Who is Mark - Naked Boy Mark

December 7 2022

Book: Mark

Who is Mark?
1. Peter’s spiritual son 1 Peter 5:13
2. John Mark
3. Mark 14:51 Naked Boy
A. Lazarus
B. Rich Young Man
C.
4. Born 10 years after Jesus
Shortest gospel
Fast moving- immediately, quickly, and now over 1000 references
John Mark moms house is where Peter was being prayed for Acts 12
Just about the time Jesus was finished healing the ear of the
servant of the high priest named Malchus, the Gospel of Mark
tells us a naked young man was found in the Garden of
Gethsemane.
Mark 14:51,52 says, “And there followed him a certain young
man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the
young men laid hold on him: and he left the linen cloth, and fled
from them naked.”
Who was this young man?
Why was he following Jesus?
Why was he naked?
Why was he draped in a linen cloth instead of wearing normal
clothes?
And why was the Holy Spirit so careful to include this unique story
in Mark’s account of the Gospel?
What is the significance of this event?
The key to identifying this young man lies in the “linen cloth” he
had lightly draped about his body. The particular Greek word that
is used for this “linen cloth” is used in only one other event in the
New Testament — to depict the “linen cloth” in which the body of
Jesus was wrapped for burial
Matthew 27:59,
Mark 15:46, and
Luke 23:53).
Thus, the only reference we have for this kind of cloth in the New
Testament is that of a burial shroud used for covering a dead
body in the grave.
Some scholars have tried to say this naked young man was Mark
himself.
They assume that when Mark heard about Jesus’ arrest, he
quickly jumped out of bed and dashed to the Garden of
Gethsemane.
But the Garden was remotely located, and no one could have run
there so quickly. It is simply a physical impossibility.
Others have speculated that Mark threw off his clothes in an
attempt to shock and distract the soldiers so Jesus could escape.
This idea is preposterous. Others have tried with similar vain
attempts to assert that this naked young man was the apostle
John.
But why would John be walking naked in the Garden of
Gethsemane?
As I said, the answer to this naked young man’s identity lies in the
cloth he had wrapped around his body.
You see, when a body was prepared for burial, it was washed,
ceremonially cleaned, and buried naked in a linen cloth exactly
like the one described here in the Gospel of Mark.
Furthermore, the Garden of Gethsemane was situated on the side
of the Mount of Olives.
Toward the base of that mount is a heavily populated cemetery,
with many of its graves going back to the time of Jesus.
When Jesus said, “I AM,” the power that was released was so
tremendous that it knocked the soldiers backward.
But evidently it also caused a rumbling in the local cemetery!
When that blast of power was released, a young boy, draped in a
linen burial cloth in accordance with the tradition of that time,
crawled out from his tomb — raised from the dead!
The reason he “followed” Jesus was to get a glimpse of the One
who had resurrected him.
The word “followed” here means to continuously follow. This tells
us that this resurrected young man trailed the soldiers as they
took Jesus through the Garden on the way to His trial.
When the soldiers discovered the young man who was following
Jesus, they tried to apprehend him. But when they reached out to
grab him, he broke free from their grip and fled, leaving the linen
cloth in their possession.

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