Paid In Full: An In-depth Look at the Defining Moments of Christ's Passion (12 page)

As you face your own challenges in life, always keep in mind that Jesus has the power to fix any problem you’ll ever come across. Before you jump in and make things worse by taking matters into your own hands, remember the story of Peter! The next time you’re tempted to “grab a sword and start swinging,” take a few minutes to remind yourself that Jesus can handle the problem without your intervention. Before you do anything else,
pray
and ask the Lord what you are supposed to do. Then after you receive your answer and follow His instructions, just watch His supernatural power swing into action to solve the dilemma you are facing!

When we think of the potential power available to Jesus through angelic assistance alone, it seems almost laughable that Peter thought his little sword offered protection. Yet all of us have made similar mistakes at times in our own lives.

The same Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead is within you, and the same power available to Him is also available to you. What pitifully inadequate substitutes for God’s power have you attempted to rely on in the past when you faced a difficult situation and were in need of divine help and deliverance?

Man’s natural tendency is always to try to solve his own problems. Consider your own patterns and history of natural attempts to solve situations. In what ways could you have looked to the Lord and allowed His power to resolve what you could not?

If you are a believer, you already have all the power at your disposal to fix any problem you’ll ever come across. Consider the greatest challenge you’re facing at this moment. Pray and ask God for His supernatural assistance. Then “put away your sword” and follow His instructions.

Chapter 13:
Who Was the Naked Boy
in the Garden
of Gethsemane?

Just about the time Jesus finished healing the ear of the servant of the high priest named Malchus, the Gospel of Mark tells us a naked young man was found in the Garden of Gethsemane. Mark 14:51,52 says, “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.”

Who was this young man? Why was he following Jesus? Why was he naked? Why was he draped in a linen cloth instead of wearing normal clothes? And why was the Holy Spirit so careful to include this unique story in Mark’s account of the Gospel?
What is the significance of this event?

The key to identifying this young man lies in the “linen cloth” he had lightly draped about his body. The particular Greek word that is used for this “linen cloth” is used in only one other event in the New Testament — to depict the “linen cloth” in which the body of Jesus was wrapped for burial (
see
Matthew 27:59, Mark 15:46, and Luke 23:53). Thus, the only reference we have for this kind of cloth in the New Testament is that of a burial shroud used for covering a dead body in the grave.

Some scholars have tried to say this naked young man was Mark himself. They assume that when Mark heard about Jesus’ arrest, he quickly jumped out of bed and dashed to the Garden of Gethsemane. But the Garden was remotely located, and no one could have run there so quickly. It is simply a physical impossibility.

Others have speculated that Mark threw off his clothes in an attempt to shock and distract the soldiers so Jesus could escape. This idea is preposterous. Others have tried with similar vain attempts to assert that this naked young man was the apostle John. But why would John be walking naked in the Garden of Gethsemane?

As I said, the answer to this naked young man’s identity lies in the cloth he had wrapped around his body. You see, when a body was prepared for burial, it was washed, ceremonially cleaned, and buried naked in a linen cloth exactly like the one described here in the Gospel of Mark. Furthermore, the Garden of Gethsemane was situated on the side of the Mount of Olives. Toward the base of that mount is a heavily populated cemetery, with many of its graves going back to the time of Jesus.

When Jesus said, “I AM,” the power released was so tremendous that it knocked the soldiers backward. But evidently, it also caused a rumbling in the local cemetery! When that blast of power was released, a young boy, draped in a linen burial cloth in accordance with the tradition of that time, crawled out from his tomb —
raised from the dead
!

The reason he “followed” Jesus was to get a glimpse of the One who had resurrected him. The word “followed” here means
to continuously follow
. This tells us that this resurrected young man trailed the soldiers as they took Jesus through the Garden on the way to His trial. When the soldiers discovered the young man who was following Jesus, they tried to apprehend him. But when they reached out to grab him, he broke free from their grip and fled, leaving the linen cloth in their possession.

I want you to reflect again on the amazing power that was active at the time of Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. He later told Pilate, “…Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above...” (John 19:11). Indeed, there was so much power present that
no one
could have withstood Jesus had He chosen to resist. Jesus was not taken by the will of man; He was delivered by the will of the Father.

The only reason Jesus could be taken was that He chose to willingly lay down His life for you and for me.

Think how marvelous it is that Jesus freely gave His life for us! So much power was at work in Him, even at the time of His arrest, that no one had sufficient power to forcibly take Him. The only reason Jesus could be taken was that He chose to willingly lay down His life for you and for me.

Don’t read these words lightly. Allow the magnitude of what Jesus did for you to sink deep into your heart. Take some time to stop and thank Him for being so willing to go to the Cross and to bear the punishment for your sin in your stead. Jesus is worthy of your heartfelt praise!

When Jesus simply acknowledged who He was, the blast of power released in that truth not only knocked His enemies backward, but it also raised the dead.

Consider what will happen in your life when you, with conviction, acknowledge who Jesus is on your behalf. In what areas do you need to acknowledge Him the most?

The divine power available to Jesus that night in the Garden is unfathomable to our natural minds. Yet He chose not to resist the soldiers; instead, in obedience He yielded to the will of God.

Meditate on the great love and self-sacrifice Jesus displayed in choosing to give His life for you. In what ways can you begin to yield your life to Him more fully and to follow His leading more accurately as you walk through each day?

No foe could have withstood the power in Jesus if He had chosen to resist His enemies. If
you
resist the devil, he cannot withstand the power of God that resides in
you.

Consider some areas in your life where the devil is seeking to overtake you. Then take the time to think about the overwhelming power of the Greater One within you. Make a quality decision to submit to God in every area of your life, and then use your authority in Jesus’ name to actively
resist
the enemy!