Text: Psalm 22:18, John 19:23-27
I rarely find myself at the movies these days, but I was invited by some friends to go and see the new, updated Cinderella movie and loved it. It was fun to see all the little girls at the theater, dressed up in their beautiful blue gowns, dreaming of what it would be like to live the fairy tale. The scenery in the movie was beautiful, the costumes were stunning, and the story vividly illustrated the power of kindness, love, courage, and forgiveness.
Most of us don’t live a fairy tale of ball gowns and glass slippers, but the broader storyline is one we can relate to. Our real life exposes the juxtaposition of cruelty and kindness, harshness and compassion, hate and love, good and evil.
I can’t image the depth of emotion Jesus’ mother must have experienced, seeing her son— the Son of God—hanging in the balance of life and death. She watched as the four Roman soldiers mocked Jesus and divided up His outer garments, the seamless tunic she may have made with her own hands being raffled off. Death is hard enough to look upon, but to witness such horrible torture, mockery, betrayal, and hate is difficult to stomach or even imagine. Yet, in those moments of extreme suffering, Jesus models once again the power of love, forgiveness, and grace.
The soldiers concerned themselves with things that don’t last—His garments—missing the immense display of love happening right in front of them. While they cast lots for His belongings, Jesus spoke to His dear mother for the last time. He saw her grief, and before His last breath, He transferred her care to His beloved disciple and friend, John. Jesus’ love for His mother stood in contrast to the mockery of those who hated Him—a reminder that we are known, seen and loved by God, even in the most painful and humiliating of circumstances.
We tend to value material things in this life, things that threaten to bring out the worst in us. Like those Roman soldiers, we trust what is temporal, covering ourselves with false garments—pride, fear, even hatred—that harden and betray our hearts. These worldly concerns distract us from looking up to see the Father’s great display of love for us.
Sisters, let us cast away our false garments and put on His garments of grace, compassion, and love available to us through Christ’s work on the Cross. Only in Him will we find eternal peace, hope and joy.
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91 thoughts on "His Garments"
Lord please fill me up with your grace, compassion, and love so that I can extend that to others!! Without Jesus, there is no good in me. Lord, enable me to live for you!
Needed to be reminded of this — I think I too often focus on the temporal and don't see the weight of eternity that is all around! Thank you, Jesus, for showing your utmost care even when you were going through such pain.
Father
Please help me to look past my worldly concerns so that I do not miss your great display of love for me.
amen.
Even in His last moments. In indescribable pain. Having been abandoned by His followers. Hungry. Thirsty. Tired. So much pain. He still loved others. He didn’t complain or rail about the unfair treatment. He saw His mother. He loved her. He provided for her. Love in action.
As I read this my two year old son asked to hold my hand and is snuggling me in bed. The thought of watching him suffer humiliation and death is beyond my comprehension. How terrible for Mary to witness that day, but how much more terrible for our Father to hand over his son willingly and knowingly, to save people like us… Like the soldiers… Like the jeering crowd asking for his death.
I have 3 children; 1 son & 2 daughters. I love my son so much. I went through a very difficult time with him & after he was born. I could not image having to stand by & watch as he is being brutalized for the sin of the world. The strength God infused Mary with is beyond my imagination smh the peace that surpasses all understanding… I love my girls too. Each one bringing on a new set of challenges. It’s something about a mother’s relationship with her first born & especially when it’s a son. I only pray that I can have half the courage, trust, & peace Mary had. I thank her for obeying God so that we might be saved as well!
I have always been fascinated with “the disciple Jesus loved.” Why did He love him especially? Why didn’t they just use his name? And today I see that it is in the book of John, and the beloved disciple is John. Was John just being humble by not naming himself? How often I sing ‘Jesus loves me’ and feel so good about myself because He loves me so. Maybe I would do well to be a little more humble in my thinking.
I think often of the relationship between Mary and Jesus, simply because of the love I have for my own sons. I can not imagine the emotions that she had move through her on that day! So thankful that His love for us reaches even far beyond her love for him. Happy Easter!
I needed this today. Thanking God for highlighting areas where I am wearing false clothing and rejoicing that He models and enables the better way.
SRT sisters…..asking for prayers for my dear friend who lost her mom last night. The last few months have been a dramatic struggle, filled with a lot of pain and difficult times for the family…..thank you sisters for lifting up my sweet friend and her family….
