Betraying Jesus with a Kiss | Mark 14:43-52 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Gospel of Mark Bible Study Series)

Please meet me in the Gospel of Mark chapter 14 and in our time

Mark 14 · chapter mention

together we are going to be looking at verse 43 down to

verse 52. I'll wait for you before we

begin reading. Mark 1443 to 52.

And immediately while he was still speaking, Judas came one

of the 12, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs from the

chief priests and the scribes and the elders.

Now the betrayer had given them a sign saying, The one I will

kiss is the man, seize him and lead him away under guard.

And when he came, he went up to him at once, and said, Rabbi.

And he kissed him, and they laid hands on him and seized him.

One of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant

of the high priest, and cut off his ear.

And Jesus said to them, Have you come out as against a robber,

with swords and clubs to capture me?

Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did

not seize me, but let the Scriptures be fulfilled.

And they all left him and fled. And a young man followed him

with nothing but a linen cloth about his body.

And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away

naked. Lord, in the same way that you

opened the minds of your disciples that they might

understand the Scriptures, we pray for that same mercy to be

granted to us. We trust, Lord, that you will

speak and we pray, Lord, that these truths would translate

into testimonies in our own lives.

We ask these things in Jesus name, Amen.

Before Us is one of the most captivating, appalling,

adrenaline pumping episodes in all of the gospel accounts.

It is a scene that describes the heinous and unjustified arrests

of the sinless Son of God. And though the apprehension of

the Lord Jesus Christ is a staggering thought in itself to

contemplate, there are other things related to this moment

that make it even more incredible.

This account appears in every gospel and each of them provide

unique details that have been preserved for our reflection.

But since we have been in the past months and even over a

year, focus on Mark, Mark's account here, Mark's version, is

going to be the perspective that we will be holding to while

referencing other writers in order to have a fuller

understanding of this remarkable event.

And so in this brief introduction, let me let you

know where we're headed. I want us to consider from the

scene 5 features that we cannot afford to overlook. 5 features

and the first one deals with the crowd, the second one deals with

the sword, the third here deals with rather the sword.

The second being the kiss, the 4th being the scriptures and the

5th being the cloth. So let me revisit those.

First, we're dealing with the crowd.

Second, we're dealing with the kiss.

Third, we're looking at the sword. 4th, we're looking at the

scriptures. And lastly, we're looking at the

cloth. And I have a feeling that you

are really looking forward to learning about this young man in

the garden, leaving behind his linen cloth.

We will get there. And I hope that you will never

read this story the same way again.

You'll never be able to explain it the same way again and that

it will cause your heart to erupt in praise when you realize

the brilliance and the genius of our God, namely through the

authorship of the Holy Spirit. The crowd look again with me in

verse 43 and immediately while he was still speaking, Judas

came one of the 12 that that's mentioned there to show us just

how deplorable this is one of the 12 and with him a crowd with

swords and clubs from the chief priests and the scribes and the

elders. According to Matthew's account

in chapter 26 verse 47, it wasn't just any crowd that

surrounded Jesus Christ. He adds the word great crowd.

It was a great crowd. John is more specific in telling

us what this crowd was made-up of.

Noting in John 18 verse three that it was a band of soldiers

and with them some officers of the chief priests and Pharisees,

a band of soldiers. Now, the Greek word for band

there denotes a military cohort, and it consists of between, get

this, 500 to 1000 soldiers. Now, right there we are already

confronted with the popular imagination that when Jesus was

surrounded by these soldiers, it was just like a handful of them.

Though we're not given an exact number, we can be certain that

we're not dealing with 5 or 10 here.

Potentially hundreds, hundreds of men have come to ambush the

Son of God. And what is also certain is that

those who surrounded the Lord on this ominous night says

something about what Judas was thinking.

There might be different reasons to why he escorted this large

group. Why have this heavily armed

assembly chaperone him? It could be that Judas imagined

the Lord Jesus would try to flee.

