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Betraying Jesus with a Kiss | Mark 14:43-52 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Gospel of Mark Bible Study Series) · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

• 0:01
  Please meet me in the Gospel of Mark chapter 14 and in our time
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  together we are going to be looking at verse 43 down to
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  verse 52. I'll wait for you before we
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  begin reading. Mark 1443 to 52.
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  And immediately while he was still speaking, Judas came one
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  of the 12, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs from the
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  chief priests and the scribes and the elders.
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  Now the betrayer had given them a sign saying, The one I will
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  kiss is the man, seize him and lead him away under guard.
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  And when he came, he went up to him at once, and said, Rabbi.
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  And he kissed him, and they laid hands on him and seized him.
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  One of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant
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  of the high priest, and cut off his ear.
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  And Jesus said to them, Have you come out as against a robber,
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  with swords and clubs to capture me?
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  Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did
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  not seize me, but let the Scriptures be fulfilled.
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  And they all left him and fled. And a young man followed him
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  with nothing but a linen cloth about his body.
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  And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away
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  naked. Lord, in the same way that you
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  opened the minds of your disciples that they might
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  understand the Scriptures, we pray for that same mercy to be
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  granted to us. We trust, Lord, that you will
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  speak and we pray, Lord, that these truths would translate
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  into testimonies in our own lives.
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  We ask these things in Jesus name, Amen.
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  Before Us is one of the most captivating, appalling,
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  adrenaline pumping episodes in all of the gospel accounts.
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  It is a scene that describes the heinous and unjustified arrests
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  of the sinless Son of God. And though the apprehension of
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  the Lord Jesus Christ is a staggering thought in itself to
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  contemplate, there are other things related to this moment
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  that make it even more incredible.
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  This account appears in every gospel and each of them provide
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  unique details that have been preserved for our reflection.
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  But since we have been in the past months and even over a
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  year, focus on Mark, Mark's account here, Mark's version, is
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  going to be the perspective that we will be holding to while
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  referencing other writers in order to have a fuller
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  understanding of this remarkable event.
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  And so in this brief introduction, let me let you
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  know where we're headed. I want us to consider from the
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  scene 5 features that we cannot afford to overlook. 5 features
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  and the first one deals with the crowd, the second one deals with
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  the sword, the third here deals with rather the sword.
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  The second being the kiss, the 4th being the scriptures and the
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  5th being the cloth. So let me revisit those.
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  First, we're dealing with the crowd.
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  Second, we're dealing with the kiss.
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  Third, we're looking at the sword. 4th, we're looking at the
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  scriptures. And lastly, we're looking at the
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  cloth. And I have a feeling that you
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  are really looking forward to learning about this young man in
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  the garden, leaving behind his linen cloth.
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  We will get there. And I hope that you will never
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  read this story the same way again.
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  You'll never be able to explain it the same way again and that
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  it will cause your heart to erupt in praise when you realize
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  the brilliance and the genius of our God, namely through the
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  authorship of the Holy Spirit. The crowd look again with me in
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  verse 43 and immediately while he was still speaking, Judas
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  came one of the 12 that that's mentioned there to show us just
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  how deplorable this is one of the 12 and with him a crowd with
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  swords and clubs from the chief priests and the scribes and the
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  elders. According to Matthew's account
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  in chapter 26 verse 47, it wasn't just any crowd that
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  surrounded Jesus Christ. He adds the word great crowd.
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  It was a great crowd. John is more specific in telling
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  us what this crowd was made-up of.
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  Noting in John 18 verse three that it was a band of soldiers
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  and with them some officers of the chief priests and Pharisees,
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  a band of soldiers. Now, the Greek word for band
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  there denotes a military cohort, and it consists of between, get
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  this, 500 to 1000 soldiers. Now, right there we are already
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  confronted with the popular imagination that when Jesus was
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  surrounded by these soldiers, it was just like a handful of them.
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  Though we're not given an exact number, we can be certain that
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  we're not dealing with 5 or 10 here.
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  Potentially hundreds, hundreds of men have come to ambush the
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  Son of God. And what is also certain is that
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  those who surrounded the Lord on this ominous night says
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  something about what Judas was thinking.
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  There might be different reasons to why he escorted this large
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  group. Why have this heavily armed
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  assembly chaperone him? It could be that Judas imagined
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  the Lord Jesus would try to flee.
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  It could be that in thinking that he would flee that there
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  would be a need for a great search team and so he recruits a
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  great amount of people to do that.
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  It's also possible that he anticipated the disciples to try
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  to defend the rabbi, and so he brings about a great crowd in
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  order to intimidate them from even entertaining such an
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  attempt. It could also be, alternatively,
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  that he might have thought that Jesus could use his miraculous
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  power. He's witnessed it with his own
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  eyes. He's seen what Christ can do in
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  the moment. And so, thinking perhaps that he
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  might try to resist, he would bring a crowd to bring about
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  somewhat of a fair fight. Whatever the reasons are, what
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  are there one or many Judas? Being confident and bringing
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  this crowd shows us that he did not understand who Christ was.
