(Sermon by Pastor Steven Hillmer 03/19/06) 

INTRODUCTION:

God’s unchanging love is yours through Jesus who was willing to go it alone, when everyone else ran.

The words of God we meditate upon were read in our Passion history from the Gospel of Mark, chapter 14:50-52. “Then everyone deserted him and fled.  A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus.  When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.”

1. Who is this man?
Our theme this year for our Sundays’ in Lent is “The Little People of Lent.”  Last week we met one who experienced the tender love of Jesus first hand.  It was Malchus, the servant whose ear Peter cut off when the soldiers moved in to capture Jesus.  In tender loving mercy, Jesus healed his ear.  This week we meet another little person, someone so little, he doesn’t even have a name.

Over the years, scholars have speculated as to his identity.  Most have concluded that this fellow was Mark.  Mark was not one of the 12 disciples, yet he did write one of four Gospels.  In fact, he’s the only one to record this event.  Was he writing about himself?  Did this event inspire him to write the Gospel?  Did this event lead him to be a dedicated evangelist with Paul and Barnabas on their mission trips?  The big trouble with all this is that “there is no peg on which to hang the hat.”  There’s no Biblical date to support it, only the thoughts and guesses of pious men.  In truth though, it doesn’t matter that we don’t know his name.  The important fact is that the Holy Spirit wanted us to learn from this little man who was there, following Jesus, even after others had fled.

2. What was he doing there?
Even though we can’t reach a positive conclusion on his name, we can positively conclude a few things about him.  He’s a young man.  He was so intrigued by the mob of 600 soldiers and guards heading out to the Mount of Olives in the middle of the night that he hastily threw on a little linen cloth around his naked body and followed them.  This linen garment was a typical summer night robe.  Ironically, the other times Scripture speaks of a linen cloth, it’s used for wrapping dead bodies.

A second thing we know for sure is that he was following Jesus – even after the other disciples had fled!  Even though he was following in the shadows, he couldn’t escape the attention of the temple guardsmen.  The fact that he was out at this hour of the night… the fact that he was here on the Mount of Olives… that he was wearing nothing but a simple linen night robe… the fact that he was following Jesus caused the spot light to shine right on him!  He expected to remain anonymous.  He was hoping not to draw attention to himself but that became impossible!  The man who ran never intended to “get involved” but he soon learned that those who follow Jesus, even at a distance, are involved.

Perhaps that’s a thought for us to think about for a moment.  Can a person be a follower of Jesus and remain in the shadows?  Can a person be a disciple of Jesus and hope that no one ever finds out?  Is it possible to be a believer in Jesus as your Savior and hope that no one sees your faith in action?  The answer is no!

3. Spiritual and personal evaluation time
This anonymous midnight fugitive provides us a great opportunity to think about our following of Jesus.  Do we follow Jesus only when there’s something big and attractive that arouses our curiosity?  Do we confess Jesus as our Savior here in the safe confines of church, but when we’re out in the dark sinful world called “daily life,” do we find ourselves slinking back into the shadows, hoping that no one sees us or asks about our faith in Jesus?  Do we follow after Jesus with the bare minimum of intensions and when the heat is turned up – we’re ready to flee, ignore, run away, not show up, or run the other way though we want nothing to do with Jesus?

Weeks before his arrest, Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me.”  He didn’t put an asterisk on this verse – to mean, only when we feel like it or when it’s convenient.  When we evaluate our spiritual life in the spotlight of God’s Word, we get an open and honest picture of ourselves and how well we’re doing.  Are we always faithful in worship, regular in the means of grace, regular in Bible study, responding to God’s grace with cheerful, generous, regular support of missions and the work of the church?  As we think about our own personal daily Bible reading, our family devotions, our witnessing to friends and neighbors and co-workers – what does it look like?

