Three Puzzling Gospel Stories

Mark's Mysterious Man, Matthew's Mass Resurrection, and Jesus Slipping Away

When people find out that I’ve spent some time studying the gospels, I’ve been surprised at how quickly two questions come up:

1. Who is the man who flees naked from Jesus in Mark? (Was it Mark himself?)

and

2. What is going on with the mass resurrection in Matthew? (Did a host of saints really rise from their tombs and enter Jerusalem?)

These are some of the most puzzling episodes in the gospels. Yet since I am the son of a preacher, it would be remiss of me if I did not add my own third question to boot:

3. How did Jesus make his escape from the people of Nazareth in Luke?

While I can’t pretend to have any conclusive solutions, what follows are my initial attempts to understand these scenes – to probe the meanings which lie behind them.