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  He didn't understand who Christ was and his power.
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  He didn't understand who Christ was and his purpose.
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  He didn't even understand who Christ was and his person.
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  To think that you can overpower the Lord Jesus Christ shows some
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  severe ignorance and really the blindness of pride on Judas's
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  part. And Jesus demonstrates that
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  Judas didn't know what he was doing.
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  Judas was going to learn very quickly with this great crowd of
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  people who was really in control of this event.
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  Turn with me to John 18 and look here at verse four with me, John
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  18, verse 4. Then Jesus, knowing all that
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  would happen to him, came forward.
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  Don't you love that knowing all that would happen to him did not
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  retreat, did not turn his back, He came forward.
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  He came forward and said to them, Whom do you seek?
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  All What calmness, what authority, what boldness, what
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  courage, whom do you seek? They answer them.
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  Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said to them, I am He.
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  Judas, who betrayed him was standing with them.
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  When Jesus said to them, I am He, they drew back and fell to
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  the ground. Now the significance of John's
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  vantage points can easily be lost if we don't consider how
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  sometimes our English translations limit us.
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  If you have the King James Version, then you'll notice that
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  the word He, when Jesus answered I am he, is italicized.
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  I don't know how many people hold to the King James today,
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  but some still do. And what the King James
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  translators did is that when words did not appear in the
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  original language, they would italicize them to let you know
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  the reader that this is not found in the original text.
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  And even if you have the ESV, depending on your version, you
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  will see there beside I am he a footnote, the little number
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  above the word to indicate to you, hey, we want to show you
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  that the word he there is not found in the Greek.
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  So more accurately, when they approached Jesus and Jesus asked
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  whom do you seek? And they said Jesus of Nazareth.
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  How did he actually respond? He didn't say I am he, he said I
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  am I am a clear reference to the name that Yahweh gave to Moses
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  in Exodus 314. And how fitting is it that John
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  is the one who includes this detail exclusively?
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  What is John's goal and bringing about his gospel account to
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  display and demonstrate the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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  And on many occasions, what do we have Jesus giving these I am
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  statements, right? Several of them I am.
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  I am. In some moments he just says I
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  am, and this is one of them. I am the door.
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  I am the way, I am the light. And here we find Christ now
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  approaching his death before his enemies, and he says, I am.
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  And not only is that proclamation in itself powerful,
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  it came with power. Because the moment he said I am,
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  there was this invisible force that lifted these enemies of
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  Christ off their feet and put them on their rear ends.
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  Jesus response is not only a fearless affirmation of His
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  identity, He's not trying to hide.
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  He's saying I am the one that you're looking for, but it also
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  is a statement of his divinity as Yahweh in the flesh.
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  And something incredible comes with that self-proclaimed
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  deification. And we see here that when Jesus
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  did this, it came with power for a reason, to show this evil
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  bunch, the one who is really in control, the one who is really
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  the master of this moment was him.
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  So powerful is Christ. So in control was Christ that
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  all he had to do was say the word and he could change the
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  direction of this whole ambush so they fell backwards and he
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  could overcome them with just the whisper if he chose.
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  And let me tell you this, this is a preview of a power that the
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  world is going to witness when the same Jesus comes back to
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  rescue his bride, to judge the wicked and to establish his
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  government. Do you remember what Paul tells
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  us when Christ returns to deal with the Antichrist, how he was
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  going to kill him? Let me remind you from Second
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  Thessalonians 28, where Paul says, and then the lawless one
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  will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with what?
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  With the breath, with the breath of his mouth and bring to
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  nothing by the appearance of His coming, just his breath, just
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  his word, no weapon, no angels needed, no seraphim, no
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  cherubim, just a whisper and he can render any of his enemies
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  powerless. So what we learn about the crowd
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  is that the evil one, who is the invisible Energizer and animator
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  of all these things, the evil one with the range of his
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  minions and the great weaponry that was here, was not in
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  control. He was not determining anything.
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  He was not dictating Jesus, arrest, trial, and ultimate
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  death. Christ was.
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  It's not the crowd that's in control, it's Christ.
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  And he's still in control and he'll always be in control.
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  And people who don't believe he's in control are going to
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  find out that he is indeed. Now we move from the crowd to
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  the kiss, and in verse 43 we read that there was this crowd
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  who came, but the betrayer in verse 44 had given them a sign
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  saying, the one I will kiss is the man sees him and lead him
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  away under guard. In Middle Eastern culture, it
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  was, and it still is a common gesture of greeting among
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  friends, even among men, to kiss.
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  And if you've been in this church long enough, you've
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  probably seen it. Arabs in this church welcome
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  each other in a very similar way.
