When and at what age did Mark begin his ministry?

Answer 1

This is impossible to say as nowhere does The Bible indicate his age. However, there are some clues. The life expectation in those days was only around 45 years of age, and so he would have been younger than this. There are some indications that Mark was the 'young man' who fled naked at Jesus' arrest (Mark 14: 51). Also he was most probably the 'young man' who led the disciples to the Upper Room for the Last Supper by carrying a pitcher of water (an unusual sight - this was normally women's work) (Mark 14: 13). The first reference is the only time that this particular man is mentioned in any of the Gospels and suggests that it is Mark mentioning his own part in the arrest. The second reference also occurs in Luke's account - one of the passages that Luke used from Mark's gospel. A John Mark is mentioned much later in Paul's accounts who is probably one and the same person. He survived many years after Jesus - long enough to write his account during the first persecution of Christians a few decades later. Therefore Mark must have been quite young at the time of Jesus' ministry. He was almost certainly one of the 72 who followed Jesus (outside the 12 disciples) . Jewish boys were regarded as adult at their Bahmizvahs at the age of 14. If Mark was described as a 'young man' he would have been somewhere between the age of 15 - 22 or so at the time of Jesus' ministry if all the parts of the jigsaw are to fit these facts.

Answer 2

In Galatians 5:11 Paul tells us that he had once preached circumcision, suggesting that he was not only an intellectual but a Jewish priest, so he was probably not a young man when he commenced his Christian ministry. However, we do not really know how old Paul was at the time.

Answer 3

Traditionally 30 yrs old, which was the age at which rabbis began to preach and gather followers.

Answer 4

Jesus was thirty years old , and did his ministry for three and a half years.