El muchacho desnudo del prendimiento de Marcos (14, 51-52): una nueva interpretación

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to offer a new interpretation of one of the most enigmatic figures of the New Testament, the mysterious young man who flees naked at the scene of Jesus' arrest (Mk 14, 51-52). Traditionally, this character has been identified with different historical figures (St.James, Lord's brother, the apostle John, etc.). Other scholars considered this episode an allegory of Christian baptism. In contrast, according to our hypothesis, this character is an allegorical creation by the earliest Christian oral tradition: this figure, which had no historical but symbolic nature, reflected the immortal christic reality of Jesus. In other words, Christ would escape death. His captors caught a mere body, whose image was the shroud that covered the naked body of this young man. Therefore, Christ —and not Jesus— was preserved from death and he awaited his resurrection. After Jesus' death and burial, the above referred young man appears dressed in a bright robe that indicates his full messianic glorification (cf. Mk 16, 2-6). Later on, when the theological narrative was written down, the author of the Gospel of Mark transformed him into a young angel.