The Symbolism of the Naked Man in Mark

Right after Jesus is arrested, Mark tells us this:

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.

Now, this is one of those texts that begs for symbolic interpretation. Sometimes the meaning of a biblical text is obvious; other times it is not. And then there are those rare cases, like this one, where the meaning is not clear and the text itself is strange. What is great about these texts is that while their surface meaning may be opaque, what is completely clear is that they carry a symbolic meaning. So let’s figure it out.

The Virtues of the Young Man

The first two things we are told about this character are that he is young, and that he is following Jesus. The author wants us to evaluate this as a very good thing. All the way back in the first chapter of Mark, the ideal action to take with respect to Jesus is following—the exact same verb Mark uses here in our text.

This man’s virtue is further heightened because he is young. He is starting to follow Jesus early in his life. So that gives us two positive attributes right at the outset.

Then we get a third: he follows Jesus after he is arrested. Just a few verses earlier, all the other disciples left Jesus; they ceased following him entirely. But this young man follows Jesus in spite of his arrest.

And that is still not all. We are given a fourth positive attribute of this character: he is wearing nothing but a linen cloth about his body, his undergarments. That is to say, he is willing to act righteously, quickly, even shamefully. On paper, this is an exemplary man, a young disciple of the highest character.

The Turning Point

Then we arrive at the center of this micro-story: the conflict. This young man is seized—the very same verb used for Jesus just a few verses ago. And what will he do?

Up to this point, he has done everything to identify with Jesus. But unfortunately, this price was too high. He was willing to be shamed, but only in his own way and on his own terms. He is even willing to endure another level of shame—complete nakedness, taking one step further down from his initial half-nakedness—all in order to not follow Jesus into his death.

The young man’s final actions are a symmetrical undoing of his first. Instead of following, he runs away. Instead of wearing a linen cloth, he is completely naked. Each of these actions ramps up his previous ones, but in the opposite direction.

The Cost of Following

So what is the point of this story at this exact juncture in Mark?

Mark is filled with stories of people who follow Jesus. But not everyone who follows Jesus fully understands what it means, or what Jesus’s kingdom will actually be like. There are some who are willing to do much for Jesus, but only up to a point. Following Jesus involves shame—even to the shame of death.

And that, my friends, is why the Bible is art.

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