Do we see a commitment that merely lurks in the shadows?  When it comes to taking a leadership role or serving and helping out, when it comes to sharing our God given gifts and skills, when it comes to stepping up and supporting the ministry entrusted to us here, when it comes to supporting the schools that train our workers – does the thought of fleeing naked into the night shadows seem more inviting than whole-heartedly taking up our cross and following Jesus?

4. What causes one to run?
The young curious man didn’t like following Jesus once the spotlight was on him.  What was it that scared him so much that was willing to give up his linen garment and flee stark naked into the night?  Either he did something and was trying to get away (which isn’t the case since he was there in the first place), OR he’s terrified at the thought of falling into the hands of this mob and perhaps losing his life.

What causes us to run the other way?  Being a disciple of Jesus takes discipline – a discipline that you and I do not have by nature.  Our sinful nature always wants to take the easy road.  When there’s a challenge or when there’s an uncomfortable situation, the option to flee seems great and the devil rejoices when we quit following Jesus.  On top of that, the world tells us to save our own skin.  These three reasons to run from following Jesus have no value or merit.  They are sin.

Fortunately Lent is a season for us to reflect and repent of our shortcomings.  You and I know our own failings to faithfully follow Jesus… sleeping in, ignoring time in God in his Word, and contributing when it’s merely convenient, following, but not all that closely.  This un-named follower who fled naked helps us see our sin and ask God for forgiveness for the times we ran in the wrong direction and left Jesus standing alone.

5. The man who didn’t run – Jesus.
Where is the Gospel comfort in this text?  It must be in there some where, and it is.  Look who is left standing when ALL the followers are gone!  Jesus didn’t run.  He remained standing.  He stayed the course even when all the others deserted him.  It was just as he predicted.  Matthew records Jesus words, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’” (Matthew 26:31).  Everyone else was gone.  Jesus was left to go it alone.

Jesus didn’t run.  He let himself be arrested.  Alone, Jesus stood trial.  Alone, Jesus was condemned and beaten.  And even though He would not die alone, but on a cross between two thieves, yet it was His death and His death alone that mattered.  His death alone paid the wages of mankind’s sin, yours and mine.  His death earned the reward of eternal life for you and me. “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

As we follow Jesus to Calvary this year, we see him going there for every one who has ever run from Jesus, denied, Jesus, or followed Jesus half heartedly.  There on that cross we see our sin and shame nailed and left there – and that’s the best news you and I could ever hear!  That’s the news that draws you and me in and leads us to recommit to faithfully follow Jesus everyday.

6. What happens when people follow Jesus?
The question remains, “What happens when people follow Jesus?”  “What happens when people get involved in following Christ?”  Words like “courage,” “confidence,” “dedication” and “self-discipline” come to mind.  These are attitudes and attributes that have their source in only one place – Jesus Christ.  We know that he endured the physical suffering AND he endured the spiritual anguish of God’s anger over our sin – so that we might have the sure and certain promise of heaven.

This is the situation for you and me today!  Such a message gives us the courage, confidence, dedication and self-discipline to faithfully follow Jesus all the time.  As believers, we know that there is no angry mob that can separate us from Jesus any longer.  No one can intimidate us back into the shadows any longer.  No, we are clothed in the pure white robe of Christ’s righteousness and no one can rip that off of us! We’re going to wear it with joy and excitement.  Yes, it does say “Christian” embroidered in big letters across the back.  Yes people are going to ask us about our faith and hope.  And yes, we are going to be ready to stand there and give them the answer for the reason we have an unshakable, unmovable and undeniable hope.

What happens when people follow Jesus?  God is glorified!  Our faith is strengthened.  We begin to do things which our sinful nature shutters to think possible.  Forget the shadows.  Forget the thought of fleeing.  For you and for me, for Christians, disciples and followers of Jesus, it’s all about faithfully following Jesus with our whole heart, everyday.  Why?  It’s simply because Jesus walked that road to Golgotha alone, and he alone is responsible for our sure salvation and eternal life in heaven.  God keep you faithful in this hope, Amen.

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