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  And so this affectionate act in itself is not strange.
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  It's not something out of the ordinary, But it was a way for
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  Judas to differentiate Christ from the other disciples in that
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  dark scene. And so he says, I'm going to
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  kiss one person, and that's the person that you need to find and
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  arrest. This is the signal of choice
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  that I made, and it was a despicable one.
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  Despicable not just because it was grossly hypocritical to to
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  utilize a gesture of affection and endearment and respect to
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  actually highlight the one you want to see die.
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  It's more than just the fact that it was deceitful.
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  It is dripping with damning irony, and perhaps Jesus's
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  answer in response to Judas as he's approaching him to embrace
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  him in such a way reveals that there is a deeper significance
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  to what this man is doing. Do you remember what Christ
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  asked him in Luke 2248? Judas, would you betray the Son
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  of Man with a kiss? You know where my mind went to
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  when I was meditating on this? Another place in the Old
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  Testament where we're told that the sun would be kissed.
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  Do you remember the Messianic Psalm in Psalm chapter 2, where
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  we're told there about in a wonderful hymn, the nation's
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  plotting against the Lord and His anointed?
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  And you remember how the psalmist concludes, do you not?
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  He admonishes the kings and the rulers of the nations in light
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  of the coming establishment of God's global government ruled
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  from Zion. Psalm 2, verse 12 kiss, kiss the
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  son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath
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  is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge
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  in him. To kiss in this context is a
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  Pledge of Allegiance. It's to say, I submit to you, I
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  honor you, I respect you. And this was a well known song.
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  This is a Psalm of hope for the nation of Israel, that the Lord
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  and His anointed will come, rule and reign over the whole world.
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  I wonder if Judas knew this Psalm, and I wonder, in knowing
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  a conscience of it, depicting a victorious, kingly, strong,
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  undefeated Messiah, he mockingly kisses Jesus.
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  Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?
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  And he daringly does so. You know what else this Psalm
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  teaches me in connection to Judas kissing him, kissing the
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  Son. There is a wrong way to kiss the
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  Son, the wrong ways exemplified in Judas, an insincere pledge of
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  loyalty to him. And if there's a wrong way to
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  kiss the sun, then there is a right way to kiss the sun.
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  You want to know something fascinating and all of the
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  gospel accounts. There are only two places where
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  we read of human lips planting on the Son of God.
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  The 1st is what you just read, Judas kissing the sun.
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  The second is when Jesus was invited to a dinner and a woman,
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  unnamed, interrupts that feast. She comes to his feet, wets
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  those feet with her tears, dries them with her hair, kisses them
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  and anoints them with oil. And this so moved the heart of
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  Christ that he looks to his host.
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  And he says in that chapter of Luke 7.
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  When I came in, you did not kiss me.
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  But she has not ceased to kiss me.
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  And then she turns. He turns to this genuine woman
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  from out of the overflow of her heart could not help but kiss
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  the son. And he assures her, in Luke 7,
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  48, your sins are forgiven. There are two ways to kiss the
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  sun. The genuine, sincere, saving
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  way, in a way that seems sincere but in fact is hollow, empty of
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  true substance, not coming from the heart.
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  How have you kissed the sun? You say you believe in him.
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  Is it a true belief? You say you repented.
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  Is it true repentance? And speaking about kissing, did
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  you know that Christians are commanded to kiss not just the
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  sun, but each other five times across the New Testament?
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  Are we told that we are to greet each other with this kind of
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  affection right now? That might be strange to some of
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  us, but it's not strange to the Middle Easterners in here and
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  other cultures, may I add. Here's one example of it in
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  Romans 1616. A very easy reference, and it's
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  repeated in different ways at the end of some epistles.
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  Notice what the Spirit of God says through some of the
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  apostles. And here's Paul, who writes
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  greet one another with a holy kiss.
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  All the churches of Christ greet you.
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  So again, remember, this was normal.
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  This was normal in the culture of the early church.
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  But what's more important about determining whether we should
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  kiss or handshake or hug is the characteristic, the quality of
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  the reception or the welcome or the address.
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  What did Paul say? And you'll find this in every
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  instance about kissing one another, greeting one another.
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  Did he just say greet one another with a kiss?
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  What did he proceed the word kiss with?
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  The word holy. Greet one another with a holy
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  kiss. Now you know what some have done
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  with this, OK? This means that we are to greet
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  one another and if we choose the route of affection to make sure
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  that it's appropriate and dignified and familial.
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  Don't make it weird when you kiss each other and greet each
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  other. I don't think that's what
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  they're getting at here. I don't think that's the point.
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  I think with these commands, to greet one another with a holy
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  kiss has to be set against the backdrop of the most infamous an
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  unholy kiss ever given Judas. So with that in view, here's
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  what greeting one another with a holy kiss really means.
