Why Did John Mark Returned To Jerusalem?

What seems good to man that leads to failure many not have been in God’s timing or was the Lord’s way of training up a worker for future ministry. It can be easy to judge failure as not being in the Lord’s will when so often failure is the great teacher the Lord is using to shape us into the workers he can use most effectively. Acts chapter 13 states “the Holy Ghost said, separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them” and later in the chapter it states, “John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.” John Mark was not specifically called out by the Holy Spirit for the missionary journey, but he went with Barnabas and Saul to be of support. Along the way his resolve to serve failed and he returned home to Jerusalem. There is only speculation on why John Mark returned to Jerusalem. One such opinion is “Some think Mark was homesick. His mother may have been a widow (Acts 12:12); perhaps Mark became lonesome for her and home”. John Mark was young and the work on this first Christian missionary journey quite challenging. Paul saw the failure as very significant which the Scriptures record in Acts chapter 15 states verses 37 and 38 which states “And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from …show more content…
As was stated earlier, Peter was part of the home life of John Mark, as it was the first place he went when released from prison. Peter speaks of John Mark in 1 Peter chapter 5:13 calling him his “son Mark”. Thomas Schreiner in his commentary on 1 Peter states “The early tradition that Mark wrote under Peter’s influence is also historically credible (see Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 2.15.1–2; 3.39.15; 6.25.5). Calling Mark his “son” is not literal but designates the fatherly love Peter had for the younger