hoped He was speaking in riddles again, because we could not comprehend, nor did we wish to, that He Himself might die. Yet everything He said came true exactly as He had told us.

  “It wasn’t long after that that when it became clear I was not the only impudent one among us. James and John, the brothers He called the Sons of Thunder, came to Him, saying, ‘Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.’

  “He appeared amused. He said, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’

  “They said, ‘Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.’”

  “This after all His teaching on servanthood and humility?”

  Peter nodded. “Jesus said, ‘You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?’

  “They said, ‘We are able.’

  “Jesus said, ‘You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared.’

  “I don’t mind telling you, Mark, the rest of us were greatly displeased with James and John. But Jesus called us to Himself and said, ‘You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.
’

  “Mark, that was the essence of what He taught and what He was all about. We did not know then that He would actually give His life a ransom for us.”

  “And not just you,” Mark said, “but also the children of Israel. And most confounding and wonderful, to the Gentiles as well.”

  Peter nodded, but he had a faraway look that troubled Mark. Surely his mentor would never waver on that, as he was the first God called to violate the ancient traditions and break bread with Gentiles, eventually leading them to salvation.

  TWO YEARS LATER

  {TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS SINCE THE CRUCIFIXION}

  TWENTY

  Mark and Barnabas had enjoyed a long season encouraging the Gentile believers in Barnabas’s homeland. They built up the existing church and established more, teaching and training presbyters to lead new congregations. Meanwhile, Mark gladly received any news from Jerusalem and Antioch, especially from his beloved mentor. Lately, however, missives from Peter had become scarce and their tone subdued.

  As the time drew near for Mark and Barnabas to return to the church at Antioch, Mark grew anxious over what they might encounter there. “The old controversy seems to be brewing again,” he told Barnabas. “I thought the entirety of church leadership, from John and James in Jerusalem and Peter in Antioch to Paul as he travels abroad, were in agreement on this issue.”

  “Surely,” Barnabas said, “they’re not squabbling over the Gentile question yet again. The Jerusalem Council should have settled that. What is Peter saying?”

  “Not much, actually. Only that he is feeling estranged from the Gentiles, that he has somehow offended them.”

  “I cannot imagine. He himself is the one who was told by the Spirit to expand the gospel to the Gentiles, and the majority of our church in Antioch is made up of them.”

  Mark showed Barnabas the latest letter from Peter, in which he conceded that attendance, on the part of both Jewish and Gentile believers, was declining. “‘The Jews have begun forming their own separate fellowship,’” he read aloud, “‘and the Gentiles feel I have sided with them. Perhaps I have.’”

  Barnabas looked up. “‘Perhaps I have?’ What could he be saying? Surely he has not succumbed to pressure from the Judaizers. He has long been a strong proponent of the Jewish and Gentile equality in Christ.”

  Mark cocked his head, recalling the conversation he and Peter had had years before.

  “No?” Barnabas said.

  Mark told him of Peter’s comment that while he fully recognized that no Jewish law or tradition—like circumcision—was necessary for anyone to be saved, he also wondered if he was right to offend Jewish believers by dining with Gentiles.

  “Him, of all people,” Mark said.

  “And yet he has always been a deep thinker, Mark. Some would question whether those who believe that anything must be added to salvation by faith through grace alone are even true believers. I, for one, am convinced that true believers can honestly disagree on such matters.”

  “But they are wrong, Barnabas!”

  “Perhaps. I know where I stand, but dare I tell another where he should stand?”

  “I know someone who would.”

  Barnabas laughed. “Yes, Paul would not countenance anything that appeared to add a jot or tittle to the gospel. You know he is also on his way back to Antioch.”

  “Verily?”

  Barnabas nodded. “He is scheduled to arrive about a month after we do. By then I hope we’ll have this settled.”

  “Again.”

  “Yes, it may never really be settled. But we must somehow aid our brother Peter in reuniting the brethren.”

  Mark began counting the days before their departure to Antioch. He was troubled that old quarrels were clearly troubling Peter. And most of all he longed for time with his mentor not clouded by such matters. How could he get the man to continue reminiscing about Jesus’ ministry if he was distracted? It had been a long time since Mark had heard a firsthand account of Jesus’ teachings, and he had been lugging around bits of notes from Peter’s previous stories the whole time. Someday he would have to get the old man to take the time to tell him everything he could remember.

  WHEN FINALLY MARK and Barnabas sailed from Salamis to Antioch in Syria, they were welcomed by a small party from the church who seemed less enthusiastic than normal. In the past Mark had always looked forward to arriving at new locations or ones he had not visited for a while, because the brothers and sisters were so solicitous and warm in their welcomes. Now he and Barnabas returned the embraces and kisses of the brethren, but it was plain in all their eyes that something was on their minds. It wasn’t long before the man driving their horse-drawn wagon said he wished both Barnabas and Paul were back in charge of the church.