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  Let your greeting be free from deceit, free from insincerity,
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  free from hidden betrayal, free from a limiting love, a corrupt
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  love. In other words, let's make sure
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  that in none of our churches there are Judases who kissed.
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  But in his heart contradicted what he demonstrated.
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  What does it look like for us to not kiss with a holy kiss?
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  Can I tell you what it looks like?
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  Somebody gossiping about another member of the church throughout
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  the week and then when they come in on Sunday and see that same
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  person. Sister, how are you?
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  Oh, I love you so much. I've been praying about you and
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  praying for you. Well, Monday through Saturday,
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  their reputation has been torn to shreds by those same lips.
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  What does an unholy kiss look like?
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  It looks like a brother greeting another brother and developing a
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  relationship with them purely to manipulate them for whatever
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  reason, to take advantage of them, to come off in a certain
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  way for selfish gain. That's what an unholy kiss looks
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  like. So greet one another with a holy
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  kiss. There shouldn't be any doubt in
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  our minds that when we look at each other, embrace one another,
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  wave to each other, sit across a table downstairs, that we are
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  committed and in love with one another.
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  No unholy kisses. This is what they're saying, and
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  this is what we have to understand.
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  Be real with one another, be transparent.
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  There should not have be any fear in this place that there is
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  a Judas in the midst. So we go from the crowd to the
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  kiss, but now we come to the sword.
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  Come back with me to mark 14 in verse 46.
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  And they laid hands on him and seized him.
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  But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the
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  servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.
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  John 1810 clarifies who the disciple was that attacked the
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  servant. And we actually know the
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  identity of the servant Peter. Are you surprised, Peter in the
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  name of the high priest servant Malchus.
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  But it's only Luke. And this isn't a surprise
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  either. That adds a detail, a couple of
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  details that would make sense from the beloved physician.
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  Turn with me to Luke 22 verse 50 and see how specific Luke is and
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  how Luke adds a note that makes the scene, Yes, heartbreaking
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  betrayal, but there's beauty in it.
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  And Luke 22 verse 50 And one of them struck the servant of the
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  high priest and cut off his right ear.
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  So he says exactly which ear it was.
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  Doctors like details and cut off his right ear.
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  But Jesus said no more of this. And here's here's what you're
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  going to find in Luke's account. And he touched his ear and
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  healed him. Behold the last healing miracle
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  Jesus performs before he goes to his death.
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  Who does he heal? This was a personal assistant to
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  the high priest Malchus. This is not an innocent
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  bystander who just happened to be in Gethsemane and got caught
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  in the crossfire. It could very well be that Peter
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  targeted Malchus knowing who he was.
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  It could even be that Malchus stood there in some of those
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  scenes in the Gospels where there was confrontation between
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  the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the scribes being sent off
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  by the high priest to observe and supervise.
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  It could very well be that this is not the first time Malchus
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  was made known to the disciples. Malchus, listen, was an enemy, a
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  foe, part of this diabolical plot?
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  And yet when his ear was removed, and don't get it
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  twisted, Peter wasn't aiming for his ear, he just missed.
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  Jesus halts his disciple. He looks at Malchus.
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  I just wonder what that was like.
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  What was that atmosphere like for Christ to take the time and
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  to restore Malchus before he would die for Malchus?
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  Do you know what you have here? You have a preview of a gospel
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  truth, what we find in Romans 5 that while we were weak, while
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  we were sinners, while we were enemies, Christ died for us.
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  That's what you have here. You have a preview, just one
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  testimony of many of Christ's healing, restoring, reconciling
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  those who at once were enemies of him.
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  Let me also say this, that Christ here in this moment also
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  demonstrates that many times his disciples misrepresent him.
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  And the best thing to do if you have been disappointed by his
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  representatives is to look to Christ.
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  Disciples of Jesus make a lot of mess.
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  They have throughout history. And you're probably the
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  recipient of pain and hurt from those who claim his name.
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  So let me say this, be patient with Christians and never turn
• 27:30
  your back on Christ because Christians have failed in one
• 27:32
  way or another, even if they failed in a colossal way like
• 27:35
  Peter. What happens to Peter here?
• 27:41
  I believe that, like him, if we truly belong to the Lord, though
• 27:45
  we have done great mistakes, we've performed things that we
• 27:49
  thought there was. How did I allow myself to go
• 27:51
  there? God will eventually teach you
• 27:55
  and mature you and grow you. And I believe Peter learned a
• 27:58
  valuable lesson here, Many lessons, I'm sure.
• 28:01
  I can't read his mind. We are not a religion that
• 28:06
  permits the utilization of the sword as an act of vengeance
• 28:10
  against our enemies, right? Nor are we a faith that
• 28:13
  advocates that we conquer people in order to make converts.
