Abstract
This article investigates the references to the young man in two different, but related episodes in Mark 14:51–52 and 16:5. First of all, it clarifies some exegetical questions in the two sections. It then analyses the history of the interpretation of the young man in these two passages before it discusses the nature of the coherence between the two passages in greater detail. To this end, the article investigates shared motifs in the two narratives in the light of Mark’s literary techniques. Finally, it compares the two episodes of the young man with the healing of the demoniac in Mark 5, in order to reflect on the implications of reading these two passages together. These implications are spelled out in terms of the powerful notion of transformation – a key theme in biblical spirituality and central in Mark’s thought. This notion is developed as transformation in recreation, love and glory.
Highlights
The passage about Jesus’ night of prayer in Gethsemane and his eventual arrest (Mk14:32–51) ends in a cryptic description of an anonymous young man who ‘was following Jesus’ and who flees the scene as he, too, is accosted
In Mark 16, the women go to Jesus’ tomb early on the sabbath after his death, worrying about how they will get to the body of Jesus to anoint it. They discover that the stone has been rolled away and find a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, who tells them about the resurrection of Jesus
The most recent contribution in this regard comes from Bauckham (2007:197–198) who argues that the young man was an eyewitness who followed Jesus after the rest of the disciples had abandoned him
Summary
Affiliation: 1Department New Testament, University of the Free State, South Africa. Postal address: Department New Testament, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa. How to cite this article: De Villiers, P.G.R., 2010, ‘The powerful transformation of the young man in Mark 14:51– 52 and 16:5’, HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 66(1), Art.
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