THE GOD OF SECOND CHANCES

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on January 18, 2023 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: January 18, 2023 from Acts 13:13

Theme: John Mark’s departure from the mission field teaches a lesson about the God of second chances.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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The world in which we live—in spite of all its flowered talk about ‘tolerance’ and ‘acceptance’—really has very little patience with ‘failures’. Gratefully, however, Jesus loves and accepts them. He welcomes back all those who fail Him. And He even sees fit to use them in such a way as to show His sovereignty over their failures—and His ability to use those failures for the good of His cause.

Peter is a great example of this. He will forever be known as the disciple who denied the Lord three times. And yet, even before his sad denial, Jesus promised that Peter would return … and that Jesus would use him in His kingdom’s work. Just think of how many ‘failures’ have been lifted up, and encouraged, and restored to a place of usefulness by the story of Peter.

Well; today, in our study of Acts, we come to another such story. It’s the story of a disciple named John Mark. He had been taken along with Paul and Barnabas on history’s first great foreign missionary endeavor. Mark had a great opportunity—and seemed to be a young man of great promise in the Lord’s work. But in Acts 13:13—in the midst of the great missionary work that God had called them to—we read this:

Now when Paul and his party set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia; and John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13).

John Mark quit. As Luke put it in Acts 15:37, Mark had departed and did not go on with the others in the work. And this made Paul feel that he could no longer trust him with the responsibilities of ministry.

But if we take the time to look at the whole story of this man John Mark—as it’s presented to us in the New Testament—we find that, in a sense, Mark has served the church in a way that may even be greater than if he had never quit in the first place. It’s through the story of his departure from the mission field that we’re taught a great lesson about the God of second chances.

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First, let’s consider what we know about …

1. MARK’S EARLY YEARS.

Now; the name John is a Hebrew name; and the name Mark is a Roman name. John Mark may have lived—to some degree—in the worlds of both the Jewish people and the Gentile people. And it may surprise you to know where it is that many Bible scholars believe this young man is first mentioned in the New Testament. It’s in Mark 14:51-52; at the time when the Lord Jesus had been arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. We’re told that all of His disciples fled and forsook him. And then we’re told about this very strange event;

Now a certain young man followed Him, having a linen cloth thrown around his naked body. And the young men laid hold of him, and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked (Mark 14:51-52).

Who was this young man? We’re not told. And even though we’re told in the English translation that He “followed” Jesus, the original language has it that he merely “followed with” Jesus—as if he was around and near Him, but not yet as a devoted follower. The fact that it is a story that is only told in Mark’s Gospel has caused some to speculate that the author was telling a story about himself—much in the way that the apostle John, in the Gospel of John, refrained from mentioning his own name whenever he appeared in the story.

Mary, Mark’s mother (who is mentioned later in the Book of Acts), may have owned the home with the upper room in which Jesus had His final supper with His apostles before going to the garden. And if that’s the case, then Mark may have gotten to know about Jesus through His presence in the home.

Later on in the story of the Book of Acts—after Jesus had risen and ascended; and after the Holy Spirit had been given and the apostles began to preach—it may have been that the home of Mark’s mother became a very important meeting place for the believers in the city of Jerusalem. During a time when persecution had arisen against the faith, the apostle Peter had been arrested by King Herod Agrippa. An angel came to Peter’s cell in the night and released him from what would have been certain death. Peter came to himself afterward and realized what had happened. And we’re told in Acts 12:12;

So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying (Acts 12:12).

Mark’s mother—who may have been widowed—had a home large enough to host gatherings of believers. If the story in Mark 14 is about him, it’s interesting that he had clothed himself with a linen cloth—a rather nice piece of fabric. So; Mark may have come from a prosperous upbringing.

When it came to the gospel of Jesus Christ, Mark apparently had a great advantage. He may have seen the Lord Jesus up close—even in his own home. And he most certainly got to witness the devotion of the early disciples of the Lord—even as they suffered for His name.

And so; this leads us to consider the story of …

2. MARK’S MINISTRY.

The church had spread out from Jerusalem, and on to Judea and Samaria. The new center of the Christian faith had shifted from Jerusalem to the Syrian city of Antioch. Back in Acts 11, Paul and Barnabas had been sent by the Antiochian church to take a gift of support for the care of the Jewish Christians who had been suffering persecution and trouble in Jerusalem. And it may be that, at that time, Paul had become acquainted with Mark. After all, as Colossians 4:10 tells us, Mark was Barnabas’ cousin. Mark’s mother was Barnabas’ aunt. We’re told in Acts 12:25;

And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry, and they also took with them John whose surname was Mark (Acts 12:25).

He had clearly caught the attention of these two ministers of the church; and they looked upon him as someone who had the potential for service.

And so; this brings us to Acts 13. The church had prayed; and the Holy Spirit had set Paul and Barnabas apart for the mission field to the Gentile world. And so, in that chapter, we begin to see the story of the work of missions. After the church leaders had sent Paul and Barnabas in submission to the Holy Spirit, they went on their way to the island of Cyprus. And it’s then that we’re told—in Acts 13:5;

And when they arrived in Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John as their assistant (Acts 13:5).

What was the nature of his ministry to them? We’re not told. But doubtlessly, they gave him lots of opportunities to serve and grow. And we can also be sure that they tutored him and discipled him in a personal walk with the Lord by faith. What a great opportunity young John Mark had! No seminary student could have had it better!

