The Garment of Jesus

In the ancient Roman world, when a man had been found guilty and was condemned to die, the centurion assigned four soldiers to carry out the execution. One of the benefits for the soldiers who were appointed to such a task was that they were given the clothes of the victim once he had been crucified.

The Jews normally wore five articles of clothing: sandals, a belt, a head covering, an undergarment, and an outer robe. Because there were four soldiers and five articles of clothing when our Lord was crucified, each soldier chose one article, leaving a final article to be divided: Jesus' undergarment. The undergarment was woven in one piece, which meant that it was of some value, but not if it were torn into four pieces and evenly divided among the execution squad. Therefore, lots were cast to see who would get it. As John 19:23-23 says, “The 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.]”

In the early church, Origen taught that the seamless garment was a reference to the wholeness of Christ's teaching. Cyprian thought it symbolized the unity of the church. Cyril believed it explained the virgin birth. In more recent times it has been understood as pointing to Christ's perfect righteousness. While Christians can agree on the wholeness of Christ's teaching, the unity of the church, the virgin birth, and Christ's perfect righteousness, nevertheless, I believe John is teaching us something else in his gospel account. John wants to show how the prophecies of God were coming true and that scripture was being fulfilled in Jesus. John 19:23-24 quotes directly from Psalm 22:18: “This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, [They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.]”

John wants us to understand that all scripture is pointing to Jesus Christ. The Bible is much more than just a record of true historical events – it's about salvation! It's announcing to the hurting world that victory was accomplished for us at Calvary, for salvation is found in none other than the one who hung on that cross and whose victory over death we celebrate at easter!

Author Info: Beatitudes Campus

At the foundation of Beatitudes Campus is the vision of Church of the Beatitudes pastors and congregation members to create a better alternative for older adults than the nursing homes of the early 1960s. The type of community they imagined was the first of its kind in Arizona. Beatitudes Campus is proud to continue the legacy of our founders, by being a leader in the field of aging services for over 50 years.