We need to go back from time to time, to the place where Jesus gave His life to purchase our souls. Paul said to the Christians in Corinth, “Ye are BOUGHT with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” The price for the Christian’s redemption was paid to justice of God – not to Satan or anything else. God’s law demanded our eternal death, but the Lord Jesus was willing to make that payment Himself. And the actual price was His death. Our deliverance required the shed blood of the Lamb of God, sacrificed on the altar God intended. So Christ “GAVE himself for us, that he might REDEEM us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”
The actual death of the Lord Jesus was horrible. It was gruesome and barbaric. Many experts say that crucifixion was among the worst possible ways to die. But it was carried out according to the plan made between God the Father and the Son in eternity past. And various aspects of Jesus’ death were foretold hundreds of years before they were fulfilled. For example, Psalm 22, part of which we read a few minutes ago, was written in about 1000 BC. The Jews today say that Psalm 22 was written by King David about himself, and that is somewhat true. But there are verses in that Psalm which make no sense until we look at them through the cross. The same can be said of several other chapters of the Old Testament. There is a short article on the first page of our bulletin about one such prophesy with is found in Isaiah 7.
This morning, I would like to focus on just one small, shameful part of Jesus’ crucifixion. John 19:23-24 – “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. They said among themselves, let us not rend it, but CAST LOTS for it, whose it shall be.” In gambling for this piece of Jesus’ clothing, those men unwittingly fulfilled Psalm 22:18 “which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots.” Each of the four Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – record aspects of Jesus’ crucifixion. Some aspects are NOT recorded in all four Gospels, but what those soldiers did in this case IS. It is as though the Lord wanted to make sure that this doesn’t escape our notice. And yet, only Matthew and John tell us that this was the fulfillment of prophesy.
That is my theme this morning. This may seem more like a Sunday School lesson than a sermon. But be assured that there will be an application before we dismiss. Let’s consider the MIRACLE, the MATERIAL and the MEANING of Jesus’ seamless robe.
First, we need to recognize that the gambling for Jesus’ clothing was a MIRACLE of the highest order.
And yet… I suppose that statement depends on a person’s perspective. Many people would say that when Jesus’ raised Lazarus from death – that was a real miracle. And certainly the thousands of people, whom Jesus feed with just a few dried fish and a bit of bread, would argue they experienced a great miracle. To give sight to a person who was born blind, or to give strength to a paraplegic, are certainly miracles. It is quite possible that, at the time, no one looked at what these gamblers were doing as miraculous.
But let’s think about our scripture for a moment. Ordinarily, gambling doesn’t involve miracles; not even picking correctly every game in NCAA tournament. And yet, microscopically, mathematically, it is possible. But what if I told you the name and social security number of a man living in Tucumcari, N.M. who would find out in three weeks that he had correctly picked the winner of every game of the entire tournament? That would necessitate not only my omniscient knowledge of that man, but most probably it would require my control over all the games and over that man’s pen and thoughts. Ordinarily, the fulfilment of prophecy, especially when it is really detailed, is a miracle of God.
When David wrote the words to Psalm 22, he was in the midst of his own problems. But as it is in all the Bible, his very words were given to him by the Holy Spirit. It was not David who was inspired to write Psalm 22, and it was not the general theme of the Psalm, the words themselves were inspired by God. “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the holy Ghost” – II Peter 1:21. So David wrote: “They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.” Note his precision: “They divide SEVERAL of my GARMENTS among themselves. But when it comes to my vesture, they ‘cast lots’ – they gamble for that one particular item.”
What is the miracle here? First – that what those men did was prophesied a thousand years before it was fulfilled. And second, those men were not coerced or forced to do anything they didn’t really want to do. As the quaternion of soldiers, whose responsibility it was to crucify these three men, it was traditional that they would take the clothing of the condemned. But they decided among themselves not to tear apart Jesus’ unusual and expensive robe. It is amazing to consider, but that undergarment may have been the most valuable thing Jesus owned.
We see in this case that even though Jehovah is the sovereign God over all things, He blends His authority with the corrupted free-will of men. Those four soldiers didn’t know they were fulfilling prophecy – and as Romans, they wouldn’t have cared. Their only concern was getting their victims nailed to their respective crosses and making sure that no one from the crowd tried to rescue them. And as part of the reward for carrying out their orders, they inherited the clothing of their victims.
