A Naked Man Follows Jesus
Mark 14:51-52

One of the strangest and comical stories in the Bible is about a naked man who follows Jesus on the night of Christ’s arrest (Mark 14:51-52). The story is unnoticeable and fails to capture the reader’s attention because it is only two (2) verses long and is weaved within the story account of Christ’s arrest.

The unfolding account of Christ’s arrest is so riveting as He is bounced from place to place, that the reader’s attention becomes captivated on Christ and what is happening to Him. We breeze through these two verses which fail to register in our minds. The identity of this man is speculative amongst theologians.

The story is found only in the book of Mark 14:51-52(NIV) and reads:
“A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When
they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.”

The ESV translation reads:
“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.”

We have to ask ourselves why the Holy Spirit deemed it necessary to include this ‘minor’ and bizarre detail about some unnamed, unknown naked man in the most crucial story narrative of what is the start of Christ’s road to Calvary. What does this story about a naked man have to do in the context of Christ’s arrest and subsequent death and resurrection?

It almost appears as if the author has gone off on a tangent with these two verses, before returning to the important story at hand, Christ’s arrest, His death and subsequent resurrection.

But we know, as Christians, that the Holy Spirit, who is the author of the Bible NEVER goes off on tangents in the narrative of the Bible. Everything that the Holy Spirit documents in the Bible is intentional, purposeful, has meaning and holds a message for the reader.

Therefore, we must ask ourselves, what is this bizarre story’s purpose, what is its meaning and what message does it hold for us?

The answer lies in three specific details in the narrative: the location and context of the story, the original language in which this story was written (Greek) and third its metaphor within the scope of the cannon.

We will discover that the Bible is drawing a parallel between Christ and this naked man and how this applies to everyone who wishes to follow Jesus.

First, let’s look at the context of this story within Chapter 14. Almost half of this passage deals with abandonment (14:17-21, 26-31). Christ told his disciples that they will “all fall away” just as it was prophesied in the Old Testament. And just as Christ had told them, we later see all the disciples abandoning Him (v.50). The theme of abandonment is repeatedly addressed within the narrative of this naked man’s story.

Second, the placement of these two verses (vs 51, 52) are strategically placed. Note that they come immediately after verse 50, which states that “everyone deserted him [Christ] and fled.” The author is showing juxtapose actions. While ALL the disciples had fled and deserted Christ in verse 50; here comes one man, in the following verse (v. 51), who unlike the disciples, does not desert Christ but follows Him.

But follows Him where? Where was Christ heading? Christ’s hour had come, He was heading to the Cross; to His death on Calvary and subsequently to His resurrection.

Additionally, the key to unraveling the mystery of this story is in the Greek word used to name the linen cloth wrapped around this man’s naked body, Sindon. The word Sindon is used in one other place and is found ONLY in the synoptic Gospels and pertains SOLELY to the burial cloth used to wrap Jesus’ naked body following His death (Matt 27:59, Mk 15:46, Lk 23:53). This is crucial as it connects the naked man with Jesus at the time of Christ’s death. This fine linen (Sindon) was an extremely expensive, superior, high end fabric. The naked man may have been wealthy and off course, Jesus’ Sindon was purchased by Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy man.

Upon His resurrection, Jesus, like the naked man ‘Shed” His Sindon an left it behind. On the morning of resurrection, Marie of Magdala and the disciple’s saw the linen cloth upon their arrival in the tomb. But at that point the linen cloth was no longer a burial shroud and the Bible called it by another name for linen cloth Othonion (Luke 24:12)

This naked man who was following Christ was a foreshadowing of Christ’s death, His naked body wrapped in a burial shroud of fine linen cloth (Sindon) and of His ‘shedding’ of the linen cloth and leaving it behind upon His resurrection.

It is a metaphor for all believers who want to follow Jesus, as they “die with Christ” (as in baptism) and are resurrected (shedding of the burial cloth) to newness of life.

The naked man running away, is a metaphor of freedom for those who “follow” Christ and are set free from sin and death and given eternal life. For “…If the son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36 ESV

The story of this naked man who followed Jesus on the night of His arrest, holds many spiritual lessons in its metaphors and typology.