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Peter and Mark As we listen to Mark’s Gospel we hear of a strange incident. When Peter comes to his fifth talk, he quotes almost exclusively from Matthew’s account. This is probably because he had been the eyewitness to the events being recounted and could have dictate the information to Matthew. He was the one who had followed Jesus at a distance and watched events. (Matt 14: 58). Peter reads: “… Then all the disciples forsook him and fled. Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high priest. …” (Matt 26: 56-57). But Peter intrudes into the middle of this dramatic story an unimportant incident. He recalls that a young man had followed the soldiers and Jesus. He explains that: “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.”(Mark 14: 51-52). In the past, it has been suggested that the young man was Mark. If so, and the man organising the recoding of Peter’s words was Mark, the possibility increases that it was Mark. I can image Peter glancing up from his papers, looking at Mark in a friendly way – possibly with a slight smile. In so doing he would be indicating to the audience Mark’s attempt to be brave at the time. [G 314] |