The point is, God is always going to have His will done – guaranteed. The gambling for this garment of Christ, should be considered proof of God’s sovereign control of the event. The soldiers divided up all the clothing of the 3 men, except for this one piece, for which they drew straws. The fulfillment of that small Old Testament prophesy, should make the purpose of Jesus’ death, and everything else about the crucifixion, important things to consider.
Now, what about the MATERIAL involved?
You might think: who cares? In the grand scheme of things, this ordinarily wouldn’t be important. But again, I remind you that, of all the things which could have been recorded about that terrible day, this is one of those things. God didn’t tell us about the temperature, or whether the sky at 9:00 a.m. was clear or cloudy. That could have been useful information. We aren’t told what Simon, the Cyrenian, did after he finished carrying Jesus’ cross to Golgotha. I’d like to know where Saul of Tarsus was on that day? Was he in Jerusalem? Was he at the cross? Among all that we aren’t told, we are told about the gambling for Jesus’ seamless robe.
During His life there had been a number of women, who loved and served the Lord with the same intensity as the eleven disciples. They were not called to preach, and they didn’t organize meetings or run the logistics of the ministry. But they did what they could for both their Saviour and for the disciples. For example, sometimes they had opportunity to fix meals, and sometimes they gave Jesus a bed. Certainly someone had to wash Christ’s clothes from time to time. Who did that? Do you think that Peter’s mother-in-law – someone whom Jesus healed – only served that one meal and that on the day of her deliverance? Do you think that Mary, who willingly gave to Christ what was probably her wedding dowery, didn’t also do other things for the Lord? Luke 8 says, “And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, (and) Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others… ministered unto him of their substance.” I think that some skillful, unnamed woman, used her fingers for many hours to create – using the best material she could buy – made a robe without any flaws or even seams which she gave to the Lord. It would probably have made a $200 dress shirt of today, look like it was made by a child.
I know you ladies sometimes think you have little service you can perform for your Saviour, but it is not true. You can certainly play a big role in the evangelizing and training of your children for Christ. That lady who used her loom or needles will have an honored place in heaven, and so can you. Some day you ladies may gather around that woman and thank her for her service to our Saviour. And it is very likely the same will be done for you. Seek out those things which you might do for the Lord – and do them.
The gospels tell us that when Jesus was brought before Pilate, the soldiers severely abuse Him. Matthew 27 – “Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. And they STRIPPED him, and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. And after that they had mocked him, they TOOK the ROBE OFF from him, and PUT HIS OWN RAIMENT on him, and led him away to crucify him.” For a while Jesus was stripped down to His underwear, before being forced to wear a robe which represented royalty. “Hail, King of the Jews!” But then that was taken off and His own tunic, splattered with blood, was draped over Him again. Then the four soldiers under a Centurion were ordered to take him to Golgotha – the “place of the skull.”
Twice, most likely, those soldiers saw the five articles of clothing of Christ Jesus. Forgive me for being indelicate, but this is an important fact which is not often emphasized. Jesus wore five pieces of clothing, and they ALL were taken from Him before He was crucified. Today, with our sensibilities and decorum, we don’t want to admit it, but our Saviour was stripped naked before being crucified. Those heartless Romans, expressed no decency or courtesy whatsoever when crucifying people. In fact, they probably did everything in their power to shame the people they crucified. They treated their victims as though they were already dead when they drove those nails through their hands and feet. And this takes on much more meaning in the case of Christ Jesus, because it was the eternal purpose of God that Jesus endure all this in order to purchase us from sin.
One of the soldiers took Jesus head-covering – it may have been something like a modern prayer shawl. Another claimed His shoes. One took Jesus’ girdle. And the fourth grabbed his “talith” or outer garment. I assume that they also took the clothing of the two thieves, each soldier gathering almost a complete outfit. But in Jesus’ case there was one other garment, which most experts think was Jesus’ underwear. I know it is sometimes described as a “robe” and sometimes as a “coat,” but comparing the words used in each of the four gospels, it doesn’t appear to be His outer coat. But, in shape and form, the inner robe and the outer robe were much alike. From what I have been able to learn, people in that day didn’t wear body-hugging underwear. It was a somewhat loose-fitting garment designed to keep the more scratchy outer garments from the body. It might be more like the full slip some of you ladies wear under your dress.