It could be that in thinking that he would flee that there

would be a need for a great search team and so he recruits a

great amount of people to do that.

It's also possible that he anticipated the disciples to try

to defend the rabbi, and so he brings about a great crowd in

order to intimidate them from even entertaining such an

attempt. It could also be, alternatively,

that he might have thought that Jesus could use his miraculous

power. He's witnessed it with his own

eyes. He's seen what Christ can do in

the moment. And so, thinking perhaps that he

might try to resist, he would bring a crowd to bring about

somewhat of a fair fight. Whatever the reasons are, what

are there one or many Judas? Being confident and bringing

this crowd shows us that he did not understand who Christ was.

He didn't understand who Christ was and his power.

He didn't understand who Christ was and his purpose.

He didn't even understand who Christ was and his person.

To think that you can overpower the Lord Jesus Christ shows some

severe ignorance and really the blindness of pride on Judas's

part. And Jesus demonstrates that

Judas didn't know what he was doing.

Judas was going to learn very quickly with this great crowd of

people who was really in control of this event.

Turn with me to John 18 and look here at verse four with me, John

John 18:4

18, verse 4. Then Jesus, knowing all that

would happen to him, came forward.

Don't you love that knowing all that would happen to him did not

retreat, did not turn his back, He came forward.

He came forward and said to them, Whom do you seek?

All What calmness, what authority, what boldness, what

courage, whom do you seek? They answer them.

Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said to them, I am He.

Judas, who betrayed him was standing with them.

When Jesus said to them, I am He, they drew back and fell to

the ground. Now the significance of John's

vantage points can easily be lost if we don't consider how

sometimes our English translations limit us.

If you have the King James Version, then you'll notice that

the word He, when Jesus answered I am he, is italicized.

I don't know how many people hold to the King James today,

but some still do. And what the King James

translators did is that when words did not appear in the

original language, they would italicize them to let you know

the reader that this is not found in the original text.

And even if you have the ESV, depending on your version, you

will see there beside I am he a footnote, the little number

above the word to indicate to you, hey, we want to show you

that the word he there is not found in the Greek.

So more accurately, when they approached Jesus and Jesus asked

whom do you seek? And they said Jesus of Nazareth.

How did he actually respond? He didn't say I am he, he said I

am I am a clear reference to the name that Yahweh gave to Moses

in Exodus 314. And how fitting is it that John

is the one who includes this detail exclusively?

What is John's goal and bringing about his gospel account to

display and demonstrate the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And on many occasions, what do we have Jesus giving these I am

statements, right? Several of them I am.

I am. In some moments he just says I

am, and this is one of them. I am the door.

I am the way, I am the light. And here we find Christ now

approaching his death before his enemies, and he says, I am.

And not only is that proclamation in itself powerful,

it came with power. Because the moment he said I am,

there was this invisible force that lifted these enemies of

Christ off their feet and put them on their rear ends.

Jesus response is not only a fearless affirmation of His

identity, He's not trying to hide.

He's saying I am the one that you're looking for, but it also

is a statement of his divinity as Yahweh in the flesh.

And something incredible comes with that self-proclaimed

deification. And we see here that when Jesus

did this, it came with power for a reason, to show this evil

bunch, the one who is really in control, the one who is really

the master of this moment was him.

So powerful is Christ. So in control was Christ that

all he had to do was say the word and he could change the

direction of this whole ambush so they fell backwards and he

could overcome them with just the whisper if he chose.

And let me tell you this, this is a preview of a power that the

world is going to witness when the same Jesus comes back to

rescue his bride, to judge the wicked and to establish his

government. Do you remember what Paul tells

us when Christ returns to deal with the Antichrist, how he was

going to kill him? Let me remind you from Second

Thessalonians 28, where Paul says, and then the lawless one

will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with what?

