Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
As the disciples flee in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:50), an unusual event occurs: “And there followed Him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him: and he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked” (verses 51-52). This “young man” was not one of the Twelve, reminding us that a number of people of sincere faith were following Jesus. For example, Jesus appeared to “five hundred brethren” after His Resurrection (I Corinthians 15:6) and “about an hundred and twenty” believers regularly met in the Upper Room after Jesus’ Ascension (Acts 1:15). We do not know the name of this “young man”; because of the embarrassing specificity, tradition holds that it was Mark himself. Given the darkness of night in the ancient world (with no artificial lighting), no one other than the individual in question could have provided the humiliating details. The key point is that by the end of verse 52 all of Jesus’ followers have deserted Him. All alone, He proceeds to His trial and to His Cross. Yes, “Jesus walked this lonesome valley; He had to walk it by Himself.” Only a man Who is fully God could stand alone and still be victorious. Jesus is that One.