NAKED AND NOT ASHAMED Part 1

 

The context

 

This word which God gave me occurs within a specific context in terms of where we are as a church. For the purpose of understanding I will spend a few moments establishing this context. We start of course at GRACE. Grace is the foundation that was laid in this church. The understanding that our salvation starts with ‘it is finished!’. It is not about what WE DO but about what HE HAS DONE. It is a Gospel founded not on Law but on Grace through faith. A Gospel not of ‘doing’ but of ‘believing’. As we believe all that was accomplished on the cross for us so our lives are transformed through our believing and not through our doing. The more we understand (believe) that we are the righteousness of God the more that righteousness is manifested in our lives.

 

This understanding of grace then leads to another revelation – the revelation of BLESSING. The revelation that we are not cursed but are blessed. The revelation that at the cross of Jesus every curse was reversed and every blessing was released. We are blessed and highly favored of God.

 

Eph 1:3 Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ      

 

This understanding of blessing then leads to the next revelation – the revelation of fruitfulness. The realization that we are fruitful because we are blessed. The understanding that fruitfulness flows from blessing rather than blessing flowing from fruitfulness. The divine order is set in Genesis when it declares:

 

Gen 1:28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful”

 

And so we see that blessing comes first and then fruitfulness. Fruitfulness flows from blessing.  We are fruitful because we are blessed. We do not have to produce fruit in order to obtain God’s blessing or favor – this is law. Through grace we receive God’s blessing first which then produces fruit in our lives.

 

From the realization that we are all blessed and that we are all fruitful we then come to the realization that we are not all equally fruitful. In Mark chapter 4 Jesus tells the parable of the seed – and reveals that the seed is the Word of God and the good ground on which it falls is those who hear the word and receive it (the believer).   

 

Mark 4:20 And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.

 

So Jesus reveals that the good ground brings forth different degrees of fruitfulness. Jesus reveals that we are not all equally fruitful. The question that then arises is what are those factors that affect our fruitfulness? It is into this context that this message is brought - the context of attempting to identify and understand what these things are that affect our fruitfulness. God’s desire is to make us more fruitful – Jesus put it this way:

 

John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

 

‘Naked and not ashamed’ then is an attempt to address one of the issues which restricts our fruitfulness – the issue of SHAME.  

 

Sin and shame

 

Shame is sins silent partner. Wherever there is sin you will find shame, but sin and shame are not the same thing. Sin is about what I do; shame is about who I am. Shame is about identity. Shame identifies me with sin or attaches me to sin. You will hear many sermons on sin but very few on shame. We need to understand shame – the effect it has on us and how to deal with it. I would humbly submit that the approach of established Religion towards shame has been wrong. Established religion has to a large degree not tried to remove shame but has rather tried to use shame to reduce sin. Religion has tried to shame people out of sin. Religion tries to make you so ashamed of what you are doing that you will stop doing it - but this approach only identifies you more with your sin than with your righteousness and binds you to your sin. To attempt to shame people out of sin may be likened to trying to save an alcoholic by making him drink more or cure a drug addict by making him take more drugs. What we need to understand is that when we make someone feel ashamed about their sin we are reinforcing their attachment to their sin. We are binding them to their sin. We are causing them to identify themselves with their sin nature rather than with their righteousness nature. Shame reduces me to the product of what I have done rather than lifting me up to the product of what Christ has done. Shame draws me down, righteousness lifts me up.  This theology of shaming people into doing the right thing runs deep in our social fabric. Which of us have not ourselves declared, or heard someone else declare “You should be ashamed of yourself!” . We have grown up under its philosophy and will have to reassess our beliefs in terms of what the bible reveals our proper approach to shame should be.

 

Sin and shame may be understood by using the illustration of someone fishing. Sin is like the smelly piece of bait we place on the hook, shame is the fishing rod. When we commit a sin we feel ashamed and grovel before God in repentance, then we place the sin on the hook and cast it into the sea of God’s forgiveness, thanking God that he has forgiven our sin and removed it from us as far as the east is from the west. Now it is true that our sin is gone, it is lying somewhere at the bottom of the sea, but the problem is that as long as I am holding onto the fishing rod (shame) I am still attached to my sin. Every now and again as I reel in the line with the fishing rod (shame) I bring the sin closer until it is back with me. I then repent again and cast it out again. This cycle can go on forever until I decide to throw the fishing rod (my shame) into the sea with my sin. Until we relinquish our shame we remain attached to sin and the sin will continue to have dominion over us.     

