According to the early Christian writer Irenæus, Mark was "the disciple and interpreter of Peter," from whom he seems to have gained the greater part of the information which he so vividly sets forth in the earliest of our four Gospels; while, writing in the second century, Justin Martyr goes so far as to describe Mark's Gospel as "the memoirs of Peter." In view of the fact that Mark saw little, if anything, of Jesus' ministry, it was but natural that when he came to prepare a Gospel, he should thus turn for aid to his revered teacher, Peter.
Mark was a Jew, and bore the Jewish name of John (Acts 12:25), but the name by which we generally refer to him is essentially Roman in origin, and is found in its Latin form, "Marcus," in I Peter 5:13. Numerous indications suggest that Mark, the only evangelist bearing a Roman name, prepared his Gospel primarily for Christians whose background was Roman. Moreover, an early and persistent tradition credits Peter with having had some part in the establishment of Christianity at Rome; while the fact that he is said to have written his first epistle from "Babylon"—a term often used in those days as a synonym for Rome—would again seem to indicate Peter's interest in and connection with that city. This provides further justification of the plan of his young protege, Mark, to compose what has been called "a Gospel for the Romans."
Writing mainly for Gentile readers, and more especially for those Gentiles whose interests were predominantly Roman, Mark makes relatively few references to what might be termed the Jewish background of Christianity; in fact, Mark refers to the Old Testament less often than do any of the other three evangelists. Then, too, where Matthew lays stress on the Hebrew pedigree of the Master, Mark omits it entirely, simply announcing in his opening sentence that this was "the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God" (Mark 1:1); while, after a brief reference to John the Baptist, we are informed that "Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan" (verse 9).
