Mark 14:51

[ChristsSoldier115]

I'm re-reading the 4 gospels for a essay paper, and the great thing I love about re-reading them over and over is I notice something I somehow missed in a previous reading. I'm re-reading Mark and I came across these verses again, and for some reason. they struck me as so odd and out of place given the context of whats going on.

51 Now a certain young man followed Him, having a linen cloth thrown around his naked body. And the young men laid hold of him, 52 and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked.

Jesus is arrested, the apostles flee for their life, and some unidentified half naked man runs and gets whats left on his body taken from him as he ran. Who was he? My study Bible notes that it was possibley John Mark, writer of Mark. Any insight for its writing?

 

[Heterodoxus]

... some unidentified half naked man runs and gets whats left on his body taken from him as he ran. Who was he? My study Bible notes that it was possibley John Mark, writer of Mark. Any insight for its writing?

Regarding Mark 14:51-52:

This incident makes little contribution to the story of Jesus' arrest, apart from illustrating that everyone fled. Therefore ... most of the modern commentators have concluded that the young man was Mark, the writer of this Gospel. However there is no solid evidence for this. (The Expository Notes of Dr. Constable 2012)

Who the young man was, is not to be defined more precisely than as: an adherent of Jesus,... but not one of the Twelve.... There was no justification, therefore, for guessing at John ..., while others have even concluded ... that it was James the Just, the brother of the Lord [or] a youth from the house where Jesus had eaten the Passover ..., or from a neighbouring farm ..., or Mark himself .... The latter is assumed .... Probably Mark himself did not know his name. (Heinrich A. W. Meyer, TH.D., Commentary on the New Testament Handbook)

Some have supposed the certain young man to be Mark. This is only conjecture. (People's New Testament)

It is usually supposed that Mark himself,... in whose house they probably had observed the passover meal, had followed Jesus and the apostles to the Garden. (Robertson's Word Pictures in the NT,emp. added)

[The] certain young man [was not] one of the Apostles, all of whom had fled ..., but a disciple. (Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., A Popular Commentary on the New Testament)

Also, none of the church fathers commented on that incident. And there is no extant manuscript evidence dated prior to the compiling of the great Catholic codices that supports the appearance of 14:51-52 in Mark's Gospel.

 

[rmalex]

I'm fairly certain he was one of the many disciples at the time, hence no further mention of him. Plus if everyone was fleeing they probably wouldn't have waited around to try and work out who it was.

 

[Barraco]

I'm re-reading the 4 gospels for a essay paper, and the great thing I love about re-reading them over and over is I notice something I somehow missed in a previous reading. I'm re-reading Mark and I came across these verses again, and for some reason. they struck me as so odd and out of place given the context of whats going on.



Jesus is arrested, the apostles flee for their life, and some unidentified half naked man runs and gets whats left on his body taken from him as he ran. Who was he? My study Bible notes that it was possibley John Mark, writer of Mark. Any insight for its writing?

I agree. Sounds a lot like how John talked about himself in the gospel named after himself. Seeing that Mark flaked out of missions when he was with Paul and later redeemed himself with Peter, it seems likely that Mark made mention of himself in this way. Perhaps the abrupt ending of the book was from the persecution that broke out in Rome, causing Peter's execution. Sounds like they were working together on the gospel to me.