Question:

Mark 14:51 – What is the significance of this verse?

Answer:

The story about the young man losing his clothes seems a surprisingly insignificant detail to include in the Gospel of Mark. This has caused many to wonder why Mark included it (including you!).  The most reasonable answer I have heard is that this is mentioned because the person who had this experience was Mark himself.  We know that Mark he was a “young man” at the time of the crucifixion.  The most common belief is that the Mark who wrote the Gospel of Mark, is the same John Mark who caused a rift between Paul and Barnabas, but who was later the very helpful person mentioned by Paul in 2 Tim 4:22.  There is no way to prove this.  In any case, we can assume that this story was well known in the early church.   Let me put it this way, almost certainly close friends of the one who wrote Mark knew exactly who this person was, but for us it is a bit of a mystery. It may have been Mark himself, which would certainly explain the reference, but we simply cannot be certain.

John Oakes