Now, think about this – would a Roman soldier have a need for any of Jesus’ clothing? Having to wear the uniform of Rome, that solder would have no need of a prayer shawl, a Jewish girdle, sandals or the outer coat. So these things would probably have been sold in back to the Jews with the money being spent on wine. Ah, but what to do with that smooth and comforting, extra-special inner garment? It could have been sold, or it could have been put on display as something religious or historical. Or it could have been worn under the Roman uniform. Probably all of those men would have wanted that garment. It could probably have brought a good price in the market – more than any of the other garments. But this was the one piece which they winner might have considered wearing. So rather than tearing it apart and reselling the material, they each wanted to keep it whole. “Let’s draw lots for it.”
Now, consider what might have been the MEANING of this garment of the Saviour.
I have heard that some preachers have made this seamless robe apply to the seamless Word of God. Others have taken it to speak of the humanity of Christ, covering the glory of Christ’s deity. It was a picture of Jesus’ perfect humanity covering His even more perfect deity. I have been told that other preachers have made the seamless robe to be just the reverse – the righteousness of Christ. I can see points of application in each of these. But I would like to apply it more generally. Let’s just say the seamless robe represents Jesus, the Saviour.
Earlier in both Matthew and Mark we read of a poor suffering woman, who perhaps like many ladies, put special significance in clothing. “Behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.” That lady had the right idea, but she made a mistake in application. It was not in touching Jesus’ clothes that she was healed, it was touching Christ Jesus, through His clothes.
Let’s assume that the soldier who won Jesus’ robe chose not to sell it, but to wear it, because it was so, so comfortable. I am here to tell you that wearing Christ’s clothing didn’t make that man a Christian. There was a huge difference between that man and the diseased woman to whom I just referred. She had faith in Christ, while we are not told that the soldier ever did. I would like to hope that like his Centurion, he might have later said, “Certainly this was a righteous man.” But not even that, in itself, is saving faith in Christ.
No unbelieving sinner is transformed into a Christian by putting on the clothing or appearance of Christianity. A sinner cannot remove his guilt by reforming his life, going to church, and becoming charitable and generous. Mixing metaphors, salvation from sin doesn’t come by putting on Christ Jesus, but rather by ingesting Him. In John 6 Jesus was answering the foolishness of the Jews, when He said: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This (pointing to Himself) is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” Jesus was speaking parenthetically when He spoke about eating and drinking His flesh and His blood. No one in the Bible ever did such a barbaric thing in a literal way. No, Jesus was talking about eating and drinking by faith – by putting their trust in Christ, like the woman with the twelve year issue of blood had done.
Conclusion:
Roman Catholicism declares that the robe of Jesus, which some soldier won through gambling, can be found in two or three of their special cathedrals. And Eastern Orthodox Catholicism tells us they have this robe in either of one or two of their special places. It is highly unlikely that anyone has that robe today. It went into the hands of a heathen Roman to eventually be destroyed. People, bound by superstition, may need relics like this to bolster their faith. But you and I don’t need that.
What we need, as sinners, is not the clothing of Christ, but the Christ of that clothing. We need to see Christ Jesus through the miracles and details of the crucifixion. Our deliverance from sin is not to be found in touching the hem of Jesus’ garment or wearing the special underwear of the Saviour or of Mormonism. We need the Christ, who a few hours after being stripped of His clothes, yielded up His life as the sacrifice that our sins desperately demanded. You and I need a Saviour, not a religion, not a religious relic, not a superstition.
We need a Saviour, and that Saviour has been provided by God Himself. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, gave His life as a ransom for many. All that we are required to do is to humbly acknowledge our need and to turn to the Saviour in utter faith and surrender. The Bible says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”
The Holy Spirit has told us about this robe to force us to take another look at the dying of the Saviour. As sinners, you and I need that Saviour. We may have Him – you may have His salvation from sin, as you repent and put your faith in Him. Won’t you come to Christ today?