Pavel Popov’s –Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss
And they (the disciples) all forsook him, and fled.
51 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:
52 And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked. Mark 14:50-52
All I can say is “For Real?” I immediately thought of Ray Stevens’ song, The Streak.
I digress. Obviously, this painter was as fascinated by these three verses as I am. How have I missed this juicy tidbit for so long? I asked one of my Beauties who studied Greek in college and she said it was not discussed. Yes, I was looking for a quick explanation. So off on a treasure hunt I went. The information ranges from literal to symbolic. What I think is unimportant. What is important is what the Word says. It has been my experience often times the scripture is both literal and symbolic. Some theologians tie all references of “young man” in Mark’s gospel together as being one in the same person. This requires more brain cells than I have to connect those dots for surely if this were one in the same person, Mark would have learned his name over the course of time and repeated contact with this young man.
It seems this “linen cloth” over a “naked body” references a body that has been buried. It is the same Greek words used when Jesus’ body is wrapped in linen and laid in the tomb. WHAT? A resurrected “young man” in the Garden of Gethsemane. Are you kidding me? When and why did he get resurrected? If this is true, no wonder he is following Jesus closely. Why are the “other young men” trying to catch him? Where does a naked man run in the night who was dead? My head is spinning.
The blog worddetective (https://theworddetective.wordpress.com/2015/08/26/the-mystery-streaker-in-the-garde/) has some interesting thoughts on who this young man is and what his life represents. You can read this for yourself and draw your own conclusions.
The Garden of Gethsemane is at the foot of the Mount of Olives. Jews have been buried on the Mount of Olives for thousands of years because of Zechariah’s prophecy (Zechariah 14:4) that the resurrection of the dead will begin here! (wikipedia)
Rick Renner writes in Sparkling Gems from the Greek, found in Christianity.com the following:
“When Jesus said, “I AM,” the power that was released was so tremendous that it knocked the soldiers backward (see April 8 article in Christianity.com ). 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” 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.”
Last Easter, I read in Matthew 27:51-53 how when the veil was torn, the graves broke open and the dead were resurrected and were seen in the city. (March 28, 2016 Fear Not, He IS Risen) Jesus entire ministry He was raising the dead! So, in the Garden he healed an ear, raised the dead, and spoke in power to cast down evil, just as He had been doing for the past three years of His ministry. He was the SAME, yesterday, today, and forever! (Hebrews 13:8) Isaiah 26:19 came to life: “Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.” All this taking place in full view of all.
Jesus had told his disciples this was going to happen. Matthew 5:25-29 tells us:
Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. (KJV-emphasis mine)
Seems to me, this young man heard the voice of the Savior say, “I AM,” and he rose from his sleeping place. This was a preview to what would happen in just a few hours and will happen again very soon! Do you wonder if we will rise as this young man and Jesus, as naked as in the Garden of Eden? If so, it won’t matter, for all our shame will be forever gone! We will be wrapped in His glory! (Matthew 2:28-30) Praise God “the grave is overwhelmed” and we too shall rise!
Skinny dipping
