MenuRunning Away in the Garden
“And a young man followed Him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.” – Mark 14:51-52
Running away in the garden… The Gospel according to Mark uniquely mentions what happens to this young man after the betrayal and arrest of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. Partly because this detail is not found in Matthew, Luke or John, scholars often suggest that St. Mark the Evangelist is actually referring to himself here.
Running away… This is probably not the first time for young Mark. Possibly the rich young ruler (of Matthew 19:21), Mark seems to have struggled with the love of this world. Although his Jewish given name was John, he was also called Mark (“Markus” in Latin – see Acts 12:12), which perhaps indicates a Roman connection to power. John Mark apparently also came from a wealthy family – the house of his mother in Jerusalem was the gathering place of the disciples (and possibly the location of the “upper room” where Jesus held the Last Supper), and it seems his uncle Barnabas helped finance Paul’s early missionary journeys. The rich young ruler could not follow the words of Jesus to him, “Go, sell what you possess… and come, follow Me.” When Jesus had said that to him, he only went away sad.
Running away in the garden… naked and ashamed in the garden. It sounds like Adam running away from God, naked and ashamed in the garden of Eden in Genesis 3. Likewise, we all have been running away from God ever since that original sin. And we have betrayed Jesus just like Peter and all the disciples who abandoned Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane after having just pledged never to abandon Jesus earlier that evening at the Last Supper. How many times have we pledged our faithfulness to Jesus, yet failed Him?
Deserting Jesus on the night in which He was betrayed in the garden, John Mark is stripped of everything. Mark loses his garment and runs away. In the garden, Mark is naked and ashamed, just like Adam. He is exposed. He is without excuse. He is dominated by fear.
But Jesus is not done with John Mark. “You have Me,” Jesus says to Mark… and to you. Like Mark, we want this world. We are in love with the things of this world. But God works on us so that gradually it is all stripped away… all our pretensions, all our lies, all our excuses, all our self-justifications for why we’re not at fault. All is stripped away until we see the naked truth about ourselves.
And then we see Jesus all alone… crucified… naked… betrayed… deserted… taking upon Himself the sin and shame of you, me, Mark and Adam. Stripped naked and deserted, Jesus atones for Adam, Mark, me and you on the cross. Only the garment of Christ’s righteousness can cover our naked shame.
And Jesus Christ forgives us even as we continue to struggle following Him. Young John Mark’s life was being conformed to Christ in his struggles. St. Luke later tells us in Acts 15 (about 50 A.D.) that conflict arose between Paul and Barnabas because John Mark had previously abandoned them in Pamphylia… running away again. Yet by the time Paul writes his second letter to Timothy (about 68 A.D.), Paul is asking Timothy to “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.” (2 Tim. 4:11). By then, Mark had composed his Gospel account of what Jesus has done for us.
This Easter Sunday we hear Mark’s account of the women finding Jesus’ tomb empty… empty except for the linen cloth that wrapped His naked body in the tomb. And just as Mark’s enemies were left holding nothing but the linen cloth, so the tomb of the resurrected Jesus was left holding nothing but the linen cloth that had enveloped His once dead body.
Jesus forgives you. Jesus covers your shame, which is left behind like that linen cloth. Jesus died your death and lives now so that you shall live too. He makes you, like Mark, “useful for ministry” as He guides you in the good fight of faith and as He conforms you to His likeness.
May our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ strengthen and conform you to His likeness. Amen.
- Pastor Nickel