• 28:18
  What Peter is going to learn is that there has been a weapon
• 28:21
  provided to us far greater than a sword and that does much
• 28:26
  greater work in our enemies. So the same disciple who took
• 28:34
  out the sword and cut off the ear of those who oppose Christ
• 28:38
  would know another kind of confrontation that would cause a
• 28:42
  different kind of bleeding, a righteous 1A praiseworthy one,
• 28:47
  and the one that is far more effective in overcoming those
• 28:50
  who oppose Christ saying, what are you talking about?
• 28:54
  Here's what I'm talking about. Listen to the language of what
• 28:57
  happened to the audience that Peter preached to after the
• 29:01
  first Christian sermon on that day of Pentecost in Acts 237.
• 29:09
  Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said
• 29:19
  to Peter and the rest of the apostles.
• 29:21
  Brothers, what shall we do? We don't implement the sword, We
• 29:30
  have the sword of the Spirit. We don't attack people, we
• 29:35
  challenge them and seek their conviction through the sharpness
• 29:38
  of the truth. And so the same Peter who cut
• 29:42
  off a man's ear stood before thousands of others who have
• 29:45
  also denied Christ, but this time wielding the sword of the
• 29:49
  Spirit and seeing all these hearts slashed by the Spirit's
• 29:54
  conviction and then being won over in a saving way, Peter
• 30:00
  would learn that aren't you grateful for God's patience?
• 30:05
  Take some time for us to understand how the Kingdom of
• 30:08
  God works. So we cover the crown.
• 30:13
  We covered the kiss, we cover the sword briefly.
• 30:18
  We now we come to the Scriptures in verse 48 of Mark 14 and Jesus
• 30:27
  said to them, have you come out as against a robber with swords
• 30:31
  and clubs to capture me day after day?
• 30:35
  I was with you in the temple teaching and you did not seize
• 30:38
  me, but let the Scriptures be fulfilled.
• 30:42
  What is Jesus getting at here? He is exposing their cowardice
• 30:47
  and he is reinforcing his innocence.
• 30:49
  There are many times that you saw me in the temple teaching,
• 30:53
  even flipping tables. Why didn't you arrest me then?
• 30:56
  Why are you doing it in secret? Why are you concealing this?
• 31:02
  But again, I mean, you see this throughout the Gospels.
• 31:05
  Jesus wants us to know, we see it in the writings that this is
• 31:09
  not happenstance. This is not a surprise.
• 31:13
  Notice the last words he said. But let the Scriptures be
• 31:15
  fulfilled. So earlier when when Jesus said
• 31:18
  I am, he manifested his power to show I'm the master right here.
• 31:25
  I'm the one who's really in control here.
• 31:27
  And isn't it amazing that though they were knocked back and
• 31:30
  though Malchus ear was healed, they still didn't repent.
• 31:33
  Like didn't even reconsider. Maybe, maybe we're dealing with
• 31:36
  something who's not just human here.
• 31:38
  We're dealing with somebody who was extravagantly gracious and
• 31:43
  merciful and kind. They didn't cross their minds at
• 31:45
  all. The the the unbelief that's
• 31:50
  willing to bulldoze through all hurdles of grace.
• 31:55
  Some people will go through a lot.
• 31:57
  We'll ignore a lot, we'll reject a lot before they plunge into
• 32:01
  hell. Let the scriptures be fulfilled.
• 32:07
  He showed his power earlier, but now he's showing with his power.
• 32:10
  Prophecy is at work. This has been foretold.
• 32:15
  The prophets predicted this in great detail and all.
• 32:18
  We can spend the next 5-10 minutes looking at so many
• 32:21
  references, but here's one that comes to mind from Isaiah 50
• 32:24
  verse 5. The Lord God has opened my ear.
• 32:27
  This is Messiah speaking. The Lord God has opened my ear.
• 32:31
  This is what we need to know our Old Testaments.
• 32:33
  You read that He's open my ear. I don't know what that means.
• 32:36
  Open my ear. No, no, there's an allusion here
• 32:40
  to Exodus that when a servant wanted to become a permanent
• 32:43
  slave to his owner, he would offer his ear and that ear would
• 32:48
  be placed against the door and there would be an all pierced
• 32:51
  through it to signify as a token this individual now is my
• 32:55
  permanent slave. And now with that illusion,
• 32:59
  Messiah says I open my ear. I am a bond servant.
• 33:03
  I am the perfect servant to God. The Lord God has opened my ear
• 33:07
  and I was not rebellious. I turned not backward.
• 33:12
  What did he do instead? Verse 6 I gave my back to those
• 33:16
  who strike. Was it taken from him?
• 33:21
  Was he forced? No, no, look at look at the
• 33:23
  language. I gave my back to those who
• 33:25
  strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard.
• 33:33
  I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.
• 33:38
  And that disgrace and spitting was coming.
