Mark 14:(48b-50) 51-52
And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out as against a
robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? 49 Day after day I was with you in
the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be
fulfilled.” 50 And they all left him and fled.
51 And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen
cloth about his body. And they seized him, 52 but he left the linen cloth and
ran away naked.
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"John Mark"
We continue our Lenten focus on some of the “minor
characters” or “supporting cast” of the Passion Narrative. Today, we come to the Garden of Gethsemane, amidst
the arrest of Jesus. And there we see a
mysterious young man who was following along, and was almost arrested by the
soldiers himself. But he managed to slip
away from them, and all they got was the linen cloth he was wearing. He fled, naked into the night. It would be a sort of comical story if it
wasn’t in the midst of the seriousness of what was happening to Jesus.
Scripture doesn’t tell us who this young man is, but the
preponderance of scholarly thought assumes him to be young John Mark, the very
Mark who would become an associate of Peter and Paul, the cousin of Barnabas,
and ultimately the writer of this Gospel. And maybe the fact that this strange
little detail is found only in Mark’s Gospel further indicates the author’s own
little personal addition to the story.
“Hey, fellas, I was there! And a
funny story about that…”
We know that Mark also became a point of contention between
Paul and Barnabas (Mark’s cousin). Acts
tells us that he traveled with Paul and Barnabas on the First Missionary
Journey, but for some reason abandoned them partway through. Paul therefore refuses to take Mark on his
next journey, though Barnabas argued to give the young man a second
chance. Ultimately this led to Paul and
Barnabas going their separate ways. But
we do know that eventually Paul and Mark made up – from Philemon and 2 Timothy.
If, indeed, the young man in the garden was Mark, then why
was he there? We do know from Acts that
after Peter escapes from prison in Jerusalem, he ran to the home of Mark’s
mother. So Mark lived there in Jerusalem, which has made some suspect that his
home was the venue for the Last Supper on Maundy Thursday, and that perhaps
young Mark followed Jesus and the disciples to Gethsemane after the meal.
Another possibility is that Mark and his family had traveled
to Jerusalem for the Passover, and like many pilgrims, were camped out on the
Mount of Olives. Thus, this would
explain why he was there only in his “PJs” in the evening.
In any case, this "linen cloth" is the same word
that the gospel uses for the fine linen
cloth that Joseph of Arimathea used to wrap the body of Jesus for burial.
Now, what to make of all of this? I’m glad the school children are here with us
this evening, as I have fond memories of hearing this story about Mark running
away naked and snickering to myself as a child.
But where does all the snickering and discomfort with nakedness
begin? Of course, we go back to Eden.
Adam and Eve had sinned, and their eyes were opened, and
they knew they were naked. The felt
ashamed, not only at their sin, but even their very bodies. They sewed together fig leaves to cover
themselves and apparently did a poor job at that. God himself provided them with a better
covering – animal skins – the first shedding of blood in the Scriptures was
done by God – to cover the shame of Adam and Eve.
Nakedness reminds us of all that. Though we may try to cover up our sins, our
guilt and shame, they are still there.
Nothing we can do can take them away.
And just as we’d be embarrassed to be seen naked in public, so we also
would be humbled to have all of our sins on display for the world to see, or
worse, for God to see.
Adam and Eve hid – but you can’t hide from God. Mark may have escaped from the soldiers, but
there is no escape from the wages of sin.
Left to our own devices, all of us are laid bare, naked and afraid, lost
in the night.
But then, of course, there is Jesus. And believe it or not, he knows something
about nakedness. Remember at the cross,
after all the whipping and beating and the mockery, the crown of thorns and the
carrying of his cross. All his friends
had deserted him. The few who remained
were powerless to help. The soldiers who
nailed him to the cross and would stand grisly death watch over the three
condemned to die – now they took his clothes.
Even his clothes, at the end, and divided his garments among them. We depict Jesus more modestly in our art and
on our crucifixes, but the truth is, he was almost certainly crucified
naked. The Romans would not allow even
allow him the last shred of dignity, even in death.
And all of this Jesus endures for you, and me, and for Mark,
and for Adam and Eve, and for all sinners and their guilt and shame. He takes our place. He gets hat we deserve. He suffers the physical pain, the emotional
distress, and yes even the dishonor and shame that we deserve – to free us from
it all.
And then, when it is finished, his body is prepared for
burial. Joseph brings that fine linen
shroud and wraps Jesus up, lends him is own tomb, and rolls a stone to seal it
shut. Joseph did the best he could to
honor the body of Christ, but Jesus wouldn’t need that grave for long.
Jesus’ story didn’t end with nakedness and shame, nor even
with the final thud of the grave stone.
He rose on the third day, victorious over death, and left that linen
shroud behind, neatly folded.
Mark’s story didn’t end in the frightful naked night,
either, but he would come to know the story of Jesus, and write a Gospel to
tell the world about his Lord and Savior.
Adam and Eve’s story didn’t end with the shame of nakedness
and sin, either, because even though they couldn’t stay in the Garden, they
took something with them – not just those garments of animal skin – but also
the promise of God. One day, the seed of
the woman would crush the serpent. One
day, God himself would make right what they had made so wrong. And Adam and Eve must have told their
children, and children’s children that same promise, shared the same hope with
them, and looked forward in faith to its fulfillment in Christ.
My friends, your story doesn’t end with sin and shame,
either. Your story doesn’t even end in
the grave. You who are in Christ, have a
hope just as well. You are part of the
salvation story.
In Revelation 7 we see John’s vision of a great multitude
that no one could number, waving palm branches of victory, and wearing white
robes. We are told these are the ones
coming out of the great tribulation, who have washed their robes and made them
white in the blood of the Lamb. We
aren’t told their names, either, but it’s clear enough who they are.
They are the people of God.
They are the church. They are you
and me. Clothed in Christ’s
righteousness and gathered together in a throng of celebration in the life of
the world to come. In baptism they are
clothed with Christ. And by faith in
Christ their filthy garments and naked shame are no more – only bright, white,
glorious robes fit for the children of God.
Lent calls us to reflect.
It points us toward our sins, in a somber way. We may even feel the shame or the fear as sin
leaves us naked in the night. But let’s
not forget about Jesus, who bore our sins and sorrows, our stripes and shame,
and yes even our nakedness… to provide for us the robe of righteousness and a
resurrection to eternal life. So flee
from sin. And flee in faith to Christ,
always. In Jesus Name.
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