 

Naked and not ashamed

 

Let us delve into scripture and find out what the gospel reveals concerning shame, where it came from and how we are to deal with it. Let us start by applying the ‘law of first mention’ – whenever a word or concept is introduced for the first time in God’s word it reveals a principle in regard to that word which helps us in all further interpretation of that word or concept.  

 

The first mention of shame in the bible is in Genesis 2:25.

 

Genesis 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

In the beginning Adam and Eve were naked and not ashamed. In this passage we find a link established between nakedness and shame. To be naked means not covered. So Adam and Eve were not covered and not ashamed.

 

What then happens when shame comes?

 

Genesis 3:7 Then the eyes of both of them opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

 

When shame comes covering comes. They cover their nakedness. Man feels the need to cover his nakedness – his shame. And so we find that this covering represents the shame of man – the shame of sin. Adam entered the Garden of Eden not covered (naked) and not ashamed – he leaves the garden covered and ashamed. And so the Old Testament picture for shame is this covering.   

 

Let us turn now to the New Testament and the restoration of what was lost in the Garden of Eden.

 

Mark 14:50 And they all forsook him, and fled. 51 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: 52 And he left the linen cloth , and fled from them naked.

 

This incident is only mentioned in one of the Gospels, the Gospel of Mark, and consists of only three verses but has great importance as we shall see. This incident that is recorded occurs in the Garden of Gethsemane when the Chief priests and the elders come to arrest Jesus and hand him over to the Roman authorities to be crucified. So it is the timing of this incident that is also important. This incident occurs as Jesus has set his face towards the cross. The work of the cross – the restoring work of the cross – starts in Gethsemane and ends at Golgotha. The work of the cross starts from the shedding of the first drop of Jesus’ blood in the Garden of Gethsemane and ends with the flow of blood from his spear pierced side at Golgotha.

 As Jesus was in fervent prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane the blood vessels near the sweat glands in his forehead ruptured and his blood mixed with the sweat and reversed the curse of sweat which was proclaimed in the Garden of Eden. His blood then fell to the ground and reversed the curse on the ground that was declared in the Garden of Eden. Jesus is here in the Garden of Gethsemane setting right the curses declared in the Garden of Eden. The Garden of Gethsemane then is a picture or type of the Garden of Eden. It is into this context that Mark records this amazing story – as Jesus arises from having restored the cursed ground and removing the curse of sweat he is approached by the chief priests and elders to be taken to the cross, but before he is taken to the cross we another amazing story of restoration. Jesus reverses the curse of shame received in the Garden of Eden.

This passage in Mark records that all those that were with him (Jesus) abandoned him and fled. However immediately after recording that all had fled the writer records that a “certain” young man appears on the scene. Who was this mysterious unnamed man? Some have theorized that it was Mark himself – the author of this gospel. There is no certainty on this matter – it is another of the mysteries of the gospels. Or is it? I certainly have a theory as to who this man was.

Mark 14:51 reveals that this man was naked but covered, wearing only his under-garment. What is the significance of this?

In the account in the Garden of Eden we found that Adam entered the garden not covered and not ashamed. He exited the Garden covered and ashamed. In the account of this mystery man in Mark we find the opposite occurs – there is a turnaround or reversal of events – a restoration. This man in the account of Mark arrives in the garden (of Gethsemane) covered – ashamed, he departs from the garden not covered - not ashamed.

 

Who is this mystery man in the Garden? Did God at this moment in time when all of the prophecies from Adam onwards were finding their fulfillment in Jesus – when Jesus was setting right every wrong - did God for one moment draw back the curtain of time and allow Adam to enter back into the Garden to deposit his shame, his covering, at the feet of Jesus? Is this Adam come to be restored by Jesus - the Lamb of God who takes away the sin and shame of the world? If not then you will have to concede that this man was at the very least a type or picture of Adam. 

 

This man comes into the Garden naked but covered. His shame is represented by his covering – the linen cloth. The text then reveals that the elders and priests lay hold of him but he flees naked (not covered/not ashamed). Verse 52 declares that he left the linen cloth (his covering) and fled. The word for “left” is the Greek word kataleipo which means ‘to leave behind’ or ‘abandon’. He ‘abandons’ his shame at the feet of Jesus and Jesus takes his shame from the Garden to the Cross, from Gethsemane to Golgotha.

 

We need to abandon our shame at the feet of Jesus. We need to know that Jesus not only took our sin but our shame as well. What we did yesterday or twenty years ago - or what was done to us yesterday or twenty yeas ago - does not matter because two thousand years ago Jesus took all our sin and shame to the cross. We have been made righteous through the cross and no longer need to hide our face from God. It is not only our sin but also our shame that separates us from God. Many people have no problem in accepting that their sins are forgiven but then continue to carry with them the shame that flowed from their sin. We need to abandon our shame at the feet of Jesus. When we continue to carry our shame it affects our relationship with our heavenly father and it affects our fruitfulness because shame causes us to hide or cover certain things or areas of our lives from the light of God. Abandon your sin and your shame at the cross where Jesus bore both your sin and your shame – and then declared “It is finished!”

