Mark Writes His Gospel

So when the divine Word had come to live among them, Simon’s power was quenched and at once destroyed, together with the man himself. And the light of piety shone so brightly on the minds of Peter’s hearers that they were not satisfied to hear him once only, or with the unwritten teaching of the divine message. With every kind of entreaty they pressed Mark, whose Gospel is in circulation and who was a follower of Peter, to leave them a written record as well of the teaching they had been given by word of mouth. They did not let up until they had persuaded the man, and so they became the cause of the writing of the Gospel called according to Mark. [a] They say that the apostle, when the Spirit revealed to him what had been done, was pleased with the men’s eagerness and approved the writing for reading in the churches. Clement gives this account in the sixth book of his Outlines, and the bishop of Hierapolis, named Papias, bears witness with him. They also say that Peter mentions Mark in his first letter, which they say he composed at Rome itself, and that he indicates this by calling the city, figuratively, Babylon, in these words: “She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, greets you, and so does Mark my son.” [b]