Mark 14:51-55

Mark 14:51 (KJB)
And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him:

Since all the disciples had fled from the scene, a young man who was clothed only in a linen cloth must have been a follower of Jesus. The identity of this man is unknown but it is believed that it is John Mark, the author of this Gospel. He may have wanted to see what was happening and only had time to throw on a linen cloth. He had remained close to Jesus when He was being taken away and the crowd thought that he was a follower and they also laid hands on him and tried to take him too. This also lends credence to the belief that the Last Supper was in the home of John Mark although we cannot be totally sure.

Mark 14:52 (KJB)
And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked.

When they attempted to seize him, he had fled the scene in a hurry and while doing so, his linen cloth was grabbed and it came off of him and he fled the scene naked. The fact that this man had a linen cloth for covering showed he was a man of means because the normal cloth is one that is made of rough woolen material. The fact that this man left naked may also have been a fulfillment of a prophecy. (Amos 2:16 KJV) And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the LORD. This man showed great courage in even going to the site where they were taking Jesus but that courage turned to fear as he fled naked.

Mark 14:53 (KJB)
And they led Jesus away to the high priest: and with him were assembled all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes.

When Jesus was taken, He was first taken to Annas who was the father in law to Caiaphas. (John 18:13 KJV) And led him away to Annas first; for he was father in law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year. Then after Jesus was questioned by Annas, He was then taken to the house of Caiaphas who was the High Priest and that is where they were assembled. (John 18:24 KJV) Now Annas had sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest. This happened at night which means it was a mock trial and the illegalities in their procedure were piling up.

Mark 14:54 (KJB)
And Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest: and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire.

Peter had followed at a far distance but he had tried to get as close as he could to see what was happening to Jesus. He would have sat in the inner court which would have had access by an archway. Peter had entered in and sat with the servants to see what the end would be. So Peter was interested in the proceedings. It must have been pretty cold that morning because Peter had warmed himself by the fire. He probably thought he could blend in with the others who were present and go unnoticed.

Mark 14:55 (KJB)
And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none.

The goal of the chief priests and elders was to put Jesus to death. That is what they set out to do. In fact, the entire Sanhedrin wanted to see Him dead, except Nicodemus and Joseph. So they began their kangaroo court by seeking to find any false witnesses. This large group must have known some people who would be willing to lie for a price and help them execute Jesus. A true testimony had to have at least two corroborating witnesses who witnessed the same thing and their testimonies could not conflict with one another. This group had trouble finding credible false witnesses and they had found none. Then to their joy at the end of this council, there came two false witnesses which seemed to have their stories together and now the council could build upon their false testimony.

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