John 19:23-24, Jesus' Tunic

23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, 24 so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says,

“They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”

When Roman soldiers crucified a man, the custom was to strip the victim of his cloths. These executioners, then, became the owners of his garments. In Matthew and Mark, Jesus quotes from the beginning of Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” In John’s account he does not say this. But John does reference the psalm, quoting Psalm 22:18: “they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.” Apparently, Jesus was very focused on that psalm as he hung naked on the cross. It is a psalm every believer should read and contemplate in prayer.

The nakedness of Jesus on the cross is perhaps, in the plans of God, a reference back to the nakedness of Adam and Eve before the Fall. Where the first Adam failed to obey the will of God, the second Adam perfectly aligns himself with the will of the Father, bearing everything for the new people of God. Whereas Adam and Eve were ashamed of their nakedness, Jesus is gracious, saying “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Experiencing the most excruciating pain, Jesus remains comfortable in his own skin, knowing that what he is doing will change the course of human history, of human destiny.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, who for our redemption willed to be born, and on the cross to die the most shameful of deaths, by your death and passion deliver us from all sins and penalties, and by your holy cross bring us, miserable sinners, to that place where you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Pope Innocent III, c. 1161-1216