But that leads us to what we sadly have to call …

3. MARK’S FAILURE.

Almost right out of the gate in their ministry in Cyprus, the trio of missionaries found themselves in an intense spiritual battle. The sorcerer Elymas had withstood the work of Paul and Barnabas and sought to persuade the ruling governor of the island away from a faith in Jesus. Paul saw this as a work of the devil; and he severely rebuked the sorcerer. And God struck the sorcerer blind for a period of time.

It must have been a terrifying experience for young Mark. Even though he had seen a certain measure of persecution against the faith, it may be that he hadn’t realized the depth to which the forces of hell were at work behind it all. And if he indeed had been that young man who fled away at the time of Jesus’ arrest, it may be that this proved to be a serious character flaw in him that had not yet been taken away. Acts 13:13 tells us;

Now when Paul and his party set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia; and John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13).

There have been various speculations as to why this happened. Some Bible teachers believe that he left because he didn’t like that Paul was beginning to take a more prominent role in the ministry than his relative Barnabas. But this is unlikely; since it clearly didn’t bother Barnabas. Others have suggested that Mark was a devoted Jew; and that he was upset by the fact that the gospel was going to the Gentiles. But this also is unlikely; since the whole mission that he was on was all about bringing the gospel to the Gentiles. It seems most likely, then, that the intensity of the spiritual battle had been more than he was willing to face. And so, rather than go on, he went home to Jerusalem. (Personally, I can’t blame him too much. The battle that we wage for the cause of the gospel often does prove to be far more intense than we initially expected.)

Later on, this caused a sad division in the ministry partnership that Paul and Barnabas had enjoyed. We’re told in Acts 15:36-39;

Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.” Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark. But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work. Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus (Acts 15:36-39) …

… while Paul carried on his ministry with a new partner—Silas.

Who was right in this? It’s hard to say. Barnabas clearly was a merciful man to his young cousin; and he took him along to give him another chance. But then, Paul had a point too. The work was too serious to be entrusted to someone who couldn’t be relied upon to stay with it. In any case, poor Mark had a very bad record on his resume. He failed.

Now; we really don’t read much of what happened during the next twelve years or so of John Mark’s life. But the Bible does go on to tell us more about him. And it’s clear that several dramatic changes had occurred. This is where we discover a remarkable lesson from …

4. MARK’S LATER YEARS.

In Paul’s letter to the Colossian believers—as he sat in a prison cell for his work in preaching the gospel, he wrote these words:

Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, with Mark the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him) (Colossians 4:10).

Something had happened. It may have been that the long work of Barnabas on behalf of his cousin led Mark to become more deeply devoted to the ministry of Christ. There may have still been a reputation that he had to overcome. After all, Paul had to tell the Colossian believers to welcome him if he came to them; perhaps because they still held his past against him. Nevertheless, we see him now deeply involved in ministry—ministry, in fact, to Paul himself! Paul wrote a similar word about him in the close of his tiny New Testament letter to Philemon; saying,

Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers (Philemon 23-24).

Here, we find Mark being designated—right along with Luke—as a ‘fellow laborer’ in the gospel. And it wasn’t Paul alone that said this. At the end of his first letter, the apostle Peter—who had himself also, at one time, terribly failed the Lord—wrote these words:

She who is in Babylon, elect together with you, greets you; and so does Mark my son (1 Peter 5:13).

It was through Paul’s second ministry partner Silas (whom Peter called Silvanus) that Peter wrote this letter. And yet, John Mark was there with Peter. Peter referred to him as “his son”; which may have meant that, long ago, Peter was the one who first led him to the Lord. And now; in spite of the previous failure, Mark is ministering to and among the lead apostles of the faith.

To show how greatly Mark was restored, it might be good to consider what the apostle Paul said about him near the close of his last letter—just before he laid down his life for the Lord Jesus. As Paul sat in a prison cell—perhaps awaiting execution—he wrote to Timothy and said;

Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry (2 Timothy 4:11).

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What a testimony of God’s gracious ‘second chance’ we see in all of this to His fallible servant John Mark. And of course, how can we fail to notice that this same young man who had once left the ministry in an unreliable way was then, later, used by the Holy Spirit to write the very first of the four Gospels ever to be written!

The Bible commentator and scholar, D. Edmond Hiebert, wrote this about Mark and his Gospel:

The gospel of Mark gives us a beautiful picture of Jesus Christ as the perfect Servant. It was the manifest grace of God that chose Mark, the servant who had failed, to record the story of the Son of God in unwearied and unbroken service to man. As an older and wiser man, Mark could more fully appreciate that example of perfect service. He had discovered his own weakness and had found the answer to his own need in the strength and greatness of Christ. The drawing of his pen picture of the incarnate Son of God as the perfect Servant was the greatest service that Mark rendered to the Christian church (D. Edmond Hiebert, Personalities Around Paul [Chicago: Moody Press, 1973], pp. 86-87).

Those few words that we find in Acts 13:13, about John Mark’s departure from the missionary work, are very important for us to notice. His failure ends up teaching us a glorious lesson about the God of second chances.

May it be that we, who all too often fail our Lord, be encouraged by Mark’s example, to rise up and return to Him for His perpetual ‘second-chance’ grace!

AE