This article considers the significance of Genesis 22 for preaching. It revisits the history of interpretation to answer the question what the author is doing with what he is saying.

Mark 14:51-52 is a major crux of Mark’s Gospel where we find the account of a young man fleeing naked from the scene as Jesus was arrested. This essay reviews the opinions of the young man’s identity. It proposes not an identification of this man, but the theological agenda of Mark. The paper wants to enable preachers to use this text in Mark 14 as the basis for a sermon that provides a valid application for transforming lives for God’s glory.