Exposed

“While He was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, suddenly arrived. With him was a mob, with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. His betrayer had given them a signal. “The One I kiss,” he said, “He’s the One; arrest Him and take Him away under guard.” So when he came, he went right up to Him and said, “Rabbi!” — and kissed Him. Then they took hold of Him and arrested Him. And one of those who stood by drew his sword, struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his ear. But Jesus said to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs, as though I were a criminal, to capture Me? Every day I was among you, teaching in the temple complex, and you didn’t arrest Me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.” Then they all deserted Him and ran away. Now a certain young man, having a linen cloth wrapped around his naked body, was following Him. They caught hold of him, but he left the linen cloth behind and ran away naked.” (Mark 14:43-52 HCSB)

Affection is something that we all crave. We long to love and to be loved by someone. Most of us develop our understanding and expression of love in the shadow of parental love. I remember well the joy mixed with fear as I held our first child. I was a young father and feeling a bit overwhelmed by the emotions and responsibilities. But as I held and looked at my daughter, I was also inspired to provide for and protect her. I had made promises to my wife when we recited our wedding vows, but the promises I made to my daughter, though informal and more private, were just as real and binding.

While I have worked and sacrificed to keep the promises I made to my wife and our children, I haven’t always succeeded at it. I’ve never abandoned my wife or children, but I’ve not been perfect either. The problem is that we all tend to compare ourselves to other people, friends, family or even total strangers when it comes to our success as a spouse or parent. We tend to take the “well, I’m not perfect but I am better than so-and-so” approach to self-evaluation and self-improvement.

As we delve into this section of Mark’s gospel, we would do well to not fall into this trap. I really think that is Mark’s whole point with these stories. Judas bears our wrath and disdain for his betrayal and abandonment of Jesus. But is our disdain and hatred of him fully justified? Are we fully innocent of such horrific actions?

Earlier in the story, the disciples had vowed they were prepared to die for Jesus. But now, they are faced with the choice. Are they willing to die with Him? Isn’t that interesting twist? We are often willing to die for a cause or a person we deem worthy, but we are unwilling to die to self. Herein lies the key to understanding this passage. There’s no getting around the fact that Judas betrayed Jesus to the Sanhedrin, but does Mark tell us why? Actually, he does…

Previously, in this same chapter, Mark told us about an incident in the home of Simon, the leper. Jesus was being honored with a banquet and, during the meal, Mary comes and anoints Him with a very expensive jar of perfumed oil. She breaks open the sealed jar and pours it on Him and then wipes His feet with her hair. Mark tells us that Judas was upset that this expensive perfume was wasted when it could have been sold and used to minister to the poor and hungry. Jesus rebuked him and honored Mary for her gift that was “in preparation for my burial.” (see also, John 12:1-11).

Jesus was intent on becoming the kind of Messiah God desired and had promised, but not the kind that Israel or Judas wanted.

Contrast this with our desperate need for a Savior who would give His life and His glory to ransom us from sin’s deadly grip but that’s a Messiah very few want or seek. Nobody, NONE of Israel’s religious leaders or Jesus’ disciples, felt this kind of Messiah was needed or necessary. Now, consider the modern church who seeks health, wealth, success, power and position and is, most often, unwilling to “deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow” Him to death. We are not called to build His church but to die to self and to live for God and His purpose. He will build His church.

In fact, this kind of Messiah – one who is willing to do whatever it takes to destroy sin’s tenacious grip on mankind – is still considered outlandish and unnecessary. We don’t need a Savior who gives His life to atone for our sin. We need a more realistic, a more pragmatic Savior. Who cares about that old notion of sin. We want someone who will satisfy our desires, affirm our actions, approve our sexual preferences and praise our self-defined identities. We seek a savior who will relieve our perceived political and cultural oppression. We want a savior who will make us popular with the populace and who will boost our social media profile. We don’t want a savior who calls us to self-sacrifice and radical transformation but one who guarantees our personal success and boosts our social standing.

But betrayal often comes from within a group and Jesus’ hand-picked twelve are no different. Unfortunately, the betrayal is consummated with a kiss. A kiss of affection, loyalty, honor and respect? Hardly. We might be shocked by Judas’ actions, but Jesus knows and anticipates it. Judas calls Him “Rabbi”, but his actions reveal his heart and belie his words. How often do we betray God’s purposes and plans with our actions? Do our words speak honor and affection even as our actions betray Him? “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.” (Proverbs 27:6 NIV)

The kiss is the common greeting a student would give his beloved teacher. But here, it is a signal to the Sanhedrin guards. Unless you’ve spent some time in a rural setting without the benefit of electric lights you might not appreciate just how dark it might be in the garden. Judas uses this customary greeting as a signal to dispel any doubt as to who they should arrest.