As we stated in the beginning this is all about fruitfulness. Holding onto shame in areas of our lives restricts our fruitfulness in God. Releasing or abandoning our shame at the cross increases our fruitfulness. When we shut off places within our lives - those places cannot produce fruit, but when we open those places to God he is able to bring forth fruitfulness in those areas. God can transform an area of shame into an area of fruitfulness. 

If Jesus indeed carried our covering, our shame, to the cross then what did we receive in exchange for we know the story of the cross is the story of the ‘great exchange’. At the cross Jesus bore our sorrow that we could receive his joy. He bore our punishment that we might receive his peace. What was the exchange that took place when he took our coat of shame, our covering, to the cross?

He bore our coat of shame upon the cross and he released to us his coat of righteousness. He exchanged his coat for ours.

The cross – the story of three coats

The cross is the story of three coats. The cross became the meeting place of these three coats and only one of them would survive the crucifixion. The first coat was our coat of shame which we have discussed, which was placed upon man when he fell into sin and shame in the Garden of Eden. The second coat was the coat of the law placed upon the high priest at Mount Sinai. This coat was placed upon Aaron the high priest and was worn by each high priest appointed under the law. This coat was worn by each high priest until it made its way to the cross upon the shoulders of Caiaphas who was the high priest at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion.

Mat 26:57 Now the ones who had arrested Jesus led him to Caiaphas, the high priest, in whose house the experts in the law and the elders had gathered.

So after receiving our coat of shame in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus is taken into the presence of the second coat – the coat of the law worn by the high priest. The third coat is worn by Jesus himself.

John 19:23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier, and took his coat as well. The coat was seamless, woven in one piece from the top down.

When Jesus was brought into the presence of the high priest he was also wearing a coat. So we have identified our coat as the coat of shame and the coat of the high priest as the coat of the law, but what was this third coat - the coat worn by Jesus and described in John 19:23 as seamless, woven in one piece from the top down? A study of the Greek words used to describe this coat will help our understanding:

seamless – arrhaphos  meaning without any seam, complete, nothing added , pure

from the top – anothen meaning from above

throughout – dia holos meaning whole or complete.

So what was the coat or covering that Jesus wore that was whole, complete, pure and that came from above?

IT WAS HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS!

and so in this room within the house of the high priest we have these three coats coming together – the coat of our sin and shame, the coat of the law and the coat of righteousness.

Before the day was over only one of these coats would remain intact! 

Matt 26:65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and declared, “He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? Now you have heard the blasphemy.

The high priest tears his coat – the coat of the law is torn before Jesus – the high priest of righteousness.

Then Jesus is taken to be whipped – but his coat of righteousness is first removed and remains intact. The soldiers remove Jesus’ clothes before he is scourged. He is stripped naked. But was he naked or was he wearing our coat of sin and shame? This is a bit of a trick question because the answer is both. Scripture tells us that Jesus was both God and man. “In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word WAS God.” Jesus was 100% man and 100% God. Then scripture reveals that the Word “became flesh” or was “wrapped in” or “clothed” in flesh. In short we may conclude the following – as Jesus, he was naked, but as God he was ‘clothed in flesh’. He was wearing our coat of shame – our flesh. When Jesus endured the scourging this coat of sin and shame (his flesh) was torn or ripped in his flesh so that it would never again be fit for use. Every whip, every tearing of his flesh was tearing our coat, our sin and shame, so that it would be rendered useless and the only coat left intact would be his perfect robe of righteousness.  

Romans 8:3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin,  he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

 

Heb 10:19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus,

20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,

The curtain – our sin and shame – which separated us from God was torn in his flesh. Our coat of shame was torn as was the coat of the law. Only one coat remained intact. The coat of righteousness.

Jesus took our covering, our shame and released to us his covering – His righteousness.

Who receives this righteousness? The scriptures tell us that at the foot of the cross the soldiers divided the clothes of Jesus amongst themselves - but his coat they could not divide.

John 19:24 They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots.

