Imagine it. You settle into the pew on a Sunday morning and the music leader begins: "This is your action news reporter, here at the supermarket. There seems to have been a disturbance here. Pardon me sir, did you see what happened?" The drummer clicks a four count and the band kicks into the old Ray Stevens tune, "Oh yes, they call him The Streak! Look at that! Look at that! He likes to show off his physique ..."
Ridiculous, huh? That's probably why you've never heard a sermon on Mark 14:51-52.
It reads: A young man wearing nothing but a linen garment was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.
How would you preach it? You could use this text to reinforce that lesson your mom instilled in you--you know, to always be wearing clean underwear in case you're in an accident? Well, had this man had his inner-drawers about him... I'm just saying. Or, a youth pastor could use this text to speak to today's teenage boys who are obsessed with wearing their trousers down around their thighs. Should they ever find themselves being seized for the sake of the gospel and needing to run... well, it ain't gonna be pretty! Then again, "nothing but a linen garment"--sounds like a text for a frat-house toga party. Perhaps the best lesson might be on weather-appropriate dress. The man was wearing nothing but a sheet! What was he thinking? It was a cold night. Just a few hours later, Peter was thankful to be able to warm his hands over a fire.
Not surprisingly, most of my study bibles and commentaries are silent on these two verses. Cowards!
The few that braved the passage offered some observations: First, scholars have identified the man as having likely been between 15 and 25. (Told you. Frat party.) Second, many of these scholars believe the young man was Mark. That's not so hard to believe--if I was caught up like this and seen running away naked, I'd probably talk about it in third person, too. Commentators then start to construct a possible scenario--perhaps it was at Mark's parent's home where the disciples had their last supper. Perhaps Mark was already dressed for sleep. Perhaps he had heard of the treachery in the garden, and in his rush to arrive quickly, he headed out "commando."
Examining the verse in context, however, the point seems to be that Jesus wound up alone. Verse 50 tells us that none of His disciples stayed with Him. The weight, then, of verses 51 and 52 suggests, "yes, they wanted so badly to escape, one guy even ran out of his clothing."
Perhaps this is Mark's way of putting his own inadequacy down in writing. We know through historians that Mark felt a special affection for Peter. Mark had recorded Jesus' prediction of Peter's denial (14:27-31). Perhaps Mark saw his own flight as fulfillment enough of Jesus' words, "You will all fall away." Perhaps he felt compelled to include that in the record before he would chronicle Peter's failure a few verses later.
I've never been one to reach for an allegorical interpretation. Perhaps someone would imply here though--when seized, you had better have been grounded enough to avoid having to flee... naked. That sounds like a nice "moral of the story" ending. But I'd say the better lessons to be caught here are of a follower of Christ, his failures, his brokenness, and his being forgiven, restored... and even to be utilized by God in mighty ways. I'll bet it never occurred to him as he was "streaking" away in fear and shame that people like you and me would be reading his gospel account for thousands of years. God is very good that way, no?
You know...I've heard sermons on every passage you've mentioned in this series...
Posted by: Erik | October 01, 2009 at 11:57 AM
what, are you a baptist or something?
Posted by: Darin Shaw | October 01, 2009 at 12:45 PM