• 33:42
  The prophets foretold this. I'm aware of it, and I'm walking
• 33:47
  in it faithfully. I did not turn back.
• 33:50
  I was not rebellious. I did not shrink.
• 33:53
  I embraced what I know I've come to do.
• 33:59
  I could stay here, but I don't want to stay here.
• 34:02
  I want to spend the remainder of our time with whatever energy we
• 34:05
  have left to discuss the final element of this glorious scene,
• 34:11
  the cloth, verse 50 to 52. And they all left him and fled,
• 34:20
  and a young man followed him with nothing but a linen cloth
• 34:23
  about his body, and they seized him, but he left the linen cloth
• 34:28
  and ran away naked. This has made people feel
• 34:34
  awkward, uncomfortable, even confused.
• 34:39
  And that has been the subject matter of much debate.
• 34:43
  The curiosity from this passage is not unfamiliar.
• 34:47
  It is shared among all genuine seekers of the truth.
• 34:50
  And here's the main thing that people want to know.
• 34:53
  Who is this guy? Who is this young man?
• 34:59
  And so there are all these theories.
• 35:02
  Lazarus, Joseph of Arimathea, the rich young ruler.
• 35:11
  Most people believe that it's John Mark himself, the writer of
• 35:13
  this gospel, because it's only found in Mark and in a very
• 35:16
  modest way, he's trying to admit and confess his own failure and
• 35:22
  denying Christ. We can't know for certain and
• 35:29
  any any case you would make is just speculation, but what we do
• 35:35
  know is that this young man's nakedness as a follower of
• 35:38
  Christ, right? Mark is using very familiar
• 35:40
  language and a young man followed him, followed him
• 35:43
  denoting discipleship. He followed him and then he
• 35:48
  flees from him. So really the scene is a
• 35:51
  reflection of the shame of the abandonment of the disciples of
• 35:55
  Christ. In verse 50, he's, he's
• 35:57
  reflecting that because nakedness in the Bible points to
• 36:02
  shame, it's a shameful thing to be naked.
• 36:04
  That that's the truth that goes all the way back to the garden
• 36:06
  because of sin. It wasn't so from the beginning.
• 36:08
  And so the impression that we're supposed to get from this is
• 36:11
  that this young man who also followed Christ was unwilling to
• 36:17
  be associated with the with the Christ to the degree that he was
• 36:20
  willing to be in public naked. That's how much he didn't want
• 36:24
  to pay the price to be with Christ, that he was willing to
• 36:27
  run out of there without any clothes on.
• 36:31
  And so he's left in a state of shame, not just because of the
• 36:34
  obvious reason, but because of the internal reason of not being
• 36:39
  faithful to his master. And that is true of the
• 36:42
  disciples, though they were still clothed.
• 36:45
  Now we can end it there that this is a disgraceful lack of
• 36:50
  commitment, whoever this young man was.
• 36:54
  But I believe that there is a different emphasis that Mark is
• 36:57
  trying to to make here. I don't think Mark is as
• 37:02
  concerned about identifying who this young man is.
• 37:04
  You know why? Because he could have told us.
• 37:07
  But he does under score something else that I believe
• 37:10
  most people miss. And it's what this young man
• 37:13
  wore. Look again here at verse 51.
• 37:17
  And the young man followed him with nothing but a linen cloth
• 37:21
  about his body, and they seized them.
• 37:23
  Now look at this. But he left the linen cloth and
• 37:28
  ran away naked. This linen cloth, this material,
• 37:34
  this garment is brought up twice.
• 37:36
  And you know why this is important?
• 37:39
  It's not until you realize, and if we all read the original
• 37:42
  language, like if we had the ability to read the Greek, it
• 37:45
  would be more apparent. But we do have a concordance in
• 37:48
  this day of age, we can actually do this kind of research.
• 37:50
  We can actually have access to these resources.
• 37:53
  So when you look at a concordance, you know what you
• 37:55
  realize that the word for linen cloth is only found in one other
• 38:00
  place, in the Gospel of Mark. And here it is in Mark 1546.
• 38:09
  And Joseph. Joseph brought a linen shroud,
• 38:12
  and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him
• 38:17
  in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock, and he rolled a
• 38:21
  stone against the entrance of the tomb.
• 38:24
  How many times did Mark bring up this young man and his linen
• 38:28
  cloth? Twice.
• 38:31
  How many times do we see this linen shroud, which is the same
• 38:33
  original word when Jesus was wrapped in this material?
• 38:38
  Twice. Is it a coincidence that the
• 38:43
  next and only mention of the Lord Jesus Christ, rather this
• 38:50
  linen outfit is placed on the Lord Jesus Christ and it's taken
• 38:54
  with Him into the tomb and as we read, it's brought up twice.
