No One Remained

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Scripture:

Mark 14:50 All of them deserted him and fled.
Mark 14:51   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.

Observation:

The disciples had so vehemently declared that they would never desert Jesus. Only a few hours later, they were terrified after the guards come to arrest Jesus. The gospel writer wants to make it clear that ALL of them panicked and ran away. 

To place the disciples’ fleeing into context the gospel writer adds the story of the young man. This is perhaps harkening to the passage in Amos 2:16 “‘Even the bravest warriors will flee naked on that day,’ declares the LORD.” These are the Lord’s bravest warriors and yet, they have been driven by their fear and fulfilled Jesus’ prediction that they would leave him. 

Application:

Jesus was prepared for the difficulty which he would face, but his disciples where not. Under pressure, they flee for their lives leaving Jesus alone. We all know that the story changes dramatically after the day of Pentecost. Empowered by the presence of the Holy Spirit these same disciples were able to face challenges they had never imagined. 

Again we are left with a paradox, either with the disciples before Pentecost or after. We may all valiantly declare that we will remain true to Jesus, and yet, under pressure, we may feel like fleeing. 

The whole world is under a huge amount of pressure right now and we must consider how we will respond. Will we respond in fear and flee, both from Jesus and from the world? Or, will we live into the power of Pentecost and follow Jesus, participating in his mission? 

This is a very poignant story because it demonstrates our natural human response to flee. It’s this response that may actually be stimulating people from all over the world to go out and buy toilet paper! We don’t want to be in the center of the situation, so we flee from the real issue and make ourselves busy doing things that will distract our attention. 

Even the bravest warriors will have their moments when they feel like fleeing. I think the Lord understands that and yet, there is an end to this story. Those that fled returned and became the leaders of Christ’s church in this world. God will redeem our fears and redirect that energy into service in the kingdom of God. 

Jesus’ gracious love flows to us today. Even when we feel like we are fleeing naked from the scene, the Lord welcomes us back. Remember, they ALL deserted him, but he still loved them. Even in Jesus’ suffering, he looked on his disciples in love. 

No one remained — that was the human response. 

Jesus was faithful — that’s God’s response. 

Today, I will put my trust in the One who will never give up on any of us. 

Prayer:

Lord, may my life reflect total dependence up you. Amen. 

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