Joh 19:23-24 | KingComments | STEP | For the soldiers, the crucifixion is routine work. What they are more interested in are the possessions of the Crucified. His possessions consist of the garments He was wearing. That is all, but even that has been taken from Him. Before the crucifixion, they took off His garments from Him. The Lord Jesus is hung naked on the cross, like a shorn sheep, stripped of all covering. The soldiers divide His garments into four parts, so that everyone has something. John mentions separately the tunic with the special features that it is without a seam and that it is woven in one piece, literally ‘from the upper part through the whole’, so in its entirety from the top down. Garments express what a person is, his behavior and habits. In this garment we see Who He is. The characteristics of His tunic are mentioned by John because it has symbolic meaning and value. Everything of our Lord, whether His Person or His work, is in one piece, without any seam. Everything He has spoken is perfect, all His words form a seamless whole. The same is true of His deeds. What He does is no different than what He says. His words and deeds fit together perfectly. How different is it with man fallen into sin who has made an apron of fig leaves. This apron cannot cover man’s imperfections, but shows countless seams. The Lord’s garment is also woven “from the upper part”. This indicates that He has come from above. He came from heaven as the Father’s good pleasure and brought the perfection of heaven to earth. The perfection of His garment is also an expression of the Father’s good pleasure (cf. ). The soldiers see the value of the garment; they note that it is a seamless garment. It would be of no benefit to anyone if they tore this beautiful garment into four. They propose to cast lots for it. Without realizing it, the soldiers thus fulfill a prophecy of Scripture ( ). John still emphatically mentions that this prophecy was fulfilled by the soldiers. So powerful is the Word of God that it can also use unscrupulous soldiers for its fulfillment.

‏ John 19:23-24

The Soldiers Divide the Garments

For the soldiers, the crucifixion is routine work. What they are more interested in are the possessions of the Crucified. His possessions consist of the garments He was wearing. That is all, but even that has been taken from Him. Before the crucifixion, they took off His garments from Him. The Lord Jesus is hung naked on the cross, like a shorn sheep, stripped of all covering. The soldiers divide His garments into four parts, so that everyone has something.

John mentions separately the tunic with the special features that it is without a seam and that it is woven in one piece, literally ‘from the upper part through the whole’, so in its entirety from the top down. Garments express what a person is, his behavior and habits. In this garment we see Who He is. The characteristics of His tunic are mentioned by John because it has symbolic meaning and value. Everything of our Lord, whether His Person or His work, is in one piece, without any seam. Everything He has spoken is perfect, all His words form a seamless whole. The same is true of His deeds. What He does is no different than what He says. His words and deeds fit together perfectly.

How different is it with man fallen into sin who has made an apron of fig leaves. This apron cannot cover man’s imperfections, but shows countless seams.

The Lord’s garment is also woven “from the upper part”. This indicates that He has come from above. He came from heaven as the Father’s good pleasure and brought the perfection of heaven to earth. The perfection of His garment is also an expression of the Father’s good pleasure (cf. Gen 37:3).

The soldiers see the value of the garment; they note that it is a seamless garment. It would be of no benefit to anyone if they tore this beautiful garment into four. They propose to cast lots for it. Without realizing it, the soldiers thus fulfill a prophecy of Scripture (Psa 22:18). John still emphatically mentions that this prophecy was fulfilled by the soldiers. So powerful is the Word of God that it can also use unscrupulous soldiers for its fulfillment.