With the breath, with the breath of his mouth and bring to

nothing by the appearance of His coming, just his breath, just

his word, no weapon, no angels needed, no seraphim, no

cherubim, just a whisper and he can render any of his enemies

powerless. So what we learn about the crowd

is that the evil one, who is the invisible Energizer and animator

of all these things, the evil one with the range of his

minions and the great weaponry that was here, was not in

control. He was not determining anything.

He was not dictating Jesus, arrest, trial, and ultimate

death. Christ was.

It's not the crowd that's in control, it's Christ.

And he's still in control and he'll always be in control.

And people who don't believe he's in control are going to

find out that he is indeed. Now we move from the crowd to

the kiss, and in verse 43 we read that there was this crowd

who came, but the betrayer in verse 44 had given them a sign

saying, the one I will kiss is the man sees him and lead him

away under guard. In Middle Eastern culture, it

was, and it still is a common gesture of greeting among

friends, even among men, to kiss.

And if you've been in this church long enough, you've

probably seen it. Arabs in this church welcome

each other in a very similar way.

And so this affectionate act in itself is not strange.

It's not something out of the ordinary, But it was a way for

Judas to differentiate Christ from the other disciples in that

dark scene. And so he says, I'm going to

kiss one person, and that's the person that you need to find and

arrest. This is the signal of choice

that I made, and it was a despicable one.

Despicable not just because it was grossly hypocritical to to

utilize a gesture of affection and endearment and respect to

actually highlight the one you want to see die.

It's more than just the fact that it was deceitful.

It is dripping with damning irony, and perhaps Jesus's

answer in response to Judas as he's approaching him to embrace

him in such a way reveals that there is a deeper significance

to what this man is doing. Do you remember what Christ

asked him in Luke 2248? Judas, would you betray the Son

of Man with a kiss? You know where my mind went to

when I was meditating on this? Another place in the Old

Testament where we're told that the sun would be kissed.

Do you remember the Messianic Psalm in Psalm chapter 2, where

Psalms 2 · chapter mention

we're told there about in a wonderful hymn, the nation's

plotting against the Lord and His anointed?

And you remember how the psalmist concludes, do you not?

He admonishes the kings and the rulers of the nations in light

of the coming establishment of God's global government ruled

from Zion. Psalm 2, verse 12 kiss, kiss the

Psalms 2:12

son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath

is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge

in him. To kiss in this context is a

Pledge of Allegiance. It's to say, I submit to you, I

honor you, I respect you. And this was a well known song.

This is a Psalm of hope for the nation of Israel, that the Lord

and His anointed will come, rule and reign over the whole world.

I wonder if Judas knew this Psalm, and I wonder, in knowing

a conscience of it, depicting a victorious, kingly, strong,

undefeated Messiah, he mockingly kisses Jesus.

Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?

And he daringly does so. You know what else this Psalm

teaches me in connection to Judas kissing him, kissing the

Son. There is a wrong way to kiss the

Son, the wrong ways exemplified in Judas, an insincere pledge of

loyalty to him. And if there's a wrong way to

kiss the sun, then there is a right way to kiss the sun.

You want to know something fascinating and all of the

gospel accounts. There are only two places where

we read of human lips planting on the Son of God.

The 1st is what you just read, Judas kissing the sun.

The second is when Jesus was invited to a dinner and a woman,

unnamed, interrupts that feast. She comes to his feet, wets

those feet with her tears, dries them with her hair, kisses them

and anoints them with oil. And this so moved the heart of

Christ that he looks to his host.

And he says in that chapter of Luke 7.

When I came in, you did not kiss me.

But she has not ceased to kiss me.

And then she turns. He turns to this genuine woman

from out of the overflow of her heart could not help but kiss

the son. And he assures her, in Luke 7,

48, your sins are forgiven. There are two ways to kiss the

sun. The genuine, sincere, saving

way, in a way that seems sincere but in fact is hollow, empty of

true substance, not coming from the heart.

How have you kissed the sun? You say you believe in him.