• 39:02
  Now you may be hesitant to make any kind of application with
• 39:04
  that connection, but I am persuaded that this next point
• 39:08
  will convince us, will convince us even more because when we
• 39:12
  come back to Mark 14, look again at verse 51 and a young man
• 39:16
  followed him. We concluded that that linen
• 39:18
  cloth is only mentioned one other place in the Gospel of
• 39:21
  Mark and check this out. The word young man is only
• 39:24
  brought up in one other place in the Gospel of Mark and it is
• 39:29
  absolutely incredible where you realize the placement of the
• 39:33
  same word. Go to Mark 16 and look at verse
• 39:40
  5. This is when the woman came to
• 39:49
  the tomb to try to anoint Jesus. And let's actually begin in
• 39:54
  verse 2. And very early on the first day
• 39:56
  of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb and
• 39:59
  they were saying to one another, who will roll away the stone for
• 40:02
  us from the entrance of the tomb.
• 40:05
  And looking up they saw that the stone had been rolled back.
• 40:07
  It was very large. And entering the tomb they saw a
• 40:13
  young man sitting on the right side dressed in a white robe.
• 40:18
  And they were alarmed. It's the only other place where
• 40:22
  you're going to find young man in this gospel account.
• 40:27
  And what's so amazing by this and because of this is that when
• 40:31
  you read Matthew's account of the woman coming to the tomb and
• 40:34
  Luke and John, the other gospel writers, you know what they tell
• 40:37
  us about who they encountered, Not a young man who an Angel.
• 40:45
  Mark has used the word Angel before in his gospel account,
• 40:49
  and all the other gospel accounts agree this is an Angel
• 40:52
  that gave this news. But Mark says it was a young
• 40:56
  man, Same word as Mark 14. What's happening here?
• 41:02
  What's he trying to denote? What is he trying to convey?
• 41:07
  And I think here we have something of a literary
• 41:10
  technique marked by the Spirit is about to blow our minds.
• 41:19
  It could be that, yes, in the literal sense, this Angel looked
• 41:22
  like a young man. But I don't think that that's
• 41:24
  the main point. I believe the main point is that
• 41:26
  when you read a young man in Mark 16, five, you were to
• 41:29
  recall that young man from Mark chapter 14, that same young man
• 41:35
  that was fully clothed but end up becoming naked and fleeing.
• 41:39
  And now you come to this point, you read the same terminology
• 41:43
  used to describe this person who is sitting in the tomb after the
• 41:45
  resurrection of Jesus Christ. You think, OK, what's the point?
• 41:51
  I believe that there is a symbolic work being done here,
• 41:57
  that this young man who's in the garden is to be bridged with
• 42:01
  this young man who's in the tomb after the resurrection.
• 42:04
  So let's pause it and consider these clues so far.
• 42:07
  Mark mentions someone who is following Christ and he was a
• 42:10
  young man with a linen cloth but fled away naked and fell short
• 42:14
  like the disciples that OK pay attention now, it's going to be
• 42:17
  worth it. The only other place where this
• 42:21
  word linen cloth is mentioned is when Jesus was buried with this
• 42:27
  material. The same material and the only
• 42:32
  other place that this young man is mentioned, the same word is
• 42:34
  someone in the tomb announcing the glorious resurrection.
• 42:38
  But wait, what was the young man in the tomb wearing?
• 42:42
  Go back to verse 5 of Mark 16. And entering the tomb, they saw
• 42:46
  a young man sitting on the right side dressed in a white robe,
• 42:53
  and they were alarmed. You know what else is
• 42:58
  interesting? The word white is only found in
• 43:04
  one other place in all the Gospel of Mark.
• 43:07
  Do you know where? Let me remind you, Mark Chapter
• 43:12
  9. Look here with me and verse 2.
• 43:24
  And after six days, Jesus took with him Peter and James and
• 43:27
  John and LED them up a high mountain by themselves.
• 43:30
  And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became
• 43:34
  radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them.
• 43:43
  Here's a young man clothed in linen.
• 43:46
  He wants to follow Christ, fear, failure, shortcoming runs, they
• 43:50
  seize him, the cloth is removed. He runs naked.
• 43:54
  The only other time this word linen cloth is found in the
• 43:56
  Gospel of Mark, and may I add, in all the gospels, is when
• 43:59
  Jesus was wrapped with it before he was buried.
• 44:03
  And the only other time this word young man in the Gospel of
• 44:05
  Mark is found, interestingly, is identified with the Angel in
• 44:11
  Mark 16, and he's wearing a white robe.
• 44:16
  And the word white is supposed to connect us to the only other
• 44:20
  place where the word white is found in the Gospel, Mark.
• 44:22
  And it's what Jesus wore when he was demonstrating his glory.
• 44:28
  This is artistry. These are clues that we have
• 44:32
  been granted to put together so that we can see this beautiful
• 44:35
  picture. And I am convinced that what
• 44:37
  Mark is doing is providing a subplot to the grander story of
• 44:41
  the Gospel account. And what is that subplot and
• 44:45
  exchange of garments? So you have this man who we see
• 44:53
  wearing a linen cloth when he failed Christ.
