Paul, Peter, Mark and Rome

Happy Easter! This past weekend was great! I was able to spend time with my family over the Easter Weekend. I hope you thought of our Lord Jesus Christ and His Resurrection. He gave His life that we might live. His resurrection was part of the God's plan, that through it, we may also be resurrected. I've been trying to finish up the New Testament. Here is what I've seen:

In the last two chapters of Acts, Paul travels to Rome. After some ship wrecks, snake bites, and other road blocks, Paul finally arrived. He “dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him” (Acts 28:30-31). We learn Paul taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Rome for two years before he died. Some Christian traditions believe Paul had a second career. They believe Paul was released from prison, and he traveled to Spain to teach the word of Jesus Christ. After this second career of teaching, Paul was again arrested, taken to Rome, and then executed.

However, while Paul was in Rome, he wrote some letters to Timothy. In the second letter Paul wrote, “Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry” (2 Tim 4:11). From this verse we learn that Luke was in Rome, and Timothy and Mark were soon going to be there also. Mark came to Rome and was Paul’s scribe until he died. But what did Mark do after?

In 1 Peter 5:13 we read, “The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you
saluteth you and so doth Marcus my son.” It seems from this verse that Peter, writing to saints in Cappadocia, Asia, Galatia, Pontus, and Bithynia, was in Rome with Mark. Mark had become Peter’s scribe. From these verses, we see that Rome became the gathering place of the Apostles. Paul, Mark, and Peter at some point, all come to Rome. While there, Mark wrote letters for Paul and then the gospel for Peter.

So why is this important? Why does it matter that Paul, Peter, and Mark were in Rome? (Besides the fact that Rome is awesome and I would like to go there some day.) I believe it is important to notice how the early church leadership was moving from Jerusalem to Rome. They were no longer isolated in Judea or Jerusalem. The Apostles had traveled throughout the Mediterranean, and were now in the center of the Roman world. This not only affected the Apostles, but it also affected the Church. Peter probably struggled to communicate with the Eastern Church. The numbers of Christians in Rome were probably growing. The Apostles moving to Rome effected thousands of years of history.