Tradition holds that when Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples, the Upper Room was actually in the house of the one who came to be known as St. Mark. Tradition also holds that it was St. Mark who later left his house, wearing just an outer garment to follow Jesus and the disciples. When the bullying crowd came to arrest Jesus, they tried to lay their hands on anyone else they could find. There happened to be this young man who had followed and they grabbed him. But he slipped out of his shirt and ran away naked. Was it St. Mark? It could be since he only of the four Gospel writers records this detail. But regardless of whether it was Mark or not, the running away of a young naked guy is recorded for our comfort and salvation. To hear of this young man high tailing it out of the Garden of Gethsemane must call our minds back to another young naked man who was running away in a Garden. Adam, of course, who did not prevent his wife from disobeying God's Word but joined in her sin and brought the whole human race into corruption. There, naked and now ashamed, Adam hid from God and was afraid. Young St. Mark runs away, naked and afraid. You and I, should run naked and afraid! Our sins have exposed us! There is no thought, word or deed which we have done that has escaped the eye of God. And while we might slip off our shirt and escape in the buff from evil men, we cannot escape the Lord. Just as Adam ran from God but could not hide, so we cannot hope to just slip away without being seen. But for the salvation of this young scaredy-cat, and for the salvation of all sinners, Jesus doesn't run. He goes uncomplaining forth to suffer at the hands of sinners. He submits to the will of His Father and therefore allows Himself to be captured by evil men and to go the way of the cross's shame to redeem us from the shame of our sins.
Strange how much clothes are mentioned in our Lord's Passion. This young man runs away naked, having his shirt yanked off. Jesus is stripped and clothed with robes just so the Roman soldiers could make sport of Him. But then, as He hangs—naked no doubt, for maxim shame—on the cross, the soldiers divide his clothes and cast lots to see who gets them. Think about that for a moment: these rough, coarse, Gentile sinner soldiers get Jesus' clothes. Do you see the Gospel yet? In the Garden, when God promised Adam and Eve He would send a Savior, He then killed some animal and made clothes for them out of the skins. It was God who covered their nakedness! On Calvary, some poor and dirty soldier won the roll of the dice and goes home with Jesus' clothes. Jesus' clothes will cover this Roman soldier. But more than that. These examples of clothes point us to the greater clothing that is being arranged for us by Jesus. Just as the lamb died so Adam and Eve could have clothes to cover their nakedness, now God covers the nakedness of our sin with the clothes of the Lamb of God! On the cross, Jesus is arranging us a new wardrobe to cover our nakedness. By His death for our sins, the Lord is covering our shame and nakedness.
And it's not just talk, it's a real covering. St. Paul tells us that all who have been baptized into Christ have been “clothed with Christ.” At the font, the Spirit puts upon you the robe of Christ's righteousness. Just as Jacob wore a sheepskin to fool his Dad into thinking it was his older brother, so you and I, dressed and robed in Christ, appear as the Only-begotten and Firstborn Sons of God. Because you are clothed with Jesus, when your heavenly Father sees you, He sees no sin, no wrongdoing, no iniquity. He sees the holiness and righteousness and perfection of His Son. We are reminded of this clothing when we once again hear in Mark's Gospel about a “young man” this time, not running away naked, but this young man at the tomb, clothed in lightning-white and announcing the Good News that Jesus is risen from the dead! That same preaching today, by the man clothed in white, is your hope and salvation. And, as the Lamb gave its life for Adam and Eve's new clothes, so the flesh and blood of Jesus, given into death, are given to us in His Holy Supper, clothing us inside and out with Jesus. So now no longer run away in naked shame, dear Christian! With these holy gifts, rejoice in the new wardrobe you have been given in Christ, a wardrobe that makes you perfectly presentable to your Father in heaven.
Adam and Even ran in naked shame. So did St. Mark. So should we. But God clothes sinners. That is why the Lamb of God gave Himself into death. So now don't run away naked, but come rejoicing, clothed in the robes of Jesus, given to you in your Baptism. Amen.