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 f led from them naked.” Mark 14:51-52
There are so many lessons to learn and understand from the Easter narrative, I can’t possibly begin to describe in this brief column. But one nugget to the story is what we learn from Mark chapter 14 at the Garden of Gethsemane. It is here that we discover Mark’s account of a “young man” who fled from Gethsemane naked.
Who was this young man, why was he covered in “a linen cloth”, and most importantly, why was he naked? The key lies in the “linen cloth” he had lightly draped about his body. The Greek word tells us that this kind of cloth is that of a burial shroud used for covering a dead body in the grave.
When a body was prepared for burial, it was washed, ceremonially cleaned, and buried naked in a linen cloth exactly like the one Mark described. The Garden of Gethsemane was near the Mount of Olives with a cemetery very close in proximity.
All kinds of theories exist concerning this naked young man. I am certainly no theologian, but I do love studying scripture. In studying this passage and multiple theories of who this boy might have been, I am convinced that when Jesus said those powerful words “I AM,” resurrection power was released in such abundance that it not only knocked the soldiers backward and shook the local cemetery (John 18:6), but a young boy crawled out of his tomb, raised from the dead.
The beauty of Easter is that this same resurrection power is available to you and me. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is living in you (Romans 8:11). The truth is, man has no power against Jesus unless the power to do so is granted from above (John 19:11). If you are a Spirit baptized Pentecostal, that same biblical truth is applicable to you.
Friend, wouldn’t it be beautiful if we too were stripped naked of our fleshly thoughts and fleshly ways, and became empowered with the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead? Like Lazarus who Jesus told to rid himself of his grave clothes, we too must do the same (John 11:33, 34). Grave clothes look like and smell like death. A child of God has no business wearing them any longer. The New Testament church should be many things, but DEAD is not one of them! Like that young lad, we too must be stripped of earthen dependencies and become bold in our battle for souls. We must never be afraid of the battle that we are engaged in. We are fighting a battle that is not flesh and blood, and the only remedy for victory is for you and me to be infused with this same resurrection power. If ever there was a time for the Church of God to be stripped of our fleshly ways and be clothed in the power of the Holy Spirit, it is right now. We are in a battle that only spiritual weapons can defeat. Grave clothes resemble the flesh, and our battle is not against the flesh (Ephesians 6:12).
As we approach Easter, begin praying with me now for an Easter outpouring. Pray with me for a resurrection moment to come to every pulpit, every church, every minister, every member, and every attendee in Church of God congregations. If resurrection power can shake a cemetery at the foot of the Mount of Olives and wake a young lad to new life, He can shake us and wake us!