Praying for your friend
I’m prying for peace and comfort for her. “May the God of peace fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” Romans 15:13
Heather, lifting up your friend in prayer…May the Lord God wrap His ever loving arms around her and her family…giving them the peace that so surpasses ALL understanding..I also pray that your friend, know that God is walking through this season with her, though some days it may not feel so…
Big hug to you Heather…xx
Heather, your friend is not alone. Lifting her up in prayer.
Heather, Praying for your friend. Terribly sorry for her loss.
Yes, Lord help me to cast away my false garments and put on His garments of grace, compassion, and love available to us through Christ’s work on the Cross!
I can’t imagine Mary’s feelings at this moment. From a mother’s perspective it’s so heart breaking! But what joy she must have felt when she saw the whole story unfold three days later!!
This quote: "These worldly concerns distract us from looking up to see the Father’s great display of love for us." Reminds me that I am overly concerned about the politics of the day. I find myself raging at the news every time something new happens. Something unfair. Every time my elected representatives make what I think is a bad decision. When they do something contrary to scripture as my representative. I wear the false garment of anger and it completely distracts me from the big picture of what God is doing. Whatever God is doing, it is motivated by love,I can count on that. So why do I get caught in the maelstrom of earthly problems? Because that's what's happening at eye level. The garments were auctioned at eye level. Mary had to look UP to see Jesus on the cross. When we look UP, we see what love is doing. And it blows us away when we really see. Because it is always doing something, whether we see it or not. I want to see it.
Amen! so very true. Must remember to look up to Jesus, instead of the insanity at eye level. Thanks for this.
Be blessed today sister.
Interesting thought…you have to look up to see Jesus on the cross…which should remind us to look up at all times.
Look UP! So beautiful! Thank you!!
Me too!! I am so disturbed and angered by politics and news…I am the Peter who would be lopping off ears with the sword. But I keep trying to focus more and more on Jesus. I know my frustrations would get the best of me if I weren’t in His word every day.
Wow, what a unique and true perspective! Love this!!!
Great! So touching, I needed to hear this! Too often I put my hope in temporal things.
Perfect! I need to read this one every day!
I love reading the story of the Crucifixion afresh. It reminds me how GREAT His love is for me, that He would go through all that suffering on MY behalf!
What a curious, mind-bending Truth: He who died beaten and naked on the cross – for my sins – is the Only One who can clothe me in righteousness! Praise You, Jesus!!
And thank you, SRT Sisters, for this wonderful Community of Believers that teachs, inspires, and lifts up one another in prayer! May you be abundantly blessed!
So thankful for that Truth, Susie! Thanks for joining us today!
xoxo-Kaitlin
Tina… Prayers and love from one mom to another.
Linda, thank you so much for your prayers and love….what a blessing…Thank you..
Sending you and yours a big hug wrapped in love…x
I find it difficult to carry the heart and soul of these quiet moments with me throughout the day. The lists, tasks, and distractions quickly chase away the sacred. I start each morning with a prayer to be like Mary, eyes fixed on Jesus, really feeling the weight of sacrifice and love. By day's end, I am with the soldiers, casting lots. My focus off the Savior and on to the "worldly concerns that distract us." Luther said, "The trouble with life is it's so daily." That is the challenge for me, to carry the brokenness and solemnity of this time at the foot of the cross with me through my day. Lord, keep my eyes firmly fixed on You! Don't let me forget so easily the great work of grace You have done on the cross.
Hi Kelly,
You expressed my feelings too. However, you expressed them so vividly in a way I can not only relate to but also remember.
I love your honest heart. You are, in all sincerity, an amazing writer. I have told many friends about you. I'm praying this morning that God will use your voice powerfully for Him (in ways greater than you can imagine).
Love, Hugs , and Blessings to You!
Thank you so much :) I appreciate your prayers, Sharijune!
I'm the exact same way! I love the closeness I feel to Jesus in the morning, during my devo and quiet time. It may even linger for some time… but, as the day grows longer.. and stuff.. distractions… responsibilites…continue to pile on, my resolve to stay in fellowship with my Lord throughout the day, desolves. And I, llike you, am right there with the soldiers as well. I pray that we both can stay in fellowship with Jesus throughout the day.
Be blessed sister.
Kelly, thanks for sharing. I do the exact same thing! As Paul said, I want to do what is right, but my flesh gets in the way.
Oh man! I am right there with you! I start the day drawn into Christ….focused on Him…..and then, somewhere along the way, I let my gaze fall back…start to do things "my way"…..become overwhelmed….exhausted………..I am praying right with you this morning!
"The trouble with life is that it is so daily"……yep! Nailed it!