Is it a true belief? You say you repented.

Is it true repentance? And speaking about kissing, did

you know that Christians are commanded to kiss not just the

sun, but each other five times across the New Testament?

Are we told that we are to greet each other with this kind of

affection right now? That might be strange to some of

us, but it's not strange to the Middle Easterners in here and

other cultures, may I add. Here's one example of it in

Romans 1616. A very easy reference, and it's

repeated in different ways at the end of some epistles.

Notice what the Spirit of God says through some of the

apostles. And here's Paul, who writes

greet one another with a holy kiss.

All the churches of Christ greet you.

So again, remember, this was normal.

This was normal in the culture of the early church.

But what's more important about determining whether we should

kiss or handshake or hug is the characteristic, the quality of

the reception or the welcome or the address.

What did Paul say? And you'll find this in every

instance about kissing one another, greeting one another.

Did he just say greet one another with a kiss?

What did he proceed the word kiss with?

The word holy. Greet one another with a holy

kiss. Now you know what some have done

with this, OK? This means that we are to greet

one another and if we choose the route of affection to make sure

that it's appropriate and dignified and familial.

Don't make it weird when you kiss each other and greet each

other. I don't think that's what

they're getting at here. I don't think that's the point.

I think with these commands, to greet one another with a holy

kiss has to be set against the backdrop of the most infamous an

unholy kiss ever given Judas. So with that in view, here's

what greeting one another with a holy kiss really means.

Let your greeting be free from deceit, free from insincerity,

free from hidden betrayal, free from a limiting love, a corrupt

love. In other words, let's make sure

that in none of our churches there are Judases who kissed.

But in his heart contradicted what he demonstrated.

What does it look like for us to not kiss with a holy kiss?

Can I tell you what it looks like?

Somebody gossiping about another member of the church throughout

the week and then when they come in on Sunday and see that same

person. Sister, how are you?

Oh, I love you so much. I've been praying about you and

praying for you. Well, Monday through Saturday,

their reputation has been torn to shreds by those same lips.

What does an unholy kiss look like?

It looks like a brother greeting another brother and developing a

relationship with them purely to manipulate them for whatever

reason, to take advantage of them, to come off in a certain

way for selfish gain. That's what an unholy kiss looks

like. So greet one another with a holy

kiss. There shouldn't be any doubt in

our minds that when we look at each other, embrace one another,

wave to each other, sit across a table downstairs, that we are

committed and in love with one another.

No unholy kisses. This is what they're saying, and

this is what we have to understand.

Be real with one another, be transparent.

There should not have be any fear in this place that there is

a Judas in the midst. So we go from the crowd to the

kiss, but now we come to the sword.

Come back with me to mark 14 in verse 46.

And they laid hands on him and seized him.

But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the

servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.

John 1810 clarifies who the disciple was that attacked the

servant. And we actually know the

identity of the servant Peter. Are you surprised, Peter in the

name of the high priest servant Malchus.

But it's only Luke. And this isn't a surprise

either. That adds a detail, a couple of

details that would make sense from the beloved physician.

Turn with me to Luke 22 verse 50 and see how specific Luke is and

Luke 22:50

how Luke adds a note that makes the scene, Yes, heartbreaking

betrayal, but there's beauty in it.

And Luke 22 verse 50 And one of them struck the servant of the

Luke 22:50

high priest and cut off his right ear.

So he says exactly which ear it was.

Doctors like details and cut off his right ear.

But Jesus said no more of this. And here's here's what you're

going to find in Luke's account. And he touched his ear and

healed him. Behold the last healing miracle

Jesus performs before he goes to his death.

Who does he heal? This was a personal assistant to

the high priest Malchus. This is not an innocent

bystander who just happened to be in Gethsemane and got caught

in the crossfire. It could very well be that Peter

targeted Malchus knowing who he was.

It could even be that Malchus stood there in some of those

scenes in the Gospels where there was confrontation between

the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the scribes being sent off

by the high priest to observe and supervise.

