God’s Word for You
Mark 14:51-52 The young man, naked
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Saturday, February 17, 2024
51 A certain young man was following him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth. They tried to seize him, 52 but he pulled free of the linen cloth and ran away naked.
In ancient times, Christian writers had various opinions about the identity of this “certain young man” (νεανίσκος τις). Epiphanius thought he was James, the brother of Jesus. Ambrose thought it might have been the Apostle John. Hugo Grotius (1583-1645) suggested that this might be “some workman in Gethsemane.” More recently, the great German scholar Ewald (1803-1875) thought this young man might have been Paul, although the verb “following” suggests that the young man was following Jesus almost as a disciple.
A more recent point of view suggests that the Gospel’s author includes this little moment, like an artist signing his canvas in the corner of the picture. But since there is no evidence for this apart from a commonly held opinion, we must move on to something more important for our faith: What does this attempt to grab some young man who was there, teach us?
Jesus had commanded the soldiers not to touch his followers. The Roman guards had no reason to arrest anyone except Jesus of Nazareth. And the eleven apostles fled, unmolested. But this young man happened to be there. Based on Mark’s choice of the word synakoloutheo (συνακολουθέω), this was a young man following Jesus as a disciple or pupil. Jesus had said, “Anyone who follows me (a similar verb) will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Since the word can mean both “to follow closely” (Mark 5:37) and “to follow as a disciple” (Luke 23:49) we can’t say for certain here, but it seems likely that if this young man stayed long enough to be grabbed, he was doing so out of devotion to Jesus.
Who grabbed him? Not the Roman soldiers, nor the priests who were spectators. It must have been the Jewish temple guards, who would have been moved by the hatred their masters had for Jesus. Jesus had given orders about his followers: “‘If you are looking for me, then let these men go.’ This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: ‘I have not lost one of those you gave me.’” (John 18:8-9). The young man was seized, but he wriggled out of it and ran away. Whether or not he was wearing what we would think of as underwear or nothing at all would have been called “naked” in their culture and doesn’t matter at all to the account. The bathrobe was left behind; the disciple got away, because Christ had said he would get away and not be taken.
What our Lord promises will be what our Lord gives and brings about. He might work through our own abilities, or through those of someone else, or directly through his own power. But his word will be carried out. “For he spoke, and it came to be. He commanded, and it stood firm” (Psalm 33:9), which was spoken about the creation, but is a source of comfort to this day. Consider how this was done in the life of the prophet Jonah. God commanded the storm and the fish, and the prophet was captured and pulled down to the depths, consigned to a living tomb. But he repented and praised God (this act is fully a quarter of his little book), and everything changed on account of the command of God. The fish had to return Jonah to the land unharmed, vomiting out what it thought was to be its dinner, but obeying the will of the Creator, because a fish can do nothing else but obey God. The sea did not keep hold of the prophet any more than the Temple guards kept hold of the young man of Gethsemane. He slipped from their clutches and was preserved for another purpose in life. God commands, and nature obeys. What is impossible for anyone else is as certain as the flame coming from striking a match when God speaks his will. “God has spoken from his sanctuary” (Psalm 108:7). No guards, no criminals, no nations, nor any devils can fight against him and be victorious. His will shall always prevail. Your grave, O Christian, will burst apart on the Last Day, and your Jesus will call you home to glory.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.