• 44:59
  And that linen cloth that symbolizes such failure was
• 45:04
  taken with Christ by wave symbolism into the tomb.
• 45:10
  It was worn by Jesus as he was laid in the grave.
• 45:14
  But when the same word young man reappears in the gospel, it is
• 45:17
  after the resurrection of Christ and he is no longer naked, but
• 45:21
  he's dressed in a white robe, one that is linked with the
• 45:25
  glory that Christ wore on the Mount of Transfiguration.
• 45:31
  So even in this subplot, Mark is 1 to communicate the gospel of
• 45:39
  the imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ.
• 45:44
  See, this young man, it's, it's not about trying to figure out
• 45:46
  who it is. It's trying to figure out what
• 45:48
  he represents. That's what it is.
• 45:50
  And that's why Mark uses that word about the Angel.
• 45:53
  Not to say that they're the same person, but so that you can make
• 45:57
  that connection and realize, well, the young man in Mark 14
• 46:00
  wore this, but now the same word, young man, now he's
• 46:03
  wearing this. And where did this Garmin go?
• 46:06
  It went with Jesus to the tomb. And where did this white robe
• 46:09
  come from? Well, Jesus had it when he
• 46:11
  demonstrated His glory, and so we can be moved by that
• 46:19
  connection. But what's more important is you
• 46:21
  realizing that this is an invitation that Christ extends
• 46:25
  to every man, to take your filthy sin, your filthy
• 46:28
  garments, all the mess, even even in your religiosity, and
• 46:34
  trying to honor God and work up your righteousness, whatever it
• 46:37
  may be. Christ is willing to take all
• 46:41
  your shame, all your guilt, all your shortcoming, and take it
• 46:45
  with Him to the cross and bury it, never to be brought up and
• 46:51
  used against you. And more than that, the same
• 46:54
  Jesus is willing to clothe you with the glory of His
• 46:58
  righteousness. That is what this is about.
• 47:02
  That is what the story is even with this young man with his
• 47:06
  linen cloth. It's a gospel truth.
• 47:10
  And it's something that I hope that you would consider, if you
• 47:12
  have never considered it, that you would actually be confident
• 47:15
  to say, if this is what Christianity is all about, why
• 47:18
  would I denied it? If he's willing to take all the
• 47:21
  stains and all the shame and then give me his perfection so
• 47:29
  that I can stand before him faultless.
• 47:32
  Is it any accident that this young man wearing the robe was
• 47:35
  wearing it after Jesus rose from the dead?
• 47:38
  No, it's not an accident. It's to show that your salvation
• 47:41
  has been amened by God. Because Jesus rose from the
• 47:45
  dead, He didn't stay in the tomb.
• 47:47
  And so I invite you to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your
• 47:51
  Savior by making that exchange. How do I make that transaction?
• 47:56
  Repent and believe, turn to him, give him your sin, receive his
• 48:03
  saving pardon, and you will know everlasting life.
• 48:09
  Can we pray? Lord, Your word is amazing.
• 48:37
  We tremble at Your word, rightfully so.
• 48:41
  What kind of book is this? How has it been put together?
• 48:47
  You are indeed the author of this book.
• 48:51
  So first, Lord, we ask that you open our eyes, that we might
• 48:53
  behold the wondrous things out of your law.
• 48:55
  We don't want to miss anything. We don't want to think for a
• 48:59
  moment that there's one detail in this book that is accidental,
• 49:02
  that is void of purpose. So Lord, we, we want to pray for
• 49:05
  a revival, for our love for the Word.
• 49:08
  Breathe on our hearts to have this appetite for the things of
• 49:13
  God in the sacred Scriptures, please and Lord, as we come to
• 49:17
  it, to believe that you are willing to teach us and guide us
• 49:20
  through it. Lord, we also thank you that in
• 49:23
  this word you confirm what Christ said, that it is about
• 49:28
  the sun. It is about ultimately what
• 49:31
  Christ has done for man. And Lord, you even were able to
• 49:35
  tuck it in a brief little vignette of a young man who ran
• 49:39
  naked in the garden. And so, Lord, we pray that the
• 49:44
  gospel would have preeminence in our thinking and our affections
• 49:48
  and our devotion and our love. We thank you and we worship you.
• 49:53
  We give you glory and honor. May these things be tied around
• 49:57
  our necks, bound in our hearts and the source of our delight.
• 50:01
  In Jesus mighty name we pray. Amen.
• 50:05
  Can we stand? Isn't God amazing?
• 50:07
  He is amazing. I'm moved by these truths, and I
• 50:12
  pray that you're moved as well. Let's give Him glory and thanks
• 50:15
  as we praise Him.