  The man leaned over and said to Mark, “Not to slight you, sir, but as you are aware, we know these men from their years of service.”

  Mark smiled. “No offense taken. And you know me as the one who deserted Paul.”

  “That is long in the past and you were a youngster. For all we know, you were in the right. All reports of you since then have been favorable.”

  “You might wish to share that with Paul when he arrives next month.”

  “I will! But you should know, some of those good reports come from him.”

  “But I have not been with him for years.”

  “They are secondhand accounts, then, but only recently a message was delivered from him wherein he expressed his eagerness to return to old friends, and you were listed among them.”

  Mark whispered to Barnabas, “What do you make of that?”

  Barnabas shrugged. “Perhaps even a man like Paul matures with age. I wonder,” he added, turning back to the driver, “was I listed as well?”

  The man laughed. “You were listed first, sir.”

  “Then perhaps he has forgiven us both.”

  SAD TO SAY, Mark found Peter looking even older than he should have after two years. The strain of leadership had clearly marked his face, particularly around his eyes. And his gray hair was nearly white now. He could not mask his sadness, even as he tried to smile broadly at his reunion with Mark and Barnabas. And he seemed reserved and quiet, particularly around Mark’s cousin. It was as if he wanted to speak with Mark alone, but Barnabas was not getting the hint. He said, “So tell Mark and me what the problem is here.”

  Peter sat heavily and sighed. “I don’t understand it myself,” he said. “The whole ordeal has gotten away from me.”

  “What ordeal and how so?” Barnabas said.

  “Some men came from Jerusalem and inserted themselves into the congregation and the work here. I watched them carefully, and they soon proved themselves diligent and devout, though they seemed standoffish toward the Gentile believers. When finally I confronted them about this, they admitted they were disciples of Jesus’ brother James and had been sent to help but also to evaluate our work. It turns out, gentlemen, that they are Judaizers. They know better than to continue harping on the need for Gentile believers to be circumcised or to follow the whole of the law. I preach regularly on the truth that Jesus fulfilled the law and that salvation is by grace alone. But they chastised me for abandoning my heritage and my Jewish friends by rubbing in their noses the fact that I dined with Gentiles at nearly every meal.”

  “Those men cannot really be disciples of James!” Mark said. “The only prohibitions that survived the Jerusalem Council were his, and if he had required more, he would have said so. There is certainly no restriction against the brethren, Jew and Gentile, eating together. No one knows that better than you.”

  Peter looked away and shook his head. “And yet I do not want to offend.”

  “That doesn’t sound like you,” Mark said. “I know you’ve expressed it before in my hearing, but where is the man who said he would die for the Lord? Where is the man who stood up to the Pharisees and the Romans and told them he would obey the Lord rather than men, regardless of the consequences?”

&n
bsp; “But I am not opposing Rome or religious Jews here. I have been put in a place where I must walk a line between devout brothers. I began dining with only the Gentiles once a day, and with the Jews at the other meal. Others began following my lead—”

  “As men always have, Peter,” Barnabas said. “That is why you must be so careful in what you say and what you do. I don’t envy you.”

  “Eventually I began declining invitations to meals from the Gentiles, and the Jews appreciated this and expressed that my offense had abated. I have been unable to hide my reluctance to dine with the Gentiles, and I know that now they are offended.”

  Mark was frankly disappointed, almost as deeply as when he was a teenager and saw Peter deny the Lord. He jerked to attention when Barnabas said, “Well, they shouldn’t be offended. They are being petty. We’re merely talking about meals here. Who cares who eats with whom? Your motive is pure, sir, and I support you.”

  “You do?” Mark said, peering at Barnabas to see whether he was being genuine or using sarcasm to make the opposite point.

  It was clear that Peter believed Barnabas and was encouraged. “Thank you for that, friend.”

  Mark held up his hands. “Have we not all benefited from seeing copies of some letters from Paul to various churches? I daresay his treatises on the equality of believers stems in large part from your own testimony, Peter, of how the Spirit revealed this truth to you at Cornelius’s house.”

  “I do not dispute the equality of believers, Mark,” Peter said. “I simply want to keep the peace.”

  “At the expense of truth?” Mark said. “I have learned much from you, master, and I hesitate to disagree or presume to counsel you, but—”

  “And well you shouldn’t,” Barnabas said. He leaned toward Peter and spoke earnestly. “I admire your example in this, Peter. People look to you for leadership, and if you believe you should refrain from breaking bread with Gentiles, you must be allowed to follow your conscience. If you believe that my also refraining would be the most proper thing for someone in my station, I would accede to your request.”