8. Mark_s_Anonymous_Figures.mp4
8. Silencing_the_Passion_s_Dangerous_Eyewitnesses.m4a
This scholarly topic examines the presence and significance of anonymous characters within Mark's Passion narrative, postulating that this section of the Gospel relies on an earlier pre-Markan source. The author explores the hypothesis of "protective anonymity," initially proposed by Gerd Theissen, suggesting that individuals who were complicit in events leading to Jesus' arrest—like the man who wielded the sword and the young man who fled naked—were left unnamed and their identities obscured to safeguard them from persecution by the Jerusalem authorities. This need for caution is also linked to the strange secrecy surrounding the arrangements for Jesus' entry and the Last Supper, and the extraordinary anonymity of the woman who anointed Jesus as Messiah, whose identification could have put her in danger. Finally, the text contrasts Mark's reserve with John's Gospel, where these figures are named, arguing that John wrote when the need for such caution and secrecy had passed, thus providing valuable, though previously suppressed, historical detail.
Have you ever been reading a familiar story from the Bible and wondered why so many of the characters are anonymous? We read about the “woman at the well,” the “rich young ruler,” or the “man born blind.” It’s a common feature, but in the oldest of the four gospels, the Gospel of Mark, this anonymity seems to go deeper. For many of its most pivotal characters, especially in the final days of Jesus's life, the lack of a name isn't just a minor detail—it's a clue.
This isn't a case of a forgetful narrator. According to the compelling theory of scholar Gerd Theissen, this pattern of anonymity in Mark’s passion narrative is a deliberate and vital literary strategy. He calls it “protective anonymity,” a method of storytelling designed to recount world-changing events while shielding the real people involved from mortal danger. The omissions in the text are not gaps in the story; they are a window into the high-stakes world of the first Christian community in Jerusalem.
What follows is an exploration of this theory, looking at five key examples from Mark’s account of Jesus's arrest and crucifixion. Each case reveals how the gospel writer carefully navigated the treacherous political landscape of the time, preserving a history that was still dangerous to tell.
In Mark’s account of Jesus’s arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, two mysterious figures appear. One man draws a sword and cuts off the ear of the high priest’s servant. A moment later, after the disciples have fled, a young man who tries to follow Jesus is grabbed, escapes his linen garment, and flees naked.
What’s odd is that Mark’s language is peculiarly obscure, making it impossible to tell if these men are even disciples. He refers to the sword-wielder vaguely as “one of those who stood near.” This phrasing is so ambiguous that later gospels feel the need to clarify, with Matthew writing of “one of those with Jesus” (Matt 26:51) and Luke of “one of them” (Luke 22:50), both phrases that unambiguously point to a disciple. For his part, the naked youth is an enigma who appears from nowhere and vanishes just as quickly. Scholar Gerd Theissen offers a powerful explanation for this deliberate obscurity: