The apostle John refers to three levels of spiritual development in the body of Christ: children, young men, and fathers (I John 2:12-14). In this blog, we will briefly look at the role spiritual fathers play in the spiritual development of their sons (the use of male pronouns throughout does not imply that only men can serve as spiritual fathers). Perhaps this is best seen when it’s fleshed out in the life of a man who was saved by a spiritual father.

In the Gospel of Mark, we read the story of a young man who was in the Garden the night Jesus was arrested: “And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked” (Mark 14:51-52).

Most Bible teachers and commentators believe that this was none other than John Mark, the author of the second Gospel. What was he doing in the Garden with nothing but a linen cloth around his body? It is likely that Mark’s house was near the Garden of Gethsemane, and he was awakened when the mob came to arrest Jesus. Perhaps he didn’t have time to dress and ran into the Garden, where they seized him. But he left the linen cloth he was wearing and ran away naked. Significantly, our first view of John Mark in Scripture is that of him running away.

It would seem that John Mark’s house in Jerusalem was a central gathering place for the believers there. When an angel released Peter from imprisonment, he went “to the house of Mary, the mother of John, whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying (Acts 12:12).

Barnabas and Saul were sent to Jerusalem to bring the offering they had collected from the brothers at Antioch. When they returned to Antioch they brought with them John, whose other name was Mark (12:25). Later, when God sent Barnabas and Saul out on the first mission to the Gentiles, John Mark accompanied them (13:5). But at a point where traveling was known to be very dangerous, John Mark abandoned the apostolic team and returned to Jerusalem (13:13.) Barnabas and Saul went on to the mission and when they had completed it, returned to Antioch.

After the Jerusalem Council, Paul suggested that he and Barnabas return to where they had planted churches and check on the brethren (15:36). Barnabas agreed and wanted to bring John Mark along. But Paul did not think it wise to take with them one who had previously withdrawn from the work. There was a sharp disagreement among them; so sharp in fact that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord” (15:39-40).

We are not told much regarding John Mark after this. But a statement at the end of the Colossian letter implies that Paul’s view of him may have been shifting: “and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him)” (Colossians 4:10).

We are not told what instructions the Colossians had received regarding John Mark, but it is not difficult to imagine. Paul most likely continued to have reservations regarding this man who had run away from the work. Nevertheless, Paul did not totally reject him, for he told the church at Colossae to welcome him if he came.

It is a statement Paul made in his second letter to Timothy that leads us to ask: what had changed in Paul’s view of John Mark? “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry” (II Timothy 4:11).

How was this man whom Paul formerly rejected in ministry now come to be very useful to him in ministry? We might find a clue, not in Paul’s writings but in a brief statement the apostle Peter made in the closing remarks of his first letter: “She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son” (I Peter 5:13).

Early church tradition tells us that,

“John Mark was a close companion, protege, and,
in a spiritual sense, a “son” to the Apostle Peter.
Early church tradition identifies Mark as Peter’s
interpreter, recording the apostle’s eyewitness
accounts of Jesus’ life to form the Gospel of Mark.
Peter likely knew Mark from his childhood in Jerusalem.”

Tradition holds that Mark was with Peter in Rome, acting as his scribe and interpreter. What Peter did for Mark is at the heart of spiritual fathers—he restored a young man who had failed publicly and given up. He poured his life into him, offered accountability, and modeled faithfulness under pressure. John Mark needed a father, and Peter became that for him. It was this spiritual adoption that likely accounts for the remarkable change in Mark—the man who once ran from the work now became indispensable to it. In the truest sense, Mark was saved by a spiritual father.

There is a great need today for the emergence of spiritual fathers who pour their lives into their sons. A spiritual father is a mature mentor or leader who provides spiritual guidance, nurturing, and protection to help another person grow in their faith and relationship with God. They act as a “spiritual parent” by offering wisdom, prayer, and correction. The story of John Mark is ultimately a story of hope: no failure is final when there is someone willing to believe in you, walk with you, and call out the God-given potential in you.

The question worth sitting with is this: Do you have a spiritual father? And perhaps more urgently, are you being one to someone else? The church grows not only through preaching and teaching, but through the patient, personal investment of one life into another. Somewhere out there is a John Mark who just needs a Peter. Is God calling you?