John 19:23
Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout.
After He was nailed to the cross, the soldiers took His clothing, made four shares of the outer garments, and cast lots to decide who would keep His coat whole rather than tear it. That coat was plain and woven in one piece from top to bottom without a seam. Their dividing of His garments and casting lots for His coat fulfilled prophecy. The unrent seamless robe stands for the unity that must be kept in the church, which is torn by division, coldness, and strife, calling believers to love and to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. His plain seamless dress is also a pattern of simplicity in dress and of a self-denying life, against pride, display, and needless expense in clothing.
Setting and Division
Jesus was led from the judgment-hall to Calvary to be crucified before a vast multitude, after news of His condemnation had spread throughout Jerusalem and people of all classes and all ranks flocked toward the place of crucifixion, while the disciples and believers from the city and the surrounding region joined the throng that followed Him. The crucifixion took place at Calvary outside the boundaries of Jerusalem, where felons and murderers were executed. After He was crucified the soldiers took His garments and divided them among themselves, and His seamless woven coat became the subject of dispute, which they settled by casting lots to decide who would receive it intact.
The coat itself was plain and seamless, woven in one piece from the top throughout, fitting the meek and lowly life He lived without a home. Its seamlessness identified Him in His suffering and death, alongside the crown of thorns and His crucifixion between two thieves. It serves as an image of His healing power, whom people in pain can reach amid life's crowd and press and be made whole.
Those quarreling over His garments and casting lots at the foot of the cross stopped when they heard the repentant thief call Jesus Lord. Their dividing and quarreling over His clothing while the world's Redeemer hung suffering shows how hardened their hearts were and how completely they seemed controlled by the powers of darkness.
Prophecy Sacrifice and Parallels
The dividing of His garments among the soldiers and the casting of lots for His clothing fulfilled prophecy. After He was crucified the soldiers divided His garments among themselves, while His seamless woven coat became the subject of dispute, and they kept the tunic intact and settled who would receive it by casting lots. This treatment, in which His clothing was divided and lots were cast for His garment, was the fulfillment of what had been foretold concerning Him.
The executioners stripping Him and taking His garments parallels Joseph's brothers stripping him of his coat of many colors. The two are linked as innocent sufferers, and Joseph's suffering at the hands of his brothers is presented as a pattern of Jesus' rejection and suffering. His coat, seamless and woven in one piece, stands in contrast with Joseph's coat of many colors, while the act of stripping and dividing forms the point of comparison.
His crucifixion took place at Calvary outside the boundaries of Jerusalem, where felons and murderers were executed. There He suffered without the gate as substitute, sanctifying the people with His own blood. By that blood He redeemed them from the curse of the law for the transgression by which Adam and Eve were banished from Eden. The crucifixion is the sacrifice whose blood is the price by which people are bought for God, and that price calls them to surrender themselves to Christ's keeping power and to bring their lives into conformity with His will. That great sacrifice on the cross at Calvary sets the measure for the church's work, against which the church, despite some progress, remains far behind what was entrusted to it.
Example and Application
The seamless robe is the unity that should exist in the church, and it must not be rent. Divisions, coldness, and controversy are like rents and tears in that robe and dishonor Christ. Believers are therefore to cultivate love and tenderness and keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
His coat was plain and seamless, woven in one piece, and it stands as an example of simplicity in dress. It rebukes devotion to clothing and personal decoration, display, pride, and needless expense, and the spending of time and effort to win the world's approval. Such simple clothing fitted the meek and lowly life He lived without a home. In this He is the true Pattern of self-denial and sacrifice, of doing good to others and making them happy.
The seamless robe marks Him in His suffering and death, together with the crown of thorns and His crucifixion between two thieves. His example in this is coming to save and uplift humanity, and people are called to follow Him and serve as His co-workers. The dividing of His garments by His enemies as He hung on the cross was part of the cruelty He endured, and because He so suffered He fully understands every experience that may come. There He hung as a bleeding victim in the depths of humiliation, dying as a malefactor in the hands of wicked men. His death provides grace and power, and the cross is evidence that He is at the believer's side to help.
That hour marks the taking away of the Bridegroom, when the hopes of eternal life the disciples had centered in Him were cut off. Then come days of trial and temptation when the presence of the Comforter is not clearly discerned, giving cause to mourn and fast while faith is tried and hope and courage fail. His dying on the cross as the Son of God was a terrible, trying hour of gloom that fulfilled His predictions and brought the disciples over testing ground. Through sleep and failure to watch and pray they had not received knowledge of His sufferings and the glory to follow nor shared His self-sacrifice, so their faith failed as they beheld Him dying. Had they remained watching, some rays of hope would have lighted the gloom and sustained their faith in the darkness. Even so the seamless garment remains an image of His healing power, whom people in pain can reach amid life's crowd and press and be made whole.