1Masters, give to your servants that which is just and equal, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.
2Continue steadfastly in prayer, watching in it with thanksgiving, 3praying together for us also, that God may open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds, 4that I may reveal it as I ought to speak.
5Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. 6Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.
7All my affairs will be made known to you by Tychicus, the beloved brother, faithful servant, and fellow bondservant in the Lord. 8I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that he may know your circumstances and comfort your hearts, 9together with Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will make known to you everything that is going on here.
10Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you received instructions, “if he comes to you, receive him”), 11and Jesus who is called Justus. These are my only fellow workers for God’s Kingdom who are of the circumcision, men who have been a comfort to me.
12Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, salutes you, always striving for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. 13For I testify about him that he has great zeal for you, and for those in Laodicea, and for those in Hierapolis. 14Luke the beloved physician and Demas greet you. 15Greet the brothers who are in Laodicea, with Nymphas and the assembly that is in his house. 16When this letter has been read among you, cause it to be read also in the assembly of the Laodiceans, and that you also read the letter from Laodicea. 17Tell Archippus, “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you fulfill it.”
18I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you. Amen.
The author of the Gospel of Mark does not identify himself by name. However, it is possible that he left a hint in Mark 14:51, 52. The young man who was following Christ, wearing nothing but a linen sheet, and who escaped naked when seized by those who had come to arrest Jesus, may well have been Mark, of Jerusalem (Acts 12:12, 25; 15:37), the cousin of Barnabas (Col 4:10), whose Jewish name was John (Acts 13:5, 13). This would explain the author's knowledge of the incident that occurred after all the disciples had already left, and was recorded only in the second Gospel. It would also mean that the author was an eyewitness to some of the events he recorded.
Most scholars agree that Mark wrote his Gospel in Rome under Peter's supervision. The outline of events in Mark's Gospel correlates with the outline of Peter's sermon at the house of Cornelius at Caesarea (Acts 10:34-43; 13:23-33). Mark's close association with Peter is further indicated by the fact that Peter announced his miraculous escape from jail at the home of Mary, Mark's mother (Acts 12:12).
Papias of Hierapolis (A.D. 140), claimed that Mark, as Peter's interpreter, wrote an accurate Gospel. In Rome, about A.D. 150, Justin Martyr quoted Mark 3:17 as being "in Memoirs of Peter." Mark was also named as the author in the Roman Prologue to Mark (A.D. 160-180). Irenaeus, in France around A.D. 180, said that Mark wrote down Peter's preaching. In North Africa, Tertullian and Clement of Alexandria made the same claim around A.D. 200. –DG