Kelly
My feelings exactly! I never comment but your words mimic exactly how I feel inside. I try so hard to carry each days message with me but usually by lunch time I’m back to the same sinner I always am, like I never cracked open my bible that morning. Is my heart so hard that I can’t even make it through half the day before I totally forget everything I learned/read/know? It’s highly frustrating! I want to be the wife, mother, daughter, friend that Jesus put me here to be but I fall short daily. My faith is so weak, the devil knows how/and when to weasel his way in. Prayers sisters
Kelly I can totally relate. I get my quiet in the morning with Jesus then I’m distracted the rest of the day with responsibilities and leisures. And not focused on Him.
I can't help but think to the many times garments, especially robes, are mentioned in scripture. From being torn as a reflection of emotional distress, being used to reveal miracles, to being mentioned in regards to aligning oneself with Christ. Even referrenced in the beginning in Genesis 49. The importance of what a robe was to metaphorically represent obvious, just in its use throughout the word and yet here, like the one who adorned it, tossed around and bid upon. I can't help but think that to some effect, the soldiers had an emotional value placed upon the garment, as seemed to be the norm in the day. Even if just in valuing its design and its materialistic worth. I wonder who ended up with it. If after Christ's death and resurrection, the soldier who won it, looked at it with guilt and shame. If his heart broke at his part in Jesus' pain. If he held onto it or tossed it out to avoid pain or if it meant anything. I wonder if Christ used it as way to reach him. All these questions just swirl in my head because I know who my Christ is, who my savior is and He suffered on that cross for me AND those soldiers, for his mother and his beloved disciple. I know He uses painful things, things that bring shame upon us to move us, to cover us in His Mercy……I know that in Him all things are possible, for me and those soldiers alike.
I know that in Christ I wear a new self, a new robe. I am to have thrown off the old and to wear the new, daily. I know that each time I choose to wear the old robe I am no different than the soldiers below Christ on the cross, in front of Mary, I am saying "You're not enough. Your pain isn't worth the effort of being new each moment. It's too hard. I'm casting off this robe for one of my own design." Ugh, the idea that I could, that I do, for even a moment toss Christ's worth aside. That I wouldn't adorn myself in His Grace and Mercy, His Love and Forgiveness because I'm in the middle of something painful, hard. I am prayerful that in my walking, in my speaking, my moving each day, in all things, effortless and tough, that I remember I am clothed in Christ and that all I do reflects that. ~ B
Your insight is spot on for me this morning–drawing a comparison to Paul's instructions in Ephesians to take off the old and put on the new. My middle daughter gets so attached to her favorite clothes. I put them away when she outgrows them or wears holes in them. She will dig them out and wear them again because they are her favorite. New clothes hanging in the closet, old clothes worn instead. This is my spiritual practice. Jesus has given me new garments, yet I keep adorning myself with the old. Holes, ill fitting, out of style. Joining you in prayer that I might "remember I am clothed in Christ and that all I do reflects that."
I love the connection you made to the robe that we wear in Jesus. I cannot shake those clothes. They are gifted to me for all eternity. That is my identity thanks to the cross.
yes! yes! yes!
B, your comment spoke to my heart. After reading your words, I prayed, “God, I don’t want to wear my old robe anymore.” Though the old robe is comfortable and easy and safe, my new robe never fails to bring me strength and courage and joy. The old is selfish, the new is focused on others in love. What a sweet perspective and incite into this reading. Thank you for sharing this wisdom today, B!
B, thank you for this! I was reading of the veil being torn when Jesus dies and I kept thinking why does this matter?! This insight answered it perfectly. I am so thankful that the Lord gives us answers through sisters that are connected by and through Him.
Amen sister!
"The soldiers concerned themselves with things that don't last" I pray my focus is on the eternal today, I pray my focus is on Jesus, I pray my focus is on loving others as He demonstrated his great love and compassion for others as He was dying on the cross for me.
Amen
I loved the post today AMEN! Let us all live a life full of His love and compassion to all. I’m praying for this!
I was immediately reminded of this scripture about the “garments” we are to put on in Christ:
So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. (Colossians 3:12-15 NASB)
I so love this passage for so many reasons! It preaches to me every time I read it! But today what strikes me is his love for his mom in the middle of this immense hardship. So often we read passages of Gods word in isolation from one another and then draw conclusions about God from them. For example I might read Mathew 12:46-50 and conclude that Jesus doesn’t value His immediate family BUT if I keep reading and seek the “full counsel” of Gods Word I get to a passage like today’s and I realize my conclusion HAD to be wrong. Then I can go back to Matthew and ask God through the Holy Spirit to teach me what it is really saying….
