"As unknown, and yet well known" (2 Cor. 6:9).
It is our purpose here to investigate a few New Testament characters whose identity God has seen
fit not to reveal, much as some of us, in our short-sightedness, might wish that we knew.
A Zealous Follower
The first of these, and perhaps the most noted, is found in Mark 14:50-52:"And they all forsook
Him and fled. 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."
Now who was this young unnamed man, we ask? No one on earth can tell us with certainty. There
have been many conjectures, including James, the brother of the Lord, and John, the son of
Zebedee. However, were we compelled to hazard a guess, we should say it was John Mark, the
writer of the Gospel himself. Or else it was a young man with whom John Mark could well
identify because of his own failure many years later when he gave up and left Paul and Barnabas
while on a missionary journey (Acts 13:13). He may have recorded this little episode concerning
the young man as a warning for all_particularly young men_against presumption in the beginning
of their purpose to follow and serve the Lord.
This young man, probably roused out of sleep by the noisy rabble, ran into the street. Recognizing
the Prisoner and moved by mere enthusiasm or indignation, he was determined to follow Him
whom the apostles had so ignominiously forsaken. But mere natural zeal and its good intentions
is insufficient to maintain one through a course of discipleship; only grace, grace given us by God,
can accomplish this. This young unnamed man appears to have been lacking in this area, and
failure and shame were the result. It was probably not so much fear for his life as it was fear of
the ridicule of his fellow youths who laid hold on him. His natural courage failed him and he
hastened to make his escape from his tormentors, leaving his night cloth in their hands.
Here indeed lies a lesson for all would-be disciples and followers of Christ. To such we would
say, in the language of the hymn, "The arm of flesh will fail you." The confident language of faith
is, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13), and "Not I, but Christ"
(Gal. 2:20). All attempts to follow and serve and suffer for Christ in the energy of mere natural
courage or enthusiasm will result in what we see exhibited in this undoubtedly sincere
zealot_namely, failure, exposure, and shame.
Let us, then, His servants, no better in ourselves than this unnamed young man, learn from him
the needed lesson of self-distrust. And let us follow the pattern of the writer of this account and
of our Lord in manifesting that thoughtful love that "shall hide a multitude of sins" (Jas. 5:20).
Let us not be ready or eager or even willing (unless compelled by a sense of duty) to make known
a fellow disciple’s faults or failures, but diligent rather to conceal them from the knowledge of
others, and from the vulgarly curious in particular.
A Would-Be Assassin
Simon Peter was perhaps the best known of the twelve disciples of Christ. But with respect to one
negative event in His life he remained anonymous until nearly the close of the first century. This
event was when he, with inexcusable haste, drew a sword and with more serious purpose, no
doubt even to kill, cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest. The incident is recorded in all
four Gospels, but it was given only to John to divulge the name (Matt. 26:51; Mark 14:47; Luke
22:50; John 18:20). And had John not revealed the identity of the culprit we should never have
known this side of heaven who it was. John’s Gospel was probably written about 96 A.D., so
Peter’s identity in this matter was concealed for more than a half century until after he was dead
and therefore when the publication of his name could injure neither him nor his influence and
usefulness.
We might wonder why Peter’s anonymity was preserved with regard to the sword-wielding
incidence and not with regard to his far more serious threefold denial of his Lord. Perhaps it was
to keep him from getting into even more trouble with the authorities than he already experienced
because of his witness for Christ (Acts 4-12).
How perfectly natural to the human mind to wish to know who the would-be assassin might be as
the dramatic narrative was read; but it was not to be during the lifetime of the guilty one. His Lord
was compelled to perform a miracle (something He was never eager but rather reluctant to do) in
restoring the severed ear, and also to offer an apology for His disciple’s misconduct, saying,
"Suffer thus far" (Luke 22:51). How wondrously gracious of Him! and even more gracious was
His restraining of the earlier evangelists, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, from recording his name.
Oh, how admirable that "love of Christ" that for so long a time kept covered the name of His
energetic though often mistaken disciple! May a similar love in us, ever constrain us to a like
concealment of our brethren’s faults and failures, and even sins, if these last be not of sufficient
seriousness to call for some extreme penalty.
(To be continued.)