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MARK: GOSPEL OF THE SERVICE OF CHRIST, GOD'S SERVANT
Part XX: Learning To Be Gentle With The Failure Of Others In View Of Our Own Failings (Mark 14:43-54)
  1. Introduction
    1. Jesus warned His disciples against being censorious, about making it a habit to judge other people. In fact, one had to take the beam out of his own eye before removing the speck from the brother's eye, Mtt. 7:1-5.
    2. One of the greatest examples of applying this admonition is given to us in Mark 14:43-54.
  2. Learning To Be Gentle With The Failure Of Others In View Of Our Own Failings, Mark 14:43-54.
    1. The writer of Mark's Gospel is the John Mark who fled from helping Paul and Barnabas out of fear on their first missionary journey, Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, p. 95; Acts 15:36-38 with 13:13.
    2. Though he failed out of fear here, he was discipled by Barnabas on Crete (Acts 15:39) and became so profitable in ministry that Paul himself who had once resisted bringing John Mark on the second missionary journey asked Timothy to send him to help him serve the Lord, 2 Timothy 4:11b,c.
    3. Now, as Mark came to the section in the life of Christ where the denial of Peter was to be put down, realizing his own record of fleeing from God's tough assignments in the past, he graciously sought to put Peter's sinful denial into p erspective with his own flight from Christ's attackers!
      1. The Gospel of Mark's account of the betrayal of Christ by Judas in Gethsemane runs pretty much like the other gospel accounts with the glaring exception of the unusual flight of an unnamed youth, Mark 14:51-52, Bib. Know. Com., N.T., p. 181.
      2. This account acts to emphasize the fact that all of Christ's disciples fled from helping Jesus, Ibid.
      3. Most interpreters believe that this young man was therefore Mark himself who acted in character with his weaknesses at the time of being afraid of sacrificial service, Ibid.
      4. If Mark was this young man, and if he was the son of the house owner at whose upper room Jesus ate the Last Supper with the twelve, the following scenario played itself out in Mark 14:51-52:
        1. Since Mark was not one of the twelve at the time, but the son of the man whose home was used for the last supper as many scholars have believed (Ibid., cf. Mk. 14:14-15; Acts 12:12), then after the Last Supper, he removed his outer gar ment and went to bed wrapped in a linen sleeping garment.
        2. Shortly afterward, a house servant may have aroused him to report that Judas and the temple officers had come to the house to arrest Jesus.
        3. Since Judas' treachery needed to be made known to Jesus, Mark hurriedly scurried in this sleeping garment down to Gethsemane only to find that Jesus had already been arrested.
        4. Mark then decided to follow Jesus to do what he could only to be grabbed as a potential witness.
        5. Fearing for his life, Mark left the linen garment that his detractors had grabbed, slipping out of it to flee into the night naked! (Ibid.)
        6. Thus, no one remained with Jesus, "not even a courageous young man who had intended to follow Him" to warn him of Judas' betrayal.
      5. Then, in getting on with Peter's denials, Mark showed care in his record in view of his own failings:
        1. Mark taught that Peter still followed Jesus even though he, Mark had already fled, Mk. 14:52, 53-54.
        2. Mark also mentioned Peter went right into the courtyard of the High Priest's residence and warmed himself by the fire. Compared to where Mark then was, Peter was much more righteous!
        3. Mark's account of Peter's denial is much more detailed than that of the other gospel accounts, indicating that he had gotten Peter's own testimony down on paper, Ibid., p. 184. Thus, Mark fully identified with Peter's denial here as h e had his own problems of denying the Lord in flights from trouble or service trials for the same reason. He had a heart for the guy with the problem as he had.
Lesson: Realizing that he didn't have the right to make Peter look as bad as he could for denying Christ due to his OWN tendencies to flee Christ or His service more than once, Mark showed humility in reporting his own failure just before Peter's d enial and in giving Peter as much honor as possible.

Application: Let us also practice Matthew 7:1-5 and remove beams from our eyes before going after the brothers' specks! Then we will be better communicators of God's grace as was Mark!