STATION VIII // JESUS IS STRIPPED
John 19:23-24
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 & cast lots for my garment.”
So this is what the soldiers did.
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 & cast lots for my garment.”
So this is what the soldiers did.
Reflection
Before being lifted up on the cross, Jesus was stripped of His clothes. His broken body was exposed for everyone to see. The whole crucifixion process was constructed to shame the criminal but also to shame the community that the criminal came from. As occupiers of a foreign land, the Imperial message through public executions announced, “Don’t mess with us or this will happen to you. We win. You lose. You will lose everything. Especially your dignity."
In this image we have a limb being stripped of its bark. It reminds us of the exposure and vulnerability of Jesus. Jesus faced the shame of crucifixion & nakedness so that we would be clothed in His righteousness and in His glory. This is why we are not ashamed of the Gospel.
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. - Isaiah 61:10
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.... - Romans 1:16
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