There were four soldiers and each took one article of his clothing but the fifth article of clothing was the coat. Five is the number of grace and this fifth article of his clothing – his righteousness - comes only by grace and not by the will or works of man. The other articles they divided amongst themselves but for this article they have to cast lots. If they cast lots then who was deciding who gets it? Was man deciding or was God? Keeping in mind that when Judas killed himself the apostles decided to draw lots to see who God would choose to replace him. To draw lots is to determine the will of God. It is God who decides to whom the coat of righteousness will go, and he has determined that it will go to all who put their faith in the cross – to all who believe that he took upon himself our coat of sin and shame and released to us his coat of righteousness.

The coat of the Old Covenant – the high priest’s coat – was torn, our coat of shame was torn, but the coat of righteousness was released – seamless, perfect and from above - at the foot of the cross to all who believe.

 

2 Corinth 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

 

To paraphrase this verse we might say the following:

 

God placed our coat of shame on Jesus so that He could place Jesus’ coat of righteousness on us.

 

Now we can declare with the prophet Isaiah:

 

Isaiah 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

 

A word and a warning

With this word God also gave a warning. Where there is a word from God there has to be a warning. Whenever God brings a word there is one who will attempt to steal the word. Where God plants a word there is one who will plant some weeds around the word. We are talking about satan – the thief who comes to steal Gods word from our hearts. Understanding of this word is therefore important so that it is not stolen from us. For this reason, when God gave me this word he also gave me this warning – this is not about introspection. Introspection kills. Introspection is judging yourself – Gods word commands us not to Judge – and this includes not judging ourselves. When we introspect we measure ourselves – the things we have done - against a certain standard of behavior. Introspection then is applying the law to ourselves.

This message is about identifying those areas in our life which are affected by shame and then abandoning that shame to the cross so that we can become fruitful in those areas. This cannot however be achieved through introspection. To help my understanding of the effect of introspection God gave me a picture of a slow flowing stream with crystal clear water. In the clear water you can see every stone and pebble on the bottom of the stream. If you then walk into the stream and start scratching amongst the stones on the bottom of stream you cause mud to be thrown up. This causes muddying of the water! This is what introspection is – muddying of the water. You are not called to search yourself.

The question that arises then is how do we identify these areas in our lives without introspection? The answer is Job 12:22 -

Job 12:22 ​​​​​​​He reveals the deep things of darkness, ​​​​​​and brings deep shadows into the light.

It is Gods job to search us and reveal the darkness within us (those areas in our lives where the light of Gods truth has not yet shone), and to draw these deep shadows into the light. The verse here talks about the deep things and deep shadows. These are areas of shame and hurt that we have sealed off from God’s light. Shame comes not only from the things we do but the things that are done to us. Many things happen to us in our youth that cause deep shame in areas of our lives and shame causes us to hide or cover these things. These areas of our lives are then sealed off from God and the people around us. A good example of this is alcoholism. Many scientists have studied to find out if there is a gene which causes alcoholism because it seems to be passed on from one generation to the next in families. I could save a lot of scientific study by announcing that there is a gene which causes alcoholism to be passed on from parents to their children – it is the gene of shame. Children who grow up under the shame of alcoholic parents become attached to that sin because of shame. The same happens in the area of abuse – a child who suffers abuse often goes on to become an abuser, because the shame of the sin attaches them to that sin. These are the effects of shame and the reason why shame in any area of our lives needs to be dealt with – to break the link to sin. But these things cannot be dealt with by introspection, by searching ourselves endlessly to identify any areas of shame in our lives.

Another example of what our approach should be in identifying these things lies in David. King David – the man declared by God to be a man after Gods own heart. David was not perfect – a study of his life would make this abundantly clear. By a simple study of one incident – his encounter with Bathsheba – we find the following. He lusted after her, after finding out she was married he continued to pursue her, he committed adultery with her, got her pregnant, tried to set up her husband to sleep with her to cover the fact that she was pregnant, and when that failed he organized to have her husband killed by putting him in the frontline of battle.

If you were David do you think you would have a pretty good idea of what you did wrong or would you need someone to point out that these things which you did were maybe wrong?  The amazing thing is that David – the man with a heart after God - did not search himself or judge his own behavior; he did not subject himself to introspection. He relied on the prophet Nathan to bring Gods word to him. Nathan means ‘given’. David was ‘given’ Nathan the prophet to be Gods messenger to him. We are ‘given’ the Holy Spirit!

The Holy Spirit is given to search our deepest parts – our sorrows our hurts our shames – and draw these deep shadows into the light of God.

David did not search himself to find if there were any shadows in his life, rather he prayed this prayer:   

Psalm 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

 

David does not examine himself (introspection) he calls on God to search his heart and his thoughts.

 

Let us pray as David prayed and trust in the Holy Spirit to reveal those areas in our lives that God wants to deal with. God wants to give us rest from our hurts sorrows and shames, and by the grace of God we will enter that rest.