Early Church History 

faithful of Rome delayed his journey by convincing him to first write the Gospel. Because he was writing his 

Gospel, Mark missed the end of the good sailing weather and had to winter in Rome. And Peter was not 

present in Rome during the writing of the Gospel of Mark because Peter was wintering elsewhere. Thus the 

delay spoken of by Eusebius was not a matter of days or weeks, but of a whole season. During that time, in 

late fall and winter of 

A.D.

 34/35, Mark wrote his Gospel. He then departed for Egypt at his next opportunity, 

sometime in the spring of 

A.D.

 35. 

    When Mark wrote his Gospel, Peter was not present, nor did Peter even know that the faithful of Rome 

were pestering Mark to write the Gospel. Peter could have left on a missionary journey soon after returning to 

Rome from attending the Dormition of the Virgin Mary at Ephesus. But, more likely, Peter did not return to 

Rome from Ephesus. Instead, he may have visited the churches mentioned in 1 Peter 1:1, which are in the 

same general area as Ephesus, and decided to winter in that region. Peter's extended absence from Rome 

(when he did not return from Ephesus with Mark), combined with Mark's intention to soon depart on a long 

missionary journey of his own, made the faithful of Rome anxious to obtain the Gospel in writing. 

    In summary, Mark decided to go to Egypt to preach Christ soon after the Dormition of the Virgin Mary. But 

when the faithful of Rome insisted he write the Gospel before leaving them, he was not able to leave before the 

sailing season ended and had to pass the whole winter in Rome, writing the Gospel and all the while 

persevering in his intention to make a missionary journey to Egypt. Since Mark wrote the Gospel without 

Peter's prior knowledge, Peter must have passed that winter somewhere other than Rome. Then, sometime 

after the good sailing weather resumed in early February, Mark set out for Egypt. He probably arrived in 

Egypt in spring of 

A.D.

 35, the 16th year since the Ascension and the same year as the third Council of the 

Church (Acts 15). The Gospel of Mark was written in the winter of 

A.D.

 34/35, just over 15 years since the 

Ascension of Christ to Heaven. The Jewish civil calendar year of 

A.D.

 34/35 was a Sabbatical year (see 

chapter 16). 

    Acts of the Apostles records (Acts 15:36 41) that Mark made a missionary journey with Barnabas from 

Antioch, sometime after the Council of Acts 15 (

A.D.

 35). This journey probably occurred in early 

A.D.

 36 (as 

concluded above). Mark's journey with Barnabas in 

A.D.

 36 does not rule out Mark's earlier journey to Egypt 

in early 

A.D.

 35. After spending about a year preaching the Gospel and establishing a new Christian 

community in Alexandria, Mark certainly could have returned to Antioch. In fact, it is both likely and 

reasonable that Mark would return to a city with a long established Christian community after spending some 

time in a distant mission. Establishing a new church in a distant area is a difficult endeavor, which would 

benefit from periodic trips to cities with established Christian communities. There, Mark could seek advice and 

assistance, recruit additional workers in the faith, and perhaps also obtain financial or material support. 

    In addition, the Gospel of Mark had only recently been written and approved of by Peter. The distribution 

of this Gospel to Antioch and to other established Christian communities would have resulted in a desire by 

those communities to hear and meet with the Gospel writer, Mark. Thus Mark's presence was in demand, 

giving him another reason to make occasional trips away from his mission in Egypt. 

The Gospel of Matthew 

Eusebius records his understanding of the order in which the Gospels were written: 

Matthew had begun by preaching to Hebrews; and when he made up his mind to go to others too, he 

committed his own gospel to writing in his native tongue, so that for those with whom he was no longer 

present the gap left by his departure was filled by what he wrote. And when Mark and Luke had now 

published their gospels, John, we are told, who hitherto had relied entirely on the spoken word, finally 

took to writing .

650

Here Eusebius tells us the order in which the Gospels were written. He clearly places the writing of Mark and 

Luke's Gospels after that of Matthew's. Also, notice that Matthew wrote his Gospel for much the same reason 

that Mark wrote his. Each was about to leave to preach the Gospel in a far off place. Each left behind his 

Gospel in writing, so that the Gospel would continue, after the preacher of the Gospel was gone. 

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