It could very well be that this is not the first time Malchus

was made known to the disciples. Malchus, listen, was an enemy, a

foe, part of this diabolical plot?

And yet when his ear was removed, and don't get it

twisted, Peter wasn't aiming for his ear, he just missed.

Jesus halts his disciple. He looks at Malchus.

I just wonder what that was like.

What was that atmosphere like for Christ to take the time and

to restore Malchus before he would die for Malchus?

Do you know what you have here? You have a preview of a gospel

truth, what we find in Romans 5 that while we were weak, while

we were sinners, while we were enemies, Christ died for us.

That's what you have here. You have a preview, just one

testimony of many of Christ's healing, restoring, reconciling

those who at once were enemies of him.

Let me also say this, that Christ here in this moment also

demonstrates that many times his disciples misrepresent him.

And the best thing to do if you have been disappointed by his

representatives is to look to Christ.

Disciples of Jesus make a lot of mess.

They have throughout history. And you're probably the

recipient of pain and hurt from those who claim his name.

So let me say this, be patient with Christians and never turn

your back on Christ because Christians have failed in one

way or another, even if they failed in a colossal way like

Peter. What happens to Peter here?

I believe that, like him, if we truly belong to the Lord, though

we have done great mistakes, we've performed things that we

thought there was. How did I allow myself to go

there? God will eventually teach you

and mature you and grow you. And I believe Peter learned a

valuable lesson here, Many lessons, I'm sure.

I can't read his mind. We are not a religion that

permits the utilization of the sword as an act of vengeance

against our enemies, right? Nor are we a faith that

advocates that we conquer people in order to make converts.

What Peter is going to learn is that there has been a weapon

provided to us far greater than a sword and that does much

greater work in our enemies. So the same disciple who took

out the sword and cut off the ear of those who oppose Christ

would know another kind of confrontation that would cause a

different kind of bleeding, a righteous 1A praiseworthy one,

and the one that is far more effective in overcoming those

who oppose Christ saying, what are you talking about?

Here's what I'm talking about. Listen to the language of what

happened to the audience that Peter preached to after the

first Christian sermon on that day of Pentecost in Acts 237.

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said

to Peter and the rest of the apostles.

Brothers, what shall we do? We don't implement the sword, We

have the sword of the Spirit. We don't attack people, we

challenge them and seek their conviction through the sharpness

of the truth. And so the same Peter who cut

off a man's ear stood before thousands of others who have

also denied Christ, but this time wielding the sword of the

Spirit and seeing all these hearts slashed by the Spirit's

conviction and then being won over in a saving way, Peter

would learn that aren't you grateful for God's patience?

Take some time for us to understand how the Kingdom of

God works. So we cover the crown.

We covered the kiss, we cover the sword briefly.

We now we come to the Scriptures in verse 48 of Mark 14 and Jesus

said to them, have you come out as against a robber with swords

and clubs to capture me day after day?

I was with you in the temple teaching and you did not seize

me, but let the Scriptures be fulfilled.

What is Jesus getting at here? He is exposing their cowardice

and he is reinforcing his innocence.

There are many times that you saw me in the temple teaching,

even flipping tables. Why didn't you arrest me then?

Why are you doing it in secret? Why are you concealing this?

But again, I mean, you see this throughout the Gospels.

Jesus wants us to know, we see it in the writings that this is

not happenstance. This is not a surprise.

Notice the last words he said. But let the Scriptures be

fulfilled. So earlier when when Jesus said

I am, he manifested his power to show I'm the master right here.

I'm the one who's really in control here.

And isn't it amazing that though they were knocked back and

though Malchus ear was healed, they still didn't repent.

Like didn't even reconsider. Maybe, maybe we're dealing with

something who's not just human here.

We're dealing with somebody who was extravagantly gracious and

merciful and kind. They didn't cross their minds at

all. The the the unbelief that's

willing to bulldoze through all hurdles of grace.

