“She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son” (1 Peter 5:13 ESV).
In the Biblical book of 1 Timothy, Paul the Apostle opened that epistle by addressing Timothy as “my true son in the faith“ (1 Timothy 1:2 CSB). Just as Timothy was much like a son to Paul, our passage from 1 Peter 5:13 tells us that the Apostle Peter shared a similar relationship with a man named Mark. This reference to Mark as “my son” suggests that Peter may have played a crucial role in Mark’s spiritual life.
Mark’s name appears frequently within the pages of the New Testament, including the account of a missionary journey with Paul and another leader named Barnabas that ended poorly. Later on, Paul and Barnabas had the following exchange…
“…Paul said to Barnabas, ‘Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.’ Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus” (Acts 15:36-39).
However, that incident did not spell the end of Paul’s relationship with Mark. As Paul neared the end of his life, he said to Timothy, “Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11 NIV). Mark was also with Paul during one of Paul’s imprisonments, according to Colossians 4:10.
This leads us to the traditional and enduring legacy of Peter’s “father and son” relationship with Mark- the Gospel of Mark itself…
“Tradition has always closely connected Peter with Mark, and has handed down the story that he was intimately involved with Mark’s gospel. Papias, who lived towards the end of the second century and was a great collector of early traditions, describes Mark’s gospel in this way: ‘Mark, who was Peter’s interpreter, wrote down accurately though not in order, all that he recollected of what Christ had said or done.’
…According to Papias, Mark’s gospel is nothing other than the preaching material of Peter. In similar vein Irenaeus says that after the death of Peter and Paul at Rome, ‘Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, also handed down to us in writing what had been preached by Peter.’ It is the consistent story of tradition that Mark, the evangelist, was indeed a son to Peter, and all the likelihood is that these greetings are from him. (1)
(1) Barclay, William. William Barclay’s Daily Study Bible, “Greeting (1Pe_5:13).”