Dr. Michael Peppard

Yes. This is a very complex tale. And so I'm just going to give a short version because I also would have to reread some things to get the full version. Fair. Because it's a modern story. There's a lot going on here. But first, let me give you the New Testament canonical source text or the moment in the Gospel of Mark.

Yes. This is a very complex tale. And so I'm just going to give a short version because I also would have to reread some things to get the full version. Fair. Because it's a modern story. There's a lot going on here. But first, let me give you the New Testament canonical source text or the moment in the Gospel of Mark.

There is a very unusual scene, you know, one or two verses in which there's a young man who's there when Jesus gets arrested. And the young man is described as running off naked, like he loses his garments and he runs away, right? Mm-hmm. Totally unexplained. Like in the text, it's led to all kinds of theories about what's going on.

There is a very unusual scene, you know, one or two verses in which there's a young man who's there when Jesus gets arrested. And the young man is described as running off naked, like he loses his garments and he runs away, right? Mm-hmm. Totally unexplained. Like in the text, it's led to all kinds of theories about what's going on.

That's the canonical source. So what can you learn from that, Mark? What can I learn from that? Like very little, almost nothing. It feels to me as a scholar of the gospel of Mark, like Mark expects the audience to know something about this story or know a little bit that they're filling in, or maybe they knew who the person was.

That's the canonical source. So what can you learn from that, Mark? What can I learn from that? Like very little, almost nothing. It feels to me as a scholar of the gospel of Mark, like Mark expects the audience to know something about this story or know a little bit that they're filling in, or maybe they knew who the person was.

Or maybe it's just a detail that is included to show the kind of chaos of the scene, right? The chaos of the arrest scene.

Or maybe it's just a detail that is included to show the kind of chaos of the scene, right? The chaos of the arrest scene.

The word is young man. That's where it comes.

The word is young man. That's where it comes.

That's the guy who runs off naked.

That's the guy who runs off naked.

Right. So you've just seen, that's it. That's all we have to go on in the New Testament. But it was always a curiosity for New Testament scholars and New Testament readers, like what's going on in this story? He's only narrated, he's only characterized as a follower, someone who's following Jesus. Right. Okay, so now you fast forward to the 20th century.

Right. So you've just seen, that's it. That's all we have to go on in the New Testament. But it was always a curiosity for New Testament scholars and New Testament readers, like what's going on in this story? He's only narrated, he's only characterized as a follower, someone who's following Jesus. Right. Okay, so now you fast forward to the 20th century.

There's a scholar named Morton Smith who got famous for a book called Jesus the Magician, where he talks about Jesus in the context of ancient magic and ancient healing practices. Morton Smith publishes a bombshell revelation that he had discovered an early Christian text that was inserted into a different text, an expansion on this scene.

There's a scholar named Morton Smith who got famous for a book called Jesus the Magician, where he talks about Jesus in the context of ancient magic and ancient healing practices. Morton Smith publishes a bombshell revelation that he had discovered an early Christian text that was inserted into a different text, an expansion on this scene.

an expansion that he publishes as the Secret Gospel of Mark, where there is an expanded story about Jesus and this young man that Morton Smith then argues has been cut out of canonical Mark because it was too salacious or too scandalous.

an expansion that he publishes as the Secret Gospel of Mark, where there is an expanded story about Jesus and this young man that Morton Smith then argues has been cut out of canonical Mark because it was too salacious or too scandalous.

So he, I have to go back and remember all this. And there've been books published about this whole thing, of course. So when my, as I remember it, he, you know, he, he copies it down, but then when he goes later, when he doesn't take it out of the library, cause he doesn't have authorization to do that. He copies it down. And then when he goes back later, it's gone.

So he, I have to go back and remember all this. And there've been books published about this whole thing, of course. So when my, as I remember it, he, you know, he, he copies it down, but then when he goes later, when he doesn't take it out of the library, cause he doesn't have authorization to do that. He copies it down. And then when he goes back later, it's gone.