Sermon — The Second Naked Man — the Gospel According to Mark

Setting: Jesus is betrayed by Judas Iscariot and arrested by a number of guards in the garden. His disciples panic.)

Mark 14 New International Version (NIV)

50 Then everyone deserted him and fled.

51 A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, 52 he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.

Mark 16 New International Version (NIV)

Jesus has been crucified and laid in a tomb. The Sabbath Day began, so they were unable to prepare his body.

16 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.[a]

Sermon

Why do we feel the need to study the Ancient Languages like Greek and Hebrew? Is it really worth all the blood sweat and tears to learn them?

When we read a passage of scripture in the English language, it is much like looking at a fat person. Yet, when we look at the same scripture passage in the original language, we see more clearly an expectant mother that is pregnant…the possibilities are endless! A Greek, Aramaic, Hebrew scholar is much like a midwife that is giving birth to a living human document. New life is born and potentialities and possibilities are astronomical.

We find in the Gospel According to Mark how in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus is betrayed by a kiss from his own disciple Judas Iscariot. Jesus is arrested and his disciples flee in terror. It’s only in this particular gospel that we read about a young man following after Jesus wearing a linen garment. The guards see him and go to arrest him. They grab a hold of him, but he manages to struggle and escape out of the linen cloth and escapes naked in a panicked state. So here we observe the fat person.

The Writer/editor of the Gospel According to Mark was traditionally accused of being a terrible writer, choppy, and using words that were strange. Yet another way of looking at it is that he had a purposed in using certain words in his account.

When we examine the Greek, we see a young man (Νεανισκος) wearing a linen cloth (Ϛινδόνα) — which can be translated as grave clothes, as in, after the crucifixion, Joseph of Arimathea wraps Jesus body in a Ϛινδόνα and lays him in a tomb. The young man is following after Jesus and the guards go to grab him, but he escapes the grave clothes~ a foreshadowing of what Jesus will later do~ and proceeds to run away.

Later on the women visit the tomb of Jesus and find not angels, but rather a young man (Νεανισκος) sitting in his right mind wearing bright and glorious clothing, a (ϛτόλέ Λύκέ). He announces that Jesus has risen, he is not here. The women leave the tomb trembling and bewildered because they were afraid.

I want to reflect on what these passages might have meant to the original hearers of the Markan gospel (exegesis). Many early Christians were being persecuted and put to death for having faith in Jesus Christ. A lot of Christians expected that Jesus would be returning soon and were utterly surprised to see many of their brothers and sisters put to death due to their faith.

The writers of the Markan gospel is basically saying that to follow Jesus; one has to put on the grave clothes, before one puts on the glorious clothes. Following Jesus can be dangerous and may lead one to suffering and death. Yet by his grace, we will also wear the glorious clothing. God is faithful and will bring his church through.

Now I wish to reflect on what this passage may mean in our day and age (hermeneutics). How do we see our own faith working itself out in our everyday lives? Things like a prosperity gospel and treating god like “…your errand boy who will satisfy your wandering desires.” As Bob Dylan sang in “When you Gonna Wake Up?”

Instead, we as a church need to identify with the suffering in the world. Many Christians are being put to death all around the world. From China, to Sri Lanka; from Nigeria to Saudi Arabia; from Indonesia to North Korea… all around the world, it is happening every day. What are we doing about it? I myself feel so useless and apathetic as I sit around listening to how many Christians are being executed for their faith. I feel angry and want to do something! What can I do? I feel like a chicken with its head cut off…running around. Or is that a description of the church in general? We as a Western church must identify with the poor and the suffering of the world.

Like the young man, we must follow Jesus and there will be a time where some of us will wear the grave clothes and die for His sake. Yet He does promise us that we will live again and wear bright and glorious clothing. So be it. Come Lord Jesus. Amen.