Some people will go through a lot.

We'll ignore a lot, we'll reject a lot before they plunge into

hell. Let the scriptures be fulfilled.

He showed his power earlier, but now he's showing with his power.

Prophecy is at work. This has been foretold.

The prophets predicted this in great detail and all.

We can spend the next 5-10 minutes looking at so many

references, but here's one that comes to mind from Isaiah 50

Isaiah 50:5

verse 5. The Lord God has opened my ear.

This is Messiah speaking. The Lord God has opened my ear.

This is what we need to know our Old Testaments.

You read that He's open my ear. I don't know what that means.

Open my ear. No, no, there's an allusion here

to Exodus that when a servant wanted to become a permanent

slave to his owner, he would offer his ear and that ear would

be placed against the door and there would be an all pierced

through it to signify as a token this individual now is my

permanent slave. And now with that illusion,

Messiah says I open my ear. I am a bond servant.

I am the perfect servant to God. The Lord God has opened my ear

and I was not rebellious. I turned not backward.

What did he do instead? Verse 6 I gave my back to those

who strike. Was it taken from him?

Was he forced? No, no, look at look at the

language. I gave my back to those who

strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard.

I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.

And that disgrace and spitting was coming.

The prophets foretold this. I'm aware of it, and I'm walking

in it faithfully. I did not turn back.

I was not rebellious. I did not shrink.

I embraced what I know I've come to do.

I could stay here, but I don't want to stay here.

I want to spend the remainder of our time with whatever energy we

have left to discuss the final element of this glorious scene,

the cloth, verse 50 to 52. And they all left him and fled,

and a young man followed him with nothing but a linen cloth

about his body, and they seized him, but he left the linen cloth

and ran away naked. This has made people feel

awkward, uncomfortable, even confused.

And that has been the subject matter of much debate.

The curiosity from this passage is not unfamiliar.

It is shared among all genuine seekers of the truth.

And here's the main thing that people want to know.

Who is this guy? Who is this young man?

And so there are all these theories.

Lazarus, Joseph of Arimathea, the rich young ruler.

Most people believe that it's John Mark himself, the writer of

this gospel, because it's only found in Mark and in a very

modest way, he's trying to admit and confess his own failure and

denying Christ. We can't know for certain and

any any case you would make is just speculation, but what we do

know is that this young man's nakedness as a follower of

Christ, right? Mark is using very familiar

language and a young man followed him, followed him

denoting discipleship. He followed him and then he

flees from him. So really the scene is a

reflection of the shame of the abandonment of the disciples of

Christ. In verse 50, he's, he's

reflecting that because nakedness in the Bible points to

shame, it's a shameful thing to be naked.

That that's the truth that goes all the way back to the garden

because of sin. It wasn't so from the beginning.

And so the impression that we're supposed to get from this is

that this young man who also followed Christ was unwilling to

be associated with the with the Christ to the degree that he was

willing to be in public naked. That's how much he didn't want

to pay the price to be with Christ, that he was willing to

run out of there without any clothes on.

And so he's left in a state of shame, not just because of the

obvious reason, but because of the internal reason of not being

faithful to his master. And that is true of the

disciples, though they were still clothed.

Now we can end it there that this is a disgraceful lack of

commitment, whoever this young man was.

But I believe that there is a different emphasis that Mark is

trying to to make here. I don't think Mark is as

concerned about identifying who this young man is.

You know why? Because he could have told us.

But he does under score something else that I believe

most people miss. And it's what this young man

wore. Look again here at verse 51.

And the young man followed him with nothing but a linen cloth

about his body, and they seized them.

Now look at this. But he left the linen cloth and

ran away naked. This linen cloth, this material,

this garment is brought up twice.

And you know why this is important?

It's not until you realize, and if we all read the original

language, like if we had the ability to read the Greek, it

would be more apparent. But we do have a concordance in

this day of age, we can actually do this kind of research.

