Imagine that you are in the middle of a dramatic story. Everything is collapsing, the situation is getting out of control and you don't know what to do. And then you find that you have nowhere to run — and nothing to hide.
This is a moment that unfolds in an unobtrusive but oddly captivating detail of the biblical narrative of Jesus' arrest. You may have never heard of him and you may be surprised how much he relates to you as well.
Mysterious youngster on the night of escape
It's night. Jesus is arrested. His friends, who have spent years with him, are running away. Everyone thinks of their own salvation. And then there's another person -- an unknown young man draped in just a piece of cloth. Maybe he was curious, maybe he felt he couldn't just walk away:
“That's when everyone left him and ran away. But a young man followed him dressed only in a piece of cloth on his bare body. They seized him, but he left the cloth there, and fled naked.” (Mk 14:50-52)
Bizarre scene about a naked young man. Why did the evangelist Mark write it down? Por que é o única e não é encontrado en los otras gospelas?
Three possibilities as to who the naked young man was
👉 Auteur Marek himself Maybe he was the naked young man. He may have witnessed the events he describes. Maybe he felt ashamed at that moment because he ran away just like everyone else. And yet he chose not to keep his story hidden.
👉 Alle Mankind This story takes place in the garden. And this is no coincidence. When the Bible speaks of a garden, it takes us back to Eden. Till the time when people were still naked and not ashamed. But then came guilt, fear, and an effort to hide from God. This is exactly what is being repeated here -- but this time there is someone who is not hiding. Jesus accepts the pain, betrayal and suffering that belonged to us.
👉 I. And you. Because we too wear our “cloths on our bare bodies.” Figs leaves, masques, ways we protect ourselves from others seeing us for real. We hide behind roles, achievements, irony or disinterest because we are afraid that we are not enough.
And then there comes a moment when someone tears that piece of cloth away from us. And we stand there -- no pretense.
What if this is a turning point?
Maybe this is the moment when you don't have to hide anymore.
🔥 You don't have to prove your worth.
🔥 You don't have to worry that you're not good enough.
🔥 You can just be yourself.
God knows you and yet does not reject you. On the contrary, it invites you to finally be truly free.
At SafePoint, we believe that faith isn't meant to be about role playing. If you're looking for a space where you can truly be yourself, we'd love to see you!
Alexandr Flek is the head of the 21st century Bible translation project, author of Parabible and preacher at Nekostele in Prague.
