Tradition is very strong that Mark, an associate of Peter, wrote the Gospel that bears his name. Mark is mentioned in the New Testament as an associate of Barnabas, Paul and Peter. There is evidence that his family may have been associated with the apostles from the time of Christ's death.

Most experts think Mark's Gospel was written by John Mark who we meet as a minor character in a few places in the New Testament. He travelled with Paul on his first missionary journey but left Paul early on (see Acts 13:5,13). He later became a close companion of Paul when Paul was in prison. Early tradition says that Mark wrote his gospel as a spokesman for the apostle Peter and that it is based on Peter’s recollections.