“Then they took hold of Him and arrested Him.” Imagine that! They “took hold of” or seized the one who spoke the universe into existence. The use of this word indicates that they did not do so gently. The Prince of Peace is manhandled like a despised criminal or an insurrectionist. These men are guards but who live, work and are devoted to a religious institution and environment. No doubt, they have prayed many times that God would take hold of them, that He would use them for His glory and for His purpose. Ironic, isn’t it? In their spiritual blindness they have taken hold of Him, the Lord Most High, and now they intend to destroy Him for their own glory and selfish purposes.

While the Jewish officials tried to use the cover of darkness to hide their ambitions and motives, the one who taught truth did so openly, in public settings and in broad daylight. Jesus didn’t hide truth, He declared it to anyone who would listen. If he has ears to hear, let him hear. What was His message? God knows all about your personal failures, broken promises, selfish attitudes, misplaced desires, self-doubts and spiritual ineptitude. He knows but He loves you anyway and sent Jesus to make the way to God accessible to us. By being good? No, by trusting God and following Jesus.

That’s what this story is really all about. Judas wanted a savior, but he didn’t want one like Jesus. Judas had witnessed the miracles and tasted the power of God through Jesus. But Judas wanted a Messiah who would fulfill his dreams, not one who wanted to change his goals and reshape his dreams for God’s purposes. Much like folks today, Judas wanted God to adjust and fit him instead of being changed to fit God’s desires.

So, how are we different from Judas? That depends. It depends on how we respond to Jesus, the savior who won’t bend to fit our demands. He didn’t come to give us what we wanted but to give us what we needed. A god who fits into our mold is just an idol we’ve made for ourselves, and it holds no power. But the God who molds us to fit His demands and expectations is a God worth serving, worth following and worth our self-sacrifice and our lives.

In fact, He’s worth dying for. That’s really where this gets hard. The disciples had all professed their willingness to die with Him. But when it came down to it, “they all deserted Him and ran away.” Here’s the key, they were willing to die for Him as Peter demonstrates when he draws his sword and cuts off Malchus’ right ear (see John 18:1-11). But when Jesus stopped the violence and submitted Himself to them, that changed everything. They were willing to fight with Him to the death, but when He stopped the violence and surrendered to them, it deflated their bravado.

But why? Why be willing to place your life on the line for Him in a sword fight and then desert Him and run away into the night? In the sword fight your ego is fed as you sacrifice your life for a worthy cause. But Jesus deflated their ego when He became the willing sacrificial lamb who would die in their place, for their sin. Nobody wants to die for someone else’s stupid choices. NOBODY but God, that is. The kind of Messiah nobody wanted, but exactly the kind of Messiah EVERYBODY needed.

“He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 HCSB)

It is always easier to justify our actions when it builds our ego and makes us seem more important. It is much easier to justify dying when it brings honor, glory or makes us appear to be important. But God calls us to take a radically different approach to following Him. Following Jesus isn’t the path of building ourselves up but of dying to self and finding life in Him. The Apostle Paul says, “My goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death…” (Philippians 3:10 HCSB)

Jesus submits Himself to God’s will and drinks the cup of suffering and God’s wrath on sin… then they all deserted Him and ran away.

Finally, we are confronted with the story of “a certain young man” who had been following Jesus, perhaps hiding nearby when He was arrested. He was wearing just an outer linen garment (cloth, or shirt). Mark is the only one of the gospels to relate this interesting story. The fact that he wears a linen garment indicates he has access to money and that he had been “following” Jesus has led some to speculate that the young man is our gospel’s author, John Mark.

The only support for this comes from the notes of a few of the early Church Fathers. John Mark’s mother was thought to be the person who owned the home in Jerusalem where the Passover meal had been celebrated and that a young John Mark may have snuck out, in his bed clothes, and followed Jesus and the disciples to the garden. When the guards arrested Jesus and the disciples fled, Mark may have been startled and revealed his hiding place.

Regardless of who it is, Mark seems to include it here as an allusion to man’s hesitancy to die to self, take up our cross and follow Him to death? The disciples had declared their allegiance and willingness to die with Jesus, but when the time came, they abandoned Him and ran away. Their true selves were exposed, and, by their actions, they were left naked before God and man. Jesus set everything aside to affirm and do the Father’s will, but they abandoned everything to save themselves.

“No creature is hidden from Him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account.” (Hebrews 4:13 HCSB)

Don’t panic! We may be naked and exposed before God, but in His presence we find mercy, forgiveness and grace. “If we say, “We have no sin,” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9 HCSB)

Come on. Be honest. You and I live with failure every day. We not only fail to meet God’s expectations, but we also fail to meet even our own expectations. The lie of Satan and most religions is that you must do something to earn God’s love and a place with Him in eternity. But the truth of Jesus Christ says, you can’t earn it but only receive it as a gift of God’s grace.

“For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift — not from works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 HCSB)

Naked and exposed. Nothing hidden before the God who knows your actions, your thoughts and your intentions. But mercy flows freely from His throne for those who fall before Him in humble confession and repentance. It flows freely, but it flows red… the red blood of Him who said, “not My will, Dad, but Yours be done.” The Savior we never wanted, but always needed.

Now, get up, deny self, take up your cross and follow Him…