We can actually have access to these resources.

So when you look at a concordance, you know what you

realize that the word for linen cloth is only found in one other

place, in the Gospel of Mark. And here it is in Mark 1546.

And Joseph. Joseph brought a linen shroud,

and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him

in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock, and he rolled a

stone against the entrance of the tomb.

How many times did Mark bring up this young man and his linen

cloth? Twice.

How many times do we see this linen shroud, which is the same

original word when Jesus was wrapped in this material?

Twice. Is it a coincidence that the

next and only mention of the Lord Jesus Christ, rather this

linen outfit is placed on the Lord Jesus Christ and it's taken

with Him into the tomb and as we read, it's brought up twice.

Now you may be hesitant to make any kind of application with

that connection, but I am persuaded that this next point

will convince us, will convince us even more because when we

come back to Mark 14, look again at verse 51 and a young man

followed him. We concluded that that linen

cloth is only mentioned one other place in the Gospel of

Mark and check this out. The word young man is only

brought up in one other place in the Gospel of Mark and it is

absolutely incredible where you realize the placement of the

same word. Go to Mark 16 and look at verse

5. This is when the woman came to

the tomb to try to anoint Jesus. And let's actually begin in

verse 2. And very early on the first day

of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb and

they were saying to one another, who will roll away the stone for

us from the entrance of the tomb.

And looking up they saw that the stone had been rolled back.

It was very large. And entering the tomb they saw a

young man sitting on the right side dressed in a white robe.

And they were alarmed. It's the only other place where

you're going to find young man in this gospel account.

And what's so amazing by this and because of this is that when

you read Matthew's account of the woman coming to the tomb and

Luke and John, the other gospel writers, you know what they tell

us about who they encountered, Not a young man who an Angel.

Mark has used the word Angel before in his gospel account,

and all the other gospel accounts agree this is an Angel

that gave this news. But Mark says it was a young

man, Same word as Mark 14. What's happening here?

What's he trying to denote? What is he trying to convey?

And I think here we have something of a literary

technique marked by the Spirit is about to blow our minds.

It could be that, yes, in the literal sense, this Angel looked

like a young man. But I don't think that that's

the main point. I believe the main point is that

when you read a young man in Mark 16, five, you were to

recall that young man from Mark chapter 14, that same young man

Mark 14 · chapter mention

that was fully clothed but end up becoming naked and fleeing.

And now you come to this point, you read the same terminology

used to describe this person who is sitting in the tomb after the

resurrection of Jesus Christ. You think, OK, what's the point?

I believe that there is a symbolic work being done here,

that this young man who's in the garden is to be bridged with

this young man who's in the tomb after the resurrection.

So let's pause it and consider these clues so far.

Mark mentions someone who is following Christ and he was a

young man with a linen cloth but fled away naked and fell short

like the disciples that OK pay attention now, it's going to be

worth it. The only other place where this

word linen cloth is mentioned is when Jesus was buried with this

material. The same material and the only

other place that this young man is mentioned, the same word is

someone in the tomb announcing the glorious resurrection.

But wait, what was the young man in the tomb wearing?

Go back to verse 5 of Mark 16. And entering the tomb, they saw

a young man sitting on the right side dressed in a white robe,

and they were alarmed. You know what else is

interesting? The word white is only found in

one other place in all the Gospel of Mark.

Do you know where? Let me remind you, Mark Chapter

Mark 9 · chapter mention

9. Look here with me and verse 2.

And after six days, Jesus took with him Peter and James and

John and LED them up a high mountain by themselves.

And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became

radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them.

Here's a young man clothed in linen.

He wants to follow Christ, fear, failure, shortcoming runs, they

seize him, the cloth is removed. He runs naked.

The only other time this word linen cloth is found in the

Gospel of Mark, and may I add, in all the gospels, is when

Jesus was wrapped with it before he was buried.

