the linen garment.

After reading my daily devotional yesterday, somehow I felt that I had gotten nothing out of it. It happens. Although God’s word speaks to us always, sometimes what we routinely read is not what He wants to talk to us about. So I put down the book I had in my hand and went for the real thing: the Bible. And yes, I did the proverbial “open at random and put your finger on a verse without looking” thing. Interestingly enough, it went to Mark 14:51-52: “A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.”

            Hmm. This is new. I was aiming for some other more direct word….wait….not so fast. There was a word there. As I read it again and again, God began to speak to me, in His typical soft and quiet whisper. Why would a verse like that one even makes it to the Bible? Just two verses, right there in the middle of the story about the Lord’s arrest? Such a significant time in His life! Who cares about a guy going commando who had to run naked? And who cares what material was his robe?

            Well, just like everything in the Bible, there a spiritual twist and a lesson. Always. God just doesn’t put anything there at random.

            First, it says that it was a young man. Probably a teenager. Why, because who else would really dare to go in public with no underwear. You know it. Teenagers are daring, rebellious, wanting not only to try something new but usually against the core or what their parents tell them. It’s natural. It’s part of their finding out and establishing their independence and unique personality. He probably had a “lifetime” of hearing from his mother, “Always wear clean underwear in case of an emergency…”. Well, he was ready to challenge that thought.

            Then, the garment was linen. (I hope it wasn’t see-through.) Probably not a poor boy from the neighborhood. My guess is that his family was pretty well off and well respected within the Jewish community, although I am not really well versed in the history and the customs of the times. But linen is not cheap now. So I suppose it wasn’t cheap then.

            But it does say that he was following Jesus. That’s a good thing. For a teenager wanting to establish their personality and identity, that is an excellent place to start. What better way to find it than through the One that can give them the best outlook in life and help them find the true path for their life?

            And then came the test. Jesus was being arrested. Chaos erupted. They seized Him and took Him away. Roman soldiers, temple guards, both friends and enemies of Jesus together. A real bar brawl, where punches are thrown, and nobody knows who hits who. Well, maybe not that dramatic, but scary, nevertheless. Oh, no, what would his parents say? If they were prominent members of the Jewish high society, they were probably not happy at the thought of their son following that lowlife son of a carpenter that called himself the “Son of God” and went around pretending to heal people and forgive their sins. He probably had been warned. So he fled, and in the spur of the moment, didn’t realize he was not wearing underwear and, when someone pulled on his garment, there it went and…oops…there he went! He left his garment behind.

            A spiritual lesson? But of course! Let’s start from the beginning. When we are young in the faith we are daring, rebellious, and always eager to try something new. We challenge our “parents”—those who have been trying to teach us the things of the world, be it friends, relatives, teachers, media, etc. There are so many new things in this new faith that we find so fascinating. Unfortunately, sometimes we are content with just following from afar. Just in case those “parents” are watching, or word gets to them that we are following this guy. But we are still curious. We follow. We believe. We know that Jesus holds the answer we are looking for.

            But there needs to be that moment when we have to decide: we commit, or run away. Following from afar is just not an option anymore. If it is true that we are trying to establish our own identity, there has to be a moment when we embrace it. You know, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters,” (Matthew 12:30). Am I going to gather or scatter, am I going to be with Him or against Him.

            God gives us a lot of leeway. He lets us watch Him from the distance, day after day after day. But one day… one day, the test comes. The bar brawl breaks out. Confusion is all around us. Punches are flying. The voices that once said were our friends are now demanding an explanation. They seize us. We are scared. We run.

            The problem is, we are wearing nothing but a linen garment, and underneath, we are naked. Our sins are exposed for all to see. The nice, expensive linen robe that we
used to cover them is gone, and we were not prepared. The only alternative is to run.

            But, is it? Is running the only alternative? What if that young man had been wearing the proper attire underneath his garment? He would not have to run embarrassed and ashamed when the moment of truth came. He had the basics.

            Oh, if only we made sure we have our basics on! If only we made sure we never left our home without the full armor of the Spirit on. If only we made sure that our sins are covered by the Blood and not just by a nice, expensive piece of cloth. Then, when test day comes, it doesn’t matter that our pretty linen garment flies away. We are covered. We have no shame. Then, we’ll walk in confidence, with the belt of truth firmly holding the rest of the clothing in place. No one can bring us to shame, no one. We will not have to run. We will not have to hide. God himself has dressed us up and there is nothing to be ashamed of. Ever.