Mark's Gospel is the second book of the New Testament and is
often called the Gospel of Mark or the book of Mark. Mark was a
Jew from Jerusalem. His full name was John Mark. His mother's
name was Mary and her house served as a meeting place for the
first Christians (Acts 12:12). Mark was a cousin to Barnabas
(Col 4:10) who he accompanied with Barnabas and Paul on their
first missionary journey (Acts 13:5). Mark later went to Cypress
with Barnabas, and later joined Paul again. Through 1 Peter 5:13
it is suggested Mark and Peter were in Rome. Rome was referred
to as "Babylon" by the early Christians. Peter calls Mark "my
son", which shows the kind of relationship between Peter and
Mark, and further suggests that the Gospel of Mark had its
origin in Rome. If the account of Papias (bishop of Hierapolis,
AD 140) and other early traditions are accepted, then the Gospel
of Mark is based on Peter's words, and written shortly after
Peter's death in about AD 64-65. Mark's book is fast-paced,
starting with the beginning