Key Passage
There was a young man following Jesus. He was wearing only a linen cloth. The people also grabbed this man. The cloth he was wearing came off, and he ran away wearing nothing.
— Mark 14:51-52 ERV (Read Full Text)
Key Thought
If Mark 14:50 is one of the most heart-wrenching passages of the Bible, these verses are some of the most intriguing. Some have suggested that this is a reference to John Mark, who wrote this gospel—these verses don't occur elsewhere—and that this is his signature placed with the Gospel to insure its authenticity. If this is so, it is yet another reminder that even those who secretly tried to follow Jesus during his Passion were run off by the violent mob that attacked the Lord, leaving Jesus completely alone, without a friendly face when surrounded by a crowd thirsty for blood. No matter who this young man may have been, he is a reminder of a host of those who followed the Lord about whom we know little or nothing. Yet their presence and support of the Lord at other times were crucial to the spread of God's Kingdom and the triumph of the Gospel.
Prayer
Father, I thank you for those who followed Jesus who I will never know till heaven. I know you used so many more people to support his ministry and carry on his mission than we know about in the New Testament. Help me be willing to serve him whether I am known or not known as one of his loyal followers by future generations. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Related Scriptures
We don't want people to find anything wrong with our work. So we do nothing that will be a problem to other people. But in every way we show that we are servants of God: in accepting many hard things, in troubles, in difficulties, and in great problems. We are beaten and thrown into prison. People become upset and fight us. We work hard, and sometimes we get no sleep or food. {We show that we are servants of God} by our understanding, by our patience, by our kindness, and by living pure. {We show this} by the Holy Spirit, by true love, by speaking the truth, and by God's power. We use our right living to defend ourselves against everything. Some people honor us, but other people shame us. Some people say good things about us, but other people say bad things. Some people say we are liars, but we speak the truth. To some people we are not known (not important), but we are well known. We seem to be dying, but look! We continue to live. We are punished, but we are not killed. We have much sadness, but we are always rejoicing. We are poor, but we are making many people rich {in faith}. We have nothing, but really we have everything.
— 2 Corinthians 6:3-10
Don't be afraid of the things that will happen to you. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison. He will do this to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But be faithful, even if you have to die. If you continue faithful, then I will give you the crown of life.
— Revelation 2:10
All those people had great faith. And with that faith they defeated kingdoms. They did the things that are right, and they got the things that God promised. With their faith some people closed the mouths of lions. Some people stopped great fires, and other people were saved from being killed with swords. They did those things because they had faith. Weak people were made strong because of their faith. They became powerful in battle and defeated other armies. People that had died were raised from death, and they were given back to the women in their family. Other people were tortured and refused to accept their freedom. They did this so that they could be raised from death to a better life. Some people were laughed at and beaten. Other people were tied and put into prison. They were killed with stones and they were cut in half. They were killed with swords. The only clothes some of these people had were sheep skins or goat skins. They were poor, persecuted, and treated badly by other people. The world was not good enough for these great people. These people wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and holes in the ground.
— Hebrews 11:33-38
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