Series on "The Message of the Cross" – (14)
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 12428 |
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November 26, 2006 |
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 {The Order of Publication}
The Crucifixion
1.God's Providence Found in Jesus' Clothes
2.The Reason Jesus was Nailed in His Hands and Feet and the Differences in Recording of the Two Robbers
3.God's Providence in Not Breaking Jesus' Legs and the Spiritual Significance of Jesus' Shedding of His Blood and Water
God's Providence Found in Jesus' Clothes
"The soldiers therefore, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer garments…They said therefore to one another, 'Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, [to decide] whose it shall be'; that the Scripture might be fulfilled, 'THEY DIVIDED MY OUTER GARMENTS AMONG THEM, AND FOR MY CLOTHING THEY CAST LOTS'" (John 19:23-24).
In order to save all mankind the sinners, Jesus came into this world, endured severe persecutions, was crucified, resurrected, and ascended into heaven. Thus, anyone who believes in Jesus who has become our Savior will receive the authority to which he is entitled as a child of God. Further understanding of Jesus' suffering and God's Providence found in it will also enable each believer to more deeply fathom God's love and strive harder in his life in Christ.
Why was Jesus humiliated to the point of being stripped naked in public, and what is God's Providence to be found in Jesus' outer garments and tunic?
1.Jesus Endured the Shame of Being Stripped Naked to Redeem the Sinners from Their Shame
Jesus bore on His back all the way to Golgotha the cross on which He was to be crucified. When He reached the place of His execution, the soldiers took away Jesus' outer garments and tunic and He was hung on the cross stark naked. Jesus the only begotten Son of God the Most High was forced to endure the humiliation of being stripped bare before the mere lowly creatures.
For what reason was Jesus subjected to such humiliation? He endured the humiliation and the shame we were to suffer on our behalf. The sinless Jesus was subjected to the ridicule and contempt that were to be and should have been inflicted only upon the sinners.
Filthier than filth and more dishonorable than dishonor is sin. As many people today are living amongst sin, they are also increasingly growing numb to it. However, just as the light exposes the things of darkness, when the Word of God, who is the light itself, shines upon our heart, all the shameful sins within us are exposed. People who had been drenched in the filth of this world and living in sin cannot dare keep a straight face as their despicable heart and deeds with which they will stand before God's judgment are made known in full.
Yet, Jesus redeemed us from our sins and endured for us the humiliation and indignity on our behalf, and anyone who believes this can be free from the shame a sinner is to endure. Therefore, each of us must be grateful for the love of Our Lord with all our heart and be ready to embrace Him without any blemish by swiftly accomplishing perfect sanctification.
2.God's Providence in Soldiers' Dividing of Jesus' Outer Garments and Casting Lots for His Tunic
After removing His outer garments and tunic, the soldiers divided Jesus' outer garments into four parts. They did not cut out Jesus' tunic for it was "seamless, woven in one piece"; they cast lots for it and one of the soldiers ended up taking it (John 19:23-24). Thus the prophecy, "They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots" (Psalm 22:18) was fulfilled.
The reason we find such a detailed description of Jesus' clothing in the Bible is because His clothes symbolize the history of Israel. First of all, the outer garments of Jesus – the Son of God and the king of Israel – spiritually represent the nation of Israel and its people. When His outer garments were split into four pieces, the shape of a garment disappeared and the only remnants were pieces of cloth. This signifies how Israel was to be destroyed, losing its standing as a sovereign nation, and just as pieces of cloth were the only remainders from Jesus' outer garments, it indicates how only "the people of Israel" would remain.
Roman soldiers' dividing of Jesus' outer garments symbolizes how the nation of Israel was to be destroyed by the Romans, and their splitting the garments into four pieces signifies how the people of Israel would be dispersed into four directions – north, south, east, and west. Found in Luke 19:43-44 is Jesus' prophecy on the city of Jerusalem: "For the days shall come upon you when your enemies will throw up a bank before you, and surround you, and hem you in on every side, and will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation."
Precisely according to the prophecy, in 70 A.D., complete destruction of the city of Jerusalem was brought upon by Roman general Titus. Just as Jesus had said "They will not leave in you one stone upon another," Jerusalem was demolished to the ground. During the siege of the city, more than a million Jews were massacred and those who survived the siege and the massacre were dispersed into all directions and subsequently subject to all kinds of persecutions of the gentiles.
The most atrocious event that has befallen Jews was a systematic massacre implemented by the Nazi regime during World War II. Over six millions were killed stark naked only because they were Jewish. Such a vast number of people were killed as one of the curses because their forefathers had put to death Jesus, who had come to this world as their king.
When the Jews were seeking the execution of Jesus, Pontius Pilate, the governor of Roman Judea Province at the time, was aware of Jesus' innocence and thus wanted to prevent sentencing Him to death. The Jews, however, were persistent in asking for Jesus' death, Pontius Pilate said to them, "I am innocent of this Man's blood; see [to that] yourselves" (Matthew 27:24). To this the Jews replied, "His blood [be] on us and on our children!" (Matthew 27:25) made certain of Jesus' execution, and thus received retribution for their demand, and precisely according to that demand, they lived through a brutal history. All this was symbolized in the Roman soldiers' dividing Jesus' outer garments into four parts.
Next, Jesus' tunic was "seamless" – which means that the garment was not sewn together – but "woven in one piece." Here, the "tunic" refers to the heart of man. The tunic of Jesus the king of Israel symbolizes the heart of Israel's posterity and shows their faith in God.
The founder of the Israelites, God's elect, is Jacob. God personally changed Jacob's name to "Israel" and formed the twelve tribes of Israel from the twelve sons of Jacob. For a long time, the Israelites were a homogenous people, not intermarrying with men and women of other nations, and served the only God.
Then during the reign of Rehoboam the son of Solomon, a civil war in Israel split the country into Israel in the north and Judea in the south. People of Israel in the north soon began marrying the people of other countries and tribes and lost the integrity of a homogenous nation. Only the people of Judea in the south became the true descendants of Israel as they remained racially homogenous by not marrying with non-Israelites. For this reason to this day, Israel's descendants are referred to as "the people of Judea," or Jews.
Just as Jesus' tunic was "woven in one piece," Jews had long remained a homogenous people, beginning with their forefather Jacob. This is why the Roman soldiers did not tear Jesus' tunic and this spiritually symbolizes how the heart of the Jewish people toward their God can neither be divided nor destroyed by man.
Rome failed to wipe out the faith of the Israeli people. Even after the fall of Jerusalem and despite hardship and suffering in all corners of the earth for almost two millennia, the Jews did not lose or forsake their identity and finally on May 14, 1948, they returned to the land of their forefathers and established an independent, sovereign nation.
Thus was accomplished the prophecy in Ezekiel 38:8-12. Scripture tells us, "[I]n the latter years, you will come into the land that is restored from the sword." What other race on the earth has held fast to their national identity, kept safe of their faith, and restored their statehood two thousand years after destruction? The heart and the faith which the people of Israel inherited from their forefather Jacob was that much firm, and the preservation of Jesus' tunic foretold the unfolding of such history.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, everything in the Bible, from the fall of Jerusalem and the suffering of the Jews to the destruction and restoration of Israel recorded, has been fulfilled. Things that have yet come to pass are the events that are to take place in the coming days, one of which is the return of Our Lord in the near future to take us to heaven.
May each of you be awake every moment, finish up preparing yourself as a bride of the Lord, and gladly embrace Him on that day, in the name of Our Lord I bless!
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