Lenten Vesper Homily – Mark 14:43-52 Running Naked

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Lenten Vesper Homily – Mark 14:43-52- Running Naked
Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church
March 19, 2009


Listen to this sermon.

Good evening everyone and welcome to our first Lenten Vesper Service of the season. We will be gathering here for the next three weeks to prepare ourselves for the great celebration of Easter. These vespers are times for us to be quiet and contemplative. Remember that Jesus is with us and we are joining him on his way to the cross.

Our Scripture for tonight comes from the 14th chapter of Mark, verses 43-52. Listen to the word of God.

Mark 14:43-52 43 Immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; and with him there was a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. 44 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard." 45 So when he came, he went up to him at once and said, "Rabbi!" and kissed him. 46 Then they laid hands on him and arrested him. 47 But one of those who stood near drew his sword and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. 48 Then Jesus said to them, "Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? 49 Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But let the scriptures be fulfilled." 50 All of them deserted him and fled. 51 A certain young man was following him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him, 52 but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked.

I guess that woke you up. Mark did say that a young man ran off naked. What could that possibly mean? I have been wondering all week why Mark included this story about a man in linen underwear running off naked. So I looked in the other gospels, Matthew, Luke and John for clues as to what this is all about.

In Matthew the emphasis is on Jesus’ power. Jesus said that he could call down twelve legions of angels to deal with situation. But Jesus has chosen not to use this power and proceed to the cross.

In Luke the emphasis is on Jesus’ compassion. After the slave’s ear is cut off Jesus healed the slave and his ear was restored. But Jesus has chosen not to use a miracle to save himself from the cross.

In John the emphasis is on Jesus’ divinity. When asked if he was Jesus of Nazareth he replied with the words “I am”, an echo of the words God spoke to Moses in the burning bush. But Jesus has chosen not to use his equality with God to avoid suffering and death.

And in Mark the emphasis is on a naked man running away. This still does not make any sense. So I started to look through the Old Testament to try to figure out what Mark was talking about. And I remembered a chapter in Leviticus concerning the Day of Atonement.

The Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur, is the day when Jews believe their sins are washed away by God. In ancient times the High Priest would make a sacrifice for the sins of himself and his family. Then he would go into the congregation and get a steer and two goats. The steer would be sacrificed for the sins of the people. One of the goats, chosen by lot, would also be sacrificed. But the other goat would be set free in the wilderness carrying all the sins of the people away with it. The person who took the goat into the wilderness would then strip of his linen underwear and bathe before returning to the camp.

I believe that the young man who lost his linen underwear and ran off into the night symbolically represented the escaped goat, the scapegoat. All of our sins where placed on his head and he carried them off into the night where they will never be seen again. So Mark’s emphasis in his account of the arrest of Jesus is not Jesus’ power, nor his compassion, nor his divinity. Rather. Mark’s emphasis is in the atoning nature of Jesus’ sacrifice which removes all sin from us and restores us to a right relationship with God.

So that is why we came here tonight. We are gathering around this table with Jesus to eat the Passover meal. We are praying with Jesus in the garden. Now we are with Jesus at his betrayal and arrest and experiencing the cleansing of our sins. And of course I expect you all to get naked and run into the night. Amen.