“The Seamless
Coat”
John
19:23-24
Midweek
Lent 6, April 10, 2019
When the soldiers had crucified
Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for
each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece
from top to bottom, so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast
lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which
says,
“They divided my garments among
them,
and for my clothing they cast
lots.”
(John 19:23-24)
His
friends betray, forsake and deny him.
The crowd turns on him. His
enemies finally seize him, try him, and mock him. The sentence is given. Jesus is stripped of his freedom, his
dignity, and now, even, his clothing. Finally he will give his life.
Clothing
is one of those basic needs of life we all tend to take for granted. Food and drink, clothing and shoes, house and
home… clothing is just one thing in the long list of daily needs that God
provides for the righteous and the wicked alike. It is, as we say, a First Article gift, part
of the blessings of creation bestowed by God the Father. We certainly live in a
land of plenty when it comes to clothing.
One estimate says the average American spends about $1800 on
clothing. We are richly blessed.
Clothing
is worn for both form and function. You
dress in a certain way because, at least partly, you like the look of it. There are, of course, also the social conventions.
Clothing also keeps us warm, though that’s not so important in Texas. And it can also serve as a signal of the
occasion (like a wedding or prom dress) or of the particular job you do (a
uniform).
But
Christians know that clothing was invented in response to sin. Adam and Eve made the first clothes – crude coverings
of fig leaves – hastily chosen to cover themselves in shame, when sin had
changed everything. No longer was
nakedness the norm. From this time
forth, humans would cover our nakedness.
It’s no
accident, either, that God provided clothing of animal skins for our first
parents. No, your own coverings will not
do. Only God can cover sin. And so the first blood shed in the freshly
fallen creation was a sacrifice of sorts, animals slain, in order to cover the
sins of humanity. A foreshadowing of a
far greater sacrifice to cover the sins of Adam and Eve and all their children.
Jesus,
who was like us in every way, yet without sin… and so he had no need of
clothing to cover his shame. Yet he
followed the customs and norms of his day.
It began when he was wrapped, as a baby, in swaddling clothes and placed
in a manger. He certainly didn’t dress
in finery – those who do so are in king’s palaces. He had nowhere even to lay his head, no
earthly riches, and so he would not have been the type to show off fancy
garments and rich clothing. This one
special garment of his, woven without seam, was likely a gift from one of the
women who followed him. Like the
ointment they used to anoint him even before his burial, a special gift given
in faith and devotion.
But
even his humble clothing seemed affected by his divine power. Remember the woman with the flow of blood –
who found healing by touching the hem of his garment? Jesus felt the power go out from him, and
commended the woman for her faith.
Perhaps it was this very garment for which they cast lots! Perhaps it was also the garment that became
brighter than any bleaching – shining with all the radiance of his
Transfiguration – giving us a glimpse of the true nature of his glory.
And so,
these events took place, as part of his Passion, in order to fulfill
prophecy. All the scriptures must be
fulfilled. Jesus, even in his death,
leaves nothing undone – he accomplishes it all.
Every last detail. Psalm 22,
quoted here by John, shows both the dividing of the garments and the casting of
lots for the seamless coat or tunic. The
soldiers would have likely plundered anything else they could from their
victim, if Jesus had anything. They didn’t bother to give it to his mother or
his disciple John who were nearby. They
had only selfish intentions. They tore
apart the less valuable cloth, presumably for rags, but decided to gamble on
the more valuable woven outer coat.
Some of
these same soldiers had mocked Jesus by clothing him with another garment – a scarlet
robe – along with his crown of thorns and scepter of reed. They played and jeered at his kingship in
this way, not recognizing the irony. For
he is indeed the king of all kings, but he had put aside his kingly vesture to
take on the form of a servant, even to dress in the humble garb of a peasant,
now to have even that stripped from him.
And the
last piece of his humiliation – his burial.
At least they wrapped his body in grave clothes, and provided a linen
for his face. Some small dignity for a hastily
prepared burial before sunset and Sabbath began. But those grave clothes he wouldn’t need
long. At his resurrection he left them
behind, neat and folded, the job done, everything put back in order.
What
about you, dear Christian? Have you
considered your own attire? What about
the filthy rags of your supposed good works?
How about the stain and soil of sin?
Do you think you can cover up the shame with a fig leaf of
rationalization, or maybe you try to shift the spotlight to someone else’s
imperfections? Maybe, God forbid, you’re
even tempted to embrace your sin, wear it like a badge of honor? Our robes need washing. They need more than bleach or soap. They need the only detergent that gets out
the stain of sin that is so deeply set in.
We need the blood of Christ.
Remember
the multitude of Revelation 7, holding palm branches and shouting, “worthy is
the Lamb”? A uncountable multitude from
every tribe, nation and language? Who
are they? Sir you know, and the elder
said, “These are they who have washed their robes and made them white in the
blood of the Lamb”.
So here
it is. Jesus is stripped of everything,
including his clothes, and even his life – and in exchange – washes you clean,
makes your robes white, gives you his everything, even a share in his
resurrection.
Isaiah
spoke about it already in his day: “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul
shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he
has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself
like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with
her jewels”. (Is. 61:10)
Paul
puts it another way – “For as many of you
as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (Galatians 3:27)
That is
to say, in your Baptism, Jesus covers you.
He covers you so completely and thoroughly, that you become identified
with him, united with him. Buried with
him and raised with him. When God the
Father looks at you, he doesn’t see the shabby rags you were wearing, or the
shame of your nakedness. He sees Christ
and only Christ! He sees the
righteousness that shines forth like it did on the Mount of Transfiguration. He sees robes washed clean in the blood of
the Lamb. He sees one who is holy,
beloved, with whom he is well pleased.
Jacob
gave his favored son Joseph a coat of many colors – an expensive and exquisite
robe that symbolized his fatherly love and drove Joseph's brothers mad with
jealously. They stripped it away, threw
him in a pit, sold him as a slave, and told Jacob he was dead. They even dipped the robe in blood for good
measure. But it was all a lie.
God the
Father gives you a far better garment.
An expensive and exquisite covering of righteousness that well shows his
favor. Only he doesn’t just give it to
you. He gives it to all people, and all
who receive it in faith enjoy its benefits – they are our true brothers and
sisters in Christ.
Jesus,
who had his robe stripped from him, who was thrown under God’s wrath for you,
became a slave of all to save us from slavery to sin. And Jesus was left for dead,. And by his
blood our robes are made clean. This is
the greatest truth we can know.
What a great
exchange. His life to save mine. His blood shed for my bloodguilt. His humiliation to lift me up. His robe cast off, so that I am never cast
off from God.. His righteousness for my
unrighteousness.
When He shall come with trumpet
sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found,
Clothed in His righteousness
alone,
Redeemed to stand before His
throne!
On Christ, the solid rock, I
stand; All other ground is sinking sand.
“My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less”
v. 4, LSB 575
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