March 26, 2022 – “The Odd Story”

“And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.” Mark 14:51-52

“The Odd Story”

The text from Mark includes this odd story – the story of a young man who is also a follower of Jesus and who gets away from the angry mob BAREly with his life, but without his linen cloth. There is much speculation about this text, its meaning and purpose, but the naked truth is that there are no definitive answers to this mystery. It could serve as a short story that buffers the text of Jesus’ arrest and his appearance in front of the high priest. Another purpose that the story could serve is as a foreshadowing of the High Priest tearing his own clothes, or of Jesus being stripped of his own dignity, or being exposed to those who will mock him, humiliate, and kill him. Some even see this as a foreshadowing of the cloth that will be draped over the naked body of Jesus in the tomb—what we know now as the shroud of Turin.

Whatever the purpose, we may not be able to undress the mystery, but we can enjoy the cameo of the young man and wonder, maybe just wonder, if it was all just a bad dream.

Some of the stories in the bible will always be just out of the realm of full understanding, but that is what gives the bible its power. If we knew everything about Jesus and the bible, we would not spend so much time in study and discussion about the stories. As such, we enjoy these stories if for no other purpose than to look forward to one day getting the answer to so many questions that we each have for Jesus.

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, some of your stories are fully known – and some will always remain just out of our grasp. I pray that I never lose my thirst for understanding and knowledge, even if there are some that I will never, ever grasp. Amen.

Pastor Dave