The goal of this blog is NOT to convince those who doubt Pauline authorship of the six letters often relegated to deutero-Pauline status to re-think questions of authorship, pseudonymity, etc. Rather, the goal is to help those who assume Pauline authorship (like myself) to integrate some primary source material more fully in our reflection on the nature of Paul's life and his "gospel." As you will see below, this blog will raise questions based upon passages from Colossians, 2 Timothy and the book of Acts. Thus, if you have no regard for those documents as helpful for reconstructing Paul's life and mission, please fell free to consult other blogs! This blog is not an apologetic for Pauline authorship of disputed letters. All that blogged...

How does it help us to think about the content of Paul's gospel if we take the following passages seriously:

Col 4:10-14 - Paul (in prison) sends greetings from companions - including Mark and Luke
Philemon 23-24 - Paul (in prison) sends greetings from fellow workers - including Mark and Luke
2 Timothy 4:9-13 - Luke is with Paul (in prison), refers to Luke's presence with him and asks Timothy to bring:

1. Mark, who is "very useful to [Paul] in ministry", and
2. -books/scrolls [ta biblia] and parchments.
   

Thinking about Paul and Mark (w/ much help from Luke):

Now, what if the "Mark" in all three passages is the John Mark of Acts 12:12, 25; 13:2-5? And what if this John Mark truly is the "Mark" who wrote the Gospel according to Mark? Then one of Paul's companions in ministry on the first missionary journey and late in his life during imprisonment is the Mark who wrote the second (canonically speaking) gospel.

It is interesting to note the Greek word Luke chooses to describe John (Mark)'s service of Paul and Barnabas on this first "missionary journey." David Seccombe writes about how Luke describes John (Mark) in Acts 13:5 - as a hyperetes, in King of God's Kingdom, (Paternoster, 2002), 41-42. He connects this with Luke 1:2 and 4:20. Quoting Seccombe, "Luke uses [the term hyperetes] to describe the synagogue official who had charge of the scripture scrolls in the synagogue (Luke 4:20), and of those who provided him with material and prototypes for the writing of his gospel (Luke 1:2)." Further, Seccombe suggests, "it may... be that Mark had the special task of providing the gospel story to help the newly formed churches sustain their ongoing Christian life" (ibid., 41).

The excellent Luke scholar, David Moessner, has pointed out that this same term appears later in Acts in a passage that paralells Luke 1:2 quite deliberately. This time it comes in a speech from Paul as a self-reference. Luke reports Paul's reference to his Damascus road expereince where Jesus appointed Paul as a hyperetes (a servant) and witness to the things he has seen (Acts 26:16; cf. with Luke 1:2).

If we compare this w/ the post-reconciliation ministry shared between Paul and Mark referred to above one wonders, is a primary reason why Mark is "useful" to Paul in ministry that he has the skills to compile oral and written traditions into useful narratives for ministry? (2 Tim 4:9-13) That Paul wants Timothy to bring Mark and also bring books and parchments, is interesting esp. in light of how Luke describes John [Mark's] "service" in Acts 13:5.

Thinking about Paul and Luke:

There are only three Canonical references to Luke as "Luke" (the 3 listed above, ignoring for the present the "we" passages in Acts) thus, every canonical reference to Luke by name is found

1. in a personal greeting from Paul because of their close relationship and
2. with a reference to Mark in the immediate cotext.
   

What if the Luke with Paul mentioned in Col 4; Philemon 23-24 and 2 Tim 4 really is the author of the third Gospel and the second volume, Acts? Then the "we" passages in the latter half of Acts fit quite well with Paul's references to Luke as a companion in prison. If this is the case, does this data help us reflect upon the content of Paul's gospel?

What if half of the narratives we call "Gospels" were written by men in ministry with Paul? What kind of faithful reconstructions might this suggest? What implications follow for our understanding of the nature of Paul's Gospel? If Paul's Gospel is essentially about Jesus - culminating his death and resurrection - and Mark and Luke wrote long narratives where Jesus is the central character announcing the kingdom of God as his good news/gospel, how likely is it that Paul's gospel is radically different? What happens if we read Mark, Luke and Paul as missionary companions dedicated to proclaiming the Gospel about Jesus the Christ?

How does this help us reconstruct what was going on with Paul and his company of "fellow workers for the kingdom of God" (Col 4:11, words about Mark and Aristarchus)? Interesting choice of words for the Apostle of Messiah Jesus... and the companion of Mark and Luke.