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The Robe Jesus Wore To The Cross
by Imma Okochua The Bible tells us in John 19:23-24 that: 23 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. 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. These things therefore the soldiers did. Today's preachers of materialism have used this scripture to defend their gospel. Their argument is that the dress Christ wore to the cross must have been quite expensive for the soldiers to struggle over it. If it was expensive, then Jesus was rich. This is another attempt to prove that Jesus lived lavishly. The aim is to justify their own ostentatious inclinations. Although the entire Biblefrom the Old Testament prophecies to the New Testament account of His lifespeaks of how humbly and simply He lived, some preachers must find something to reverse the obvious facts. The only attraction Jesus had was His teachings and miraculous works. We do not find anywhere that people came to Him because of, or identified Him by, what He wore. This story of what happened to Jesus' garment after His crucifixion is told by all the gospel writers, but John provides the greatest detail, hence our decision to reproduce his account. John tells us that the incident fulfilled the scriptures about Him (Psalm 22:18). What was the prophecy? It is that Christ would suffer and be deprived and killed. 16 Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. 17 I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. 18 They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing. (Psalm 22: 16-18 NIV). How funny that a prophecy that speaks of suffering is used to prove opulence! Of course, the Bible speaks of the riches of Christ, but it is always, at least for this age, spiritual. And, at any event, this scripture does not prove opulence, now or later, but rather tells us about Christ's suffering and death. But let us enter into some conjectures with those who propound this theory. If He actually lived in opulence, this passage provides no proof of it. If we were searching for the significance of the passage, there is another waya more plausible wayto look at the incident. In our day, executioners are poor and low class workers. So are gravediggers and cemetery attendants. They are often hungry and wretched. Executioners and graveyard workers are often known to pilfer anything of any value from condemned persons or even the dead. In some places, they even steal human parts for sale to whomever it may concern. For that reason, some legal systems treat robbing graveyards as punishable offences and sanctions despoiling of condemned persons' personal effects. This condition is true of past generations going further than the Roman times. The Roman soldier was a very superstitious fellow. Having a cut of the miracle worker's dress could bring good luck, His public execution notwithstanding. This would show how callous these executioners were. Either Jesus was innocent in their own judgement but still they killed Himorders are orders!or they thought Him guilty but cared not a whit about taking home the dress of a criminal. The point illustrates man's insensitivity to the plight of His Redeemer. Another probability is that they knew how popular Jesus was. His dress or part of it could be sold to collectors. Its seamlessness may have increased its value the more. Alternatively, it could be sold to magicians who would use it to prepare amulets. The suggestion that this passage shows that Jesus lived in opulence is not justifiable. It would mean that those poor executioners could only steal what was costly. Not even the outer coat described by John as being seamless is enough to justify the allegation of opulence made about Jesus. It is analogous to using the story of the alabaster jar, donated by a grateful woman, to prove that Jesus lived in opulence. The truth is that the account of soldiers struggling for His garment is told to illustrate the depravity of sinful man. While the Son of God was screaming in pain, sinful man was gambling for His dress. His life, His death and His love meant nothing to man. Only His dress did. May the Lord help us not to be like those executioners, grabbing at dresses and material things from God while the Man on the crossthe Owner of the dress, the One dying for usis ignored in His pains and cries. We could miss the point of His death by concentrating on what He was wearing. Imma Okochua is a senior legal practitioner based in Lagos, Nigeria. Was born again over 30 years ago. He is a preacher, counsellor and teacher of the Word. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |