A common Latin name. In the Acts a certain John Mark lived in
his mother's house in Jerusalem (Acts 12: 12) and was the
companion of Paul and Barnabas on their mission of aid for
Jerusalem (Acts 12: 25). However, Mark deserted them during a
later journey (Acts 13: 5, 13), and when Barnabas suggested him
as a companion once more, Paul angrily severed the partnership
with Barnabas, leaving the latter to go off to his native Cyprus
with Mark (Acts 15: 39). It is possible that a deeper reason for
the separation was Paul's determination that Gentile converts
should not be subject to the Jewish law—a quarrel between Paul
and Barnabas which had blown up at Antioch (Gal. 2: 13).  A Mark
(a ‘cousin of Barnabas’) is mentioned in Col. 4: 10; and in 2
Tim. 4: 11, Mark is praised as a useful assistant to the writer.
He is referred to affectionately in 1 Pet. 5: 13. It is possible
that these, and the Mark who sends greetings to Philemon (24),
all refer to the same man, and that therefore a reconciliation
took place between