HIS ROYAL ROBE
“When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took His clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.
“‘Let’s not tear it,’ they said to one another, ‘Let’s decide by lot who will get it.’ This happened that the Scripture might be fulfilled that said, “They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” So this is what the soldiers did.” John 19:23, 24 NIV.
Of course, if the soldiers gambled for Jesus’ clothing, it meant only one thing. He was left undressed.
He was suspended on four nails, lifted up and hanging on a cross, stark naked except for the thorny crown on His brow and the coating of blood that had congealed over His broken flesh. He had not only faced the agony of crucifixion after the horror of flogging; He now also endured the embarrassment and shame of nakedness; everyone around the cross and the passers-by could gaze at Him.
What did they see?
There were no garments to hide what the Roman soldiers had done to Him. His body was bloodied and broken beyond recognition. His face was bruised and swollen from the soldiers’ abuse; they had hit Him in the face with their fists; there were bald and bloodied patches on His cheeks where they had ripped out His beard. They had mocked Him and spat in His face. They had jammed a crown of thorns on His head, the vicious barbs piercing deep into His flesh, leaving rivulets of blood mixed with spittle streaming down His face, and into His eyes and mouth.
But, according to Jewish culture, it was not a sin to be naked; it was a sin to look at a naked person. The Jews, therefore, would have turned their faces away. It was the Roman soldiers who would have gloated over the spectacle of His naked body hanging from their torture stake; and gazed at their handiwork!
How many Scriptures were fulfilled in these two verses!
“They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” Psalm 22:18 NIV
“…His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and His form marred beyond human likeness…” Isaiah 52:14b NIV.
“I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.” Isaiah 50:6 NIV.
“Like one from whom people hide their faces, He was despised and we held Him in low esteem.” Isaiah 53:5b NIV.
“They will look upon me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son.” Zechariah 12:10 NIV.
Even the Father could not look upon His naked and ruined Son. Jesus’ broken body bore the brunt of all human sin — summed up in the hatred that was visible for everyone to see. God turned His face away and tore His garment — the great veil in the temple that hid His glory from the eyes of the people — and mourned for His Son.
But Jesus wore His wounds and His nakedness like a royal robe. It was not in shame but in triumph that He hung on the cross. His body proclaimed to the world, “Look what you did to me!” but His spirit remained pure and unstained by sin. Every blow to His body and every mocking word to His heart could not entice Him to hate. To His dying breath He loved them — “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they are doing.”