Do you ever come across any passages of the Bible that make you laugh and cause you to wonder why the heck they're there? I love it when stories like these come up, because they're not things you expect. Anybody who says that the Bible is boring clearly hasn't made the attempt to really read it.
I've been reading through a combination of Psalms and Mark in my devotional time, and recently read through Jesus' arrest scene in the garden of Gethsemane in Mark 14. But I had to stop after verses 51-52 because they're so strange. I know I've read them before, but I've never really spent much time thinking about it. This comes right after Jesus' speech upon his arrest and the 12 disciples (other than Judas) flee.
"A young man was following him, wearing nothing but a linen sheet over his naked body; and they seized him. But he pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked." (NASB)
THAT'S IT! The next scene is where Jesus is brought before the high priest and is mocked and accused. What's going on with this naked guy running around the garden? I literally wrote in my Bible "LOL. Why here?" (I told this to my pastor and he said it's like I'm texting God). If I use all of the study tools I know, I don't think I'll get a solid answer. The Greek will still say that he's naked, and if I did a structural outline of the passage, it still probably wouldn't make sense. I haven't read any commentaries, but the text is so random I doubt they would have any solid explanation. One of my professors from APU thinks that the young man is Mark himself. It's a detail only he would have known about. None of the other Gospels have this story. So why is it here? When I read this a few nights ago I probably spent a half an hour trying to think up an explanation. So here's my working theory.
If you read through Mark, it becomes pretty clear that the 12 disciples aren't all that bright. They don't get what Jesus means when he teaches them things, they never can make sense out of the miracles he does, and he repeatedly asks them at different points, "Do you still have no faith?" In short, the disciples are morons while they're with Jesus (keep in mind, I don't see this as a bad thing. I actually find it comforting because of how often I feel like I don't get Jesus or I miss what he's about). So, maybe this is Mark's way of saying, "this is how dumb these guys are" (if Mark is the naked guy, maybe this is him trying to include himself in the stupidity).
So maybe the young guy starts running around naked, because he thinks that this will distract the soldiers long enough for Jesus to make his getaway! Maybe he's thinking, "Jesus, get out of here, I got this. Hey guys, I'm naked, just try and catch me! Wheeee!" Meanwhile Jesus is shaking his head thinking, "I spent three years with these guys, and this is the best they can come up with." He breathes a heavy sigh and shakes his head, knowing that he can laugh with his disciples about this when he sees them in three days.
So, that's my theory on this strange passage. Not very profound, no deep spiritual truths, but sometimes really funny stuff pop ups when you're reading scripture (especially Mark). We might has well have a little fun with it as we're reading, enjoying God's sense of humor for including stuff like this in His Word. Have fun with that one! If you have another explanation, I'd love to hear it.
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