Amazing! Keep studying (2 Timothy 2:15)
We are literally surrounded by all of those things today: hatred, mockery, jealousy…it is overwhelming in our society. Who is right, who is wrong, and those words ring in my ears "Can't we all just get along?" Yet, I know that will not happen on this terra firma. All of these things must come to pass before the Lord returns for His Bride. I just don't want to get caught up in that mob mentality as they did with Jesus that day. Help me to have compassion, Lord and show a Christ-like spirit in all things. Amen.
Blessings to my SRT sisters this Holy Week!
Jesus’s compassion in the face of hatred and mockery and jealousy is amazing. Lord, make me more like You!
Tina thank you for sharing your heart.
Thank you Susan, for your encouragement…
Blessings to you….x
Amen.
Jesus spoke into Mary's pain, snapped her focus off of the hateful, uncaring actions and harsh words of the guards and onto His provision of care for her by way of John. The pain was still just as real, the mistreatment just as harsh and crushing to her spirit, but in the gentlest, most compassionate of ways, Jesus' moved Mary's focus from the source of pain and mistreatment to His provision for the rest of life for her. Even though she must necessarily grieve in that moment, life would continue on for her and John and others. Jesus even knew she would see Him again after the resurrection, but He also knew her finite mind had to be snapped from the immediate reality of horror to the future reality of grace and hope. I simply cannot get the image of what this scene may have looked like out of my mind, nor the range of emotions I would have been feeling in Mary's place. Jesus' gentle words, while providing no escape from the immediate pain, would have provided a strange balm that would have begun to soothe the wear soul. So very much to dwell on….
Ladies, I thank you all so very much for your prayers for my race and my husband's role in taking care of our children in light of his cantata responsibilities this past weekend. I had a fabulous time, my husband was a different man in a very subtle and encouraging way when I returned, and the cantata was a touching display of the grace and gift of this season. Your prayers were felt and answered on so many levels! I just appreciate that the Lord cares about even these seemingly small things in the scheme of what all is going on in the world! Thank you again!
He does care about the small things that are big to us! Thankful with you this morning. ♥
Beautiful reflection!!! Thank you!
Thrilled for you on your race and answered prayers……<3
Glory to God for this story of Christ on the cross does not end in sorrow despite the grief and ugly sins that He had to bear for us there. Rather, Christ crucified ended sorrow. His garment of compassion, forgiveness and grace covered a multitude of sins – my sins! Father, remind each of us that by Your grace we now wear a new garment!
I follow Ann Voskamp, and her words really spoke to me and encouraged me last night:
“Because we can stand here in the middle of Holy Week, in the middle of April’s Fools Day, in the middle of a planet that feels more and more like it’s going painfully mad – and it’s real and it happened and it’s no joke:
God is more than theology — He stepped into literal geography to have literal personal intimacy.
When God-with-skin-on spoke those words on the Mount of Beatitude, when He heaved that Cross onto His back in Jerusalem and walked the Via Dolorosa, what He wanted was this: Jesus wants the closeness of His intimacy to touch us — and our intimacy with Him touch the lives of every person we touched”
I remember my daughter's last words to me…..they weren't many, but they are words I will carry in my heart forever…"….I love you mum, to infinity and beyond…" Words we began using to each other, after watching Toy Story….
I watched my daughter slowly slip away, still hoping, still praying she would get the necessary liver for a transplant…I watched her 'hanging between life and death…' and I hurt, I hurt so much, I could have died with her. I could not see tomorrow, let alone a lifetime without her and all the beauty that came with her….but I have to tell you…I cannot imagine Mary's pain, Mary's anguish, …her watching each strike, each blow, the crown of thorns, the nails in each hand, each foot… Oh God…Oh God, as tears flow down my face, May I never ever forget this feeling right now, but may I also remember, Lord God, that this feeling is a result of the MOST AMAZING, LIFE- GIVING LOVE…, EVER…at the cost of a mothers pain and anguish….I know it's not about Mary, Lord God, but as a mother, I can see your afore thought plan…all the I s dotted and the t s crossed..Thank you, Lord God that Jesus entrusted her, Mary to John, as I have been to my daughter's friends…Thank you that we get to be loved as mothers still…( back to the wonderous Cross..did er'r such LOVE and sorrow meet…)
I was going to write how sorry I was for the guards sharing Jesus' garments…but the woman who touched the hem of His garment came to mind….I know she believed…..but..I wonder if these guards were not changed, affected in some way because they held and touched Jesus' garments…I live in HOPE… that they would have known the Grace compassion and love that is spoken of here today….
