When He was hung on the cross, His outer garment and tunic were taken, and He was hung naked on the cross. The only begotten Son of God the Almighty had to take the shame of being naked before His lowly creatures. The reason why Jesus took the shame was to take away the shame that we had to receive (John 19:23-24). So then, in the Bible what specifically is the spiritual meaning of Jesus' garments being treated and divided as they were?
Jesus' outer garment was divided into four pieces
John 19:23 says, "Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and made four parts, a part to every soldier and also the tunic…" Jesus was called the King of Israel and King of the Jews (John 12:13, 18:39, 19:19). So His outer garment symbolizes the nation of Israel and its people.
The Roman soldiers divided the outer garment of Jesus into four pieces, so the form of the garment disappeared. It stands for Israel being destroyed as a country. But, as the cloth remained, the name 'Israel' would remain. Also, with the outer garment being divided into four, it stands for the people of Israel being separated and scattered into four directions, to be scattered all over the world. It was certainly fulfilled in reality.
In less than forty years after Jesus' crucifixion, Jerusalem was attacked and conquered by the Roman army led by the general Titus in 70 AD. The whole city was destroyed such that there was no stone upon stones in the Temple. Only 'Israel' as the name of the nation remained. The people of Israel were dispersed into all directions and were persecuted and killed. This is why Jews live in different places all around the world.
In Matthew 27:23, Pilate, the governor of Judea knew Jesus was innocent, so he did not want to sentence Jesus to death. But because the Jews kept on demanding the death sentence, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this Man's blood; see to that yourselves." Then they replied, "His blood shall be on us and on our children!"
The Jews received the retribution as they had confessed. Countless Jews shed blood; no fewer than 1.1 million Jews were killed when Israel was destroyed, and approximately six million Jews were massacred naked during World War II by the Nazi.
The tunic was seamless, woven in one piece
John 19:23 reads, "…now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece." It was not made by stitching many pieces of cloths, but was woven in one piece from top to bottom.
The first man is Adam, the forefather of faith is Abraham, and the forefather of Israel is Jacob. God set Jacob as the forefather of Israel by making the twelve tribes from his twelve sons, and they established the nation of Israel (Genesis 35:10-11).
The Israelites kept their identity as one race by not marrying other races, and they served the only God. But at the time of the king Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, there was a division in Israel, and the country was divided into southern Judah and northern Israel. From that time northern Israel began to marry other peoples and lost their unique identity. So, only the southern Judah remained as one race, without mixing with the Gentiles. That is why we call their descendants 'Jews'.
Thus, 'the tunic of Jesus was woven in one piece from top to bottom' means that the Jews have remained as one race without mixing with the Gentiles since it was formed by Jacob.
The Roman soldiers didn't tear Jesus' tunic, but cast lots for it
A prophecy in Psalm 22:18, which reads, "They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots", was fulfilled as described in John 19:24—"So they said to one another, 'Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be'; this was to fulfill the Scripture:, 'They divided My outer garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.'"
The tunic spiritually symbolizes a man's heart, so Jesus' tunic stands for the hearts of the people of Israel. As God's Elect, they served the one and only true God, and considered Abraham their forefather of faith. Therefore, the fact that the Roman soldiers did not tear Jesus' tunic shows that no one can divide or destroy the heart that the Jews have for God—their national spirit. Although the Roman Empire destroyed the nation of Israel, they could not destroy Israel's faith.
This was the fulfillment of the prophecy in Ezekiel 38:8-9. These verses prophesied that, at the end, the people would come back to the land of Israel from all over the world and recover their nation. As prophesied, Israel that fell in 70 A.D. by Roman Empire, declared its independence as a country on May 14, 1948, which amazed the whole world. Moreover, it grew rapidly and manifested superiority.
Just as the Roman soldiers couldn't tear Jesus' tunic which was woven in one piece from top to bottom, no Gentile could turn the hearts of Israel from God. Because the nation of Israel was not separated from God, it could become independent and God's will was fulfilled.
|
Manmin News 
10802
