And a certain young man followed him with a linen cloth cast about his naked [body]; and [the young men] seize him;
Only Mark pauses the arrest scene for one nameless follower. He wore a single linen cloth. Men grabbed him, and he got away by leaving the cloth behind. It is the smallest incident in the darkest night. Readers have long asked who he was, why the Spirit kept the story, and what his flight says about following Jesus.
Only one Gospel writer kept this follower, and he tells us why the man ran.
C. E. StuartOnly Mark tells us about the young man who followed, wearing nothing but a linen cloth over his bare body. He left it behind rather than be arrested with Jesus.
Some have dismissed the verse as too small to matter. One writer replies that Scripture keeps other small details too:
William KellySome dare to treat the record of this incident as trivial. It is the same kind of thing as Paul's request to Timothy in his second letter (2 Tim. 4:13)… Nothing seems too ordinary for the Holy Spirit to use.
Because the story survives only here, some have guessed that Mark, who wrote this Gospel, was describing himself. Commentators differ, and none of them claims proof.
George C. WillisSome have thought he was the "young man" with the cloth thrown around his bare body who followed the Lord to the Garden… Only Mark tells us about this incident, but we cannot be sure it was him.
Whether or not the name can be settled, the value of the scene does not depend on it:
The Bible TreasuryBut whatever the answer, I always think that no other small detail gives such a vivid picture of the dismay and horror that fell on the disciples of Christ on that terrible night.
He stayed close when the rest had already scattered. One grab from the arresting party ended it.
William Kelly"And they all left Him and fled." Power would have kept them, but giving in to suffering began to work on them… Strength fails, and so does shame. The first attack was enough to drive him away. Man has no power to face death. Believers can face it — and even welcome it and rejoice in it — only because of Christ Himself and His death. He has taken out the sting, but it was not yet done. So the disciples left Him and fled, the young man and all. In Christ alone, who suffered for us, we stand.
One follower went deeper into danger than the rest. That is why his escape was more shameful.
J. N. DarbyOne young man did try to go farther. But as soon as the officers seized him and grabbed his linen garment, he fled and left it in their hands. Without the power of the Holy Spirit, the farther you go along the path where the power of the world and of death is at work, the greater the shame you escape with — if God lets you escape at all.
Now look at the cloth itself. He had it thrown around him, and it was not his real clothing. One writer treats that as the point:
Samuel Ridoutthe young man who wants to follow only shows his shame, since the linen cloth thrown around him is no part of his real clothing — taking it as a symbol. Anyone who follows in nature's own strength will only show his own shame and lose the righteousness he seemed to have.
The word Mark uses for the cloth is often taken for nightwear. It appears once more in the New Testament:
Numerical Bible NotesIt seems significant that the sindon, though usually called a nightdress, was the kind of wrapper people used to wrap the dead. In the only other place it appears in the New Testament, it is the cloth the Lord's body was wrapped in (Matt. 27:59; Mark 15:46; Luke 23:53).
This flight is not there for its own sake. It deepens the picture of the One left alone.
J. G. BellettBut this figure only deepens our sense of bleakness and loneliness. It fits the sight we are given here of that ever blessed One, Who during this hour was lonely and forsaken, exposed and humbled, as the Servant of the glory of God in the redemption of sinners.
- Followed — He stayed near Christ when the rest had run. His was a real and brave try.
- Seized — One grab was enough. Without the Spirit's power, the deeper you go into danger, the worse the escape.
- Stripped — The cloth was never really his. Follow in your own strength and you lose the covering you seemed to have.
- Recorded — Only Mark keeps this small scene. Nothing is too ordinary for the Holy Spirit to use, and we need no name to feel its weight.
- Alone — Each one who runs sharpens the picture: the Servant left forsaken and exposed. In Christ alone we stand.
but he, leaving the linen cloth behind [him], fled from them naked.
On the night Jesus was betrayed, one unnamed young man followed Him, lost the only thing covering him, and ran. Only Mark keeps this detail — so why is it here, and what does it say about that night?
Some readers treat these two verses as filler. One writer answers by setting the incident beside a small request Paul made in his second letter to Timothy:
William KellySome are ready to treat the record of this incident as trivial. It is of the same order as Paul's request to Timothy in his second letter (2 Tim. 4:13)... Nothing seems too ordinary for the Holy Spirit to use.
Mark leaves him unnamed. One writer holds that Mark was describing himself, then admits the point cannot be settled — and says the scene matters for another reason:
The Bible TreasuryIt is that the young man who followed the Lord at a distance, on the night of His betrayal, was John Mark himself. The soldiers, seeing him, snatched at his linen cloth, the only garment he had on him... Only Mark records this... But whatever the truth may be, I always think no other small incident gives such a vivid picture of the dismay and horror that fell on the disciples of Christ that terrible night.
This man tried to go farther than the rest. One writer ties what happened to a power he did not have:
J. N. DarbyThey all forsake Him and flee. Who besides Himself could follow this path to the end? One young man did try to go farther. But as soon as the officers seized him and grabbed his linen cloth, he fled and left it in their hands. This path is where the power of the world and of death is at work. Without the power of the Holy Spirit, the farther a man goes into it, the greater the shame he escapes with — if God allows him to escape at all.
The cloth itself is part of the lesson. It was not his real clothing at all:
Samuel RidoutThe young man who wants to follow only shows his shame. The linen cloth thrown around him is no part of his real clothing — taking it as a symbol. Anyone who follows in the strength of his own nature will only show his own shame and lose his apparent righteousness.
This is the last flight in the scene. One writer weighs what it says about every man, and what changed for believers:
William KellyStrength fails, and so does shame. The first attack was enough to drive him away. Man is powerless to face death. Believers can face it — and even welcome it and rejoice in it — only because of Christ Himself and His death. He has taken out the sting, but it was not yet done... In Christ alone, who suffered for us, we stand.
Mark adds this figure to a scene that is already bleak, and the effect falls on Christ:
J. G. BellettBut this figure only deepens our sense of bleakness and loneliness. It fits the picture we are given here of that ever blessed One. In this hour He was left alone and forsaken, exposed and humbled, as the Servant of the glory of God in the redemption of sinners.
The word Mark uses for this cloth is not the ordinary word for clothing. It comes back at the burial:
Truth & TestimonyThe word for the linen cloth in Mark 14:51 is the same word used for the linen wrappings that held the Lord's body in the grave (Mark 15:46; Luke 23:53).
Commentators differ on how far to press that link. One draws it out this way:
Numerical Bible NotesPeople have spoken of it as showing how empty human effort is against the Christ of God. The priests and people, Herod and Pilate, all combined against this Man. All they got of Him was the grave-clothes, empty of the One who had worn them for a short time. The living Person had escaped: the true life was untouched. And this might be a parable about all His followers... who carry a hidden life that death cannot touch. In a hostile world, the Lord of life has provided well for His own.
- Kept. God preserved two verses about an unnamed runaway. Nothing is too ordinary for the Holy Spirit to use.
- Unnamed. One writer thinks Mark was writing about himself, and the point cannot be settled. What the scene does show is the horror that fell on the disciples that night.
- Uncovered. The cloth was never his real clothing, so the first grab took it. Follow in your own strength and you lose your apparent righteousness.
- Powerless. Strength failed and shame failed. Man cannot face death; believers stand only in Christ, who suffered for them.
- Empty. His enemies kept the cloth and lost the Man. His followers carry the same hidden life that death cannot touch.