And the only other time this word young man in the Gospel of

Mark is found, interestingly, is identified with the Angel in

Mark 16, and he's wearing a white robe.

And the word white is supposed to connect us to the only other

place where the word white is found in the Gospel, Mark.

And it's what Jesus wore when he was demonstrating his glory.

This is artistry. These are clues that we have

been granted to put together so that we can see this beautiful

picture. And I am convinced that what

Mark is doing is providing a subplot to the grander story of

the Gospel account. And what is that subplot and

exchange of garments? So you have this man who we see

wearing a linen cloth when he failed Christ.

And that linen cloth that symbolizes such failure was

taken with Christ by wave symbolism into the tomb.

It was worn by Jesus as he was laid in the grave.

But when the same word young man reappears in the gospel, it is

after the resurrection of Christ and he is no longer naked, but

he's dressed in a white robe, one that is linked with the

glory that Christ wore on the Mount of Transfiguration.

So even in this subplot, Mark is 1 to communicate the gospel of

the imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ.

See, this young man, it's, it's not about trying to figure out

who it is. It's trying to figure out what

he represents. That's what it is.

And that's why Mark uses that word about the Angel.

Not to say that they're the same person, but so that you can make

that connection and realize, well, the young man in Mark 14

wore this, but now the same word, young man, now he's

wearing this. And where did this Garmin go?

It went with Jesus to the tomb. And where did this white robe

come from? Well, Jesus had it when he

demonstrated His glory, and so we can be moved by that

connection. But what's more important is you

realizing that this is an invitation that Christ extends

to every man, to take your filthy sin, your filthy

garments, all the mess, even even in your religiosity, and

trying to honor God and work up your righteousness, whatever it

may be. Christ is willing to take all

your shame, all your guilt, all your shortcoming, and take it

with Him to the cross and bury it, never to be brought up and

used against you. And more than that, the same

Jesus is willing to clothe you with the glory of His

righteousness. That is what this is about.

That is what the story is even with this young man with his

linen cloth. It's a gospel truth.

And it's something that I hope that you would consider, if you

have never considered it, that you would actually be confident

to say, if this is what Christianity is all about, why

would I denied it? If he's willing to take all the

stains and all the shame and then give me his perfection so

that I can stand before him faultless.

Is it any accident that this young man wearing the robe was

wearing it after Jesus rose from the dead?

No, it's not an accident. It's to show that your salvation

has been amened by God. Because Jesus rose from the

dead, He didn't stay in the tomb.

And so I invite you to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your

Savior by making that exchange. How do I make that transaction?

Repent and believe, turn to him, give him your sin, receive his

saving pardon, and you will know everlasting life.

Can we pray? Lord, Your word is amazing.

We tremble at Your word, rightfully so.

What kind of book is this? How has it been put together?

You are indeed the author of this book.

So first, Lord, we ask that you open our eyes, that we might

behold the wondrous things out of your law.

We don't want to miss anything. We don't want to think for a

moment that there's one detail in this book that is accidental,

that is void of purpose. So Lord, we, we want to pray for

a revival, for our love for the Word.

Breathe on our hearts to have this appetite for the things of

God in the sacred Scriptures, please and Lord, as we come to

it, to believe that you are willing to teach us and guide us

through it. Lord, we also thank you that in

this word you confirm what Christ said, that it is about

the sun. It is about ultimately what

Christ has done for man. And Lord, you even were able to

tuck it in a brief little vignette of a young man who ran

naked in the garden. And so, Lord, we pray that the

gospel would have preeminence in our thinking and our affections

and our devotion and our love. We thank you and we worship you.

We give you glory and honor. May these things be tied around

our necks, bound in our hearts and the source of our delight.

In Jesus mighty name we pray. Amen.

Can we stand? Isn't God amazing?

He is amazing. I'm moved by these truths, and I

pray that you're moved as well. Let's give Him glory and thanks

as we praise Him.