A Certain Young Man

(by Chris Masterson)

Mark 14:51-2
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 nakėd.

The two mysterious verses in the Gospel of Mark regarding a certain young man who fled naked, leaving his only attire, a linen cloth, in the hands of his would be sub-doers has been the subject of lengthy debate. The incident immediately followed the arrest of the Messiah in the garden of Gethsemane after the eleven remaining disciples fled the scene. The thing is, no one knew the naked guy was even present until the above two verses let us know. But traditional scholars have tried time and time again to apply a variety of spiritual connections and/or symbology to the incident. To say the least … the text does not compute.

If you listened to ten different traditional scholars, you would get ten different possibilities to what the mysterious text in Mark may or may not mean. The naked represents this … the man represents that … the linen cloth means this … the struggle means that … and so on and so forth until nothing makes much sense. So far, it all boils down to speculation because this incident is not mentioned in any of the other gospels; nor is it elaborated on in Mark. The guy in question just pops-in and pops-out in a flash. Nothing more is said about him. So, whatever their religious background, traditional scholars build speculation around these two verses within the confines of their respective belief systems.

But suppose we decided to play Sherlock Holmes and step outside of religious persuasion to observe the incident objectively. First, we have the setting: the Messiah, praying in the garden of Gethsemane accompanied by his now eleven disciples; they are interrupted by the twelfth disciple, Judas, accompanied by the a well-armed mob sent by the Chief Priests to make an arrest; the eleven disciples flee after the Messiah is taken into custody. But as the story progresses, a certain young man is still in close proximity. He had been present all along; perhaps watching from a distance. Or, was he merely the last to arrive? If you want real perspective, take "the mob led by Judas” element out of the equation. We now have; after the Messiah concluded his late night Gethsemane prayers, a certain young man clothed only in a linen cloth was paying him a visit.

This is not just ANY young män … this is a CERTAIN young man. The Greek word used in the text (certain) is the pronoun “tis (teas).” The key to understanding is; understanding how this word is used in the text. The context of this word is used of persons concerning which the Writer either cannot or will not elaborate. This explains the brevity of this element in the story … it is a VERY PRIVATE MATTER. Some traditional scholars suggest this is the same person Mary (of Magdalene) and Mary (mother of James) found in the Messiah’s sepulcher on the morning he arose (Mark 16:5). But the Greek “neaniskos” also appears in Matthew (19:20,22) and Luke (7:14) but neither occasion is preceded by the distinguishing Greek pronoun, tis.

This brings us to the “linen cloth.” What exactly was it? Does it have some spiritual meaning as traditional scholars suggest? All speculation aside, the ancient Greeks called this garment “sindon (sean-dohn).” Would it surprise you to learn … it is a FEMININE NOUN? It was a light, loose garment worn at night over a naked body … used primarily by females (or royalty). In order to wear this garment, the naked body in question had to be completely bathed; well-groomed and perfumed. Honestly … did the rough, rugged, masculine males who rarely bathed and groomed wear such a garment? The emphasis is also on the YOUNG man.

So we now have a young well-groomed effeminate man dressed only in a fine linen cloth making a late night visit to the Messiah. But when he arrived, he found the Messiah being arrested and taken away. If actions speak louder ... he was concerned enough about the Messiah to follow. When the guards saw him, they probably assumed the young man was a disciple and tried to arrest him. But there was a brief struggle and the suspect got away … naked … without his fine linen garment … which was apparently EASILY REMOVED, to say the least.

Was it common for a person's attire to be completely removed during a physical altercation and find themselves naked back in those days? Not very likely! What traditional scholars refuse to consider is this incident is describing a behavior called, PEDERASTY; a sexual relationship between an older (typically heterosexual) man and a younger (effeminate) man. Unfortunately, this line of thinking exists outside the mindset of traditional scholars. But I don't see why, considering this sort of behavior was common place in ancient Greece. And modern Religious Authorities know it to be true; for it describes and justifies their own behavior when they target young choir and altar boys.

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