Looking up to see the Fathers great display of Love for me/ us today…
Thank you Debbie Eaton for this, beautifully written and thought provoking….Be Blessed..x
Maundy Thursday….Thanking God for you all…Go in peace, whatever your day looks like…hugs..xxx
Beautiful again Tina! Have a wonderful day!
Thank you Libby for your love and encouragement…xxx
Tina, beautifully put. As a new mommy of a little boy it’s hard for me to imagine losing my son to anything let alone the sins of all man kind. Thank you Jesus for sacrificing leaving your mother to save us all. How hard it must have been for the both if you. My heart breaks. So thankful tho for all of the hope it brings. Thank you thank you! Praise Jesus!
Katie, good morning…
You know, at my lowest and not knowing what day of the week it was, I would sit in the local church and rant…this went on for days…one day exhausted I sat, and fell asleep…right there on the pew.. God gave me a picture of my sweet girl, running through a meadow…she looked amazing…shouting as she run I'm okay …I'm okay…thing is, I miss her every day…every day, I cry…..but that picture that could only have come from God…gives me Hope…and I hang on to that,…, very tightly…
Take care, Katie, and I pray God's great blessings over you and your new family…Love, Tina..
Thank you for courageously shining to us all, even through your pain and hurt, Tina. You are a faithful encourager. And I’m continuously grateful and blessed by your words to our community. Praying you have a peaceful day filled with His love and compassion.
Beverly, what kind words…Thank you so much…
Blessings right back to you…with love and a hug…x
Tina, so beautifully expressed. My heart aches for your loss, for Mary's loss. As a mother, I can't begin to imagine the pain involved in watching my child slip away, let alone, be tortured for all mankind. I am continually blessed by your words and heart Tina. Many hugs and much love your way! ~ B
Hugs and love received dear heart…xxx
I had never thought about the soldiers coming in contact with his garments and being forever changed by it like the woman who touched His hem…wow.
Praying for you this morning for continued comfort and strength in your tremendous loss of your beloved daughter. Blessings to you dear friend. ♥
Prayers and blessings received and accepted with love and a thankful heart for you Candacejo…Love, Tina x
Thank you so much Tina, for sharing with us the experience of your own pain and grief. Beautifully written. My brother recently died…only my mother was there at the time. He was sick for quite some time, but we weren't expecting for him to leave us so quickly…so soon. And I can not imagine anything but the great love, compassion,gentleness and warmth of my mother filling his room. Yet the space in which Jesus died was a mixture of emotions. The grief and love of a mother as well as the hurt and anguish of those who love and followed him. But then there were the ones who hated and reviled Him…taunting Him…spitting on him…casting lots for his garments. To die such a death…to already suffer such pain…and to have such hated and evil filling the place. Again, my brother got to experience such love and gentleness at the time of his death. Jesus experienced such hate and vulgarity. Oh what a death to die! And yet He still saw the grief of His mother. And He still saw us! How awesome is He!!! Thank you Jesus! And thank you again Tina..for always sharing yourself and your words of great experience, observation and wisdom. God bless you always!
Maderia, I am truly sorry for your loss…praying God peace and loving arms around you and yours….
Jesus, is and will always be the gift we didn't deserve, but God, loving us as He does gave Him anyway….Amen …
Big hug and love to you Maderia and your mum..xxx
Thank you for sharing from your pain, Tina. How hard it must be to recall, but it helps me understand better a little bit of what Mary must have felt. Blessings to you as you remember the life and love of your precious daughter today. May the God of Comfort wrap you so tight in His never-ending love for you today!
Kelly, thank you for the beautiful image your prayer gave me…of a loving father whose arms, are gentle yet comforting and just what I needed..bless you Sis…xx
Oh, Tina, thank you for sharing your beautiful, tender thoughts and powerful insights! Bless you, my Sister!!
Blessings received Suzie, thank you…
Sending you a hug and love right back…xxx
Tina, today is my moms going home anniversary. She was 35–it has been 36 years since she died. I didn't want to come to today's devotion making it about me and my loss, but Jesus death, the one that we have been walking beside for 44 days now, has me sensitive to her death. I am thankful that Jesus took time to pair his mother up with John. And although I was left motherless for the rest of my childhood years, the Lord paired me up with a Big Sister from an organization, and I just now see this as His doing. And He did this for me before I was saved. How kind and loving is our Lord. Blessing to you dear Tina.
Valanne, sorry this is a day late, but it's from my heart…thinking and walking alongside you as you remember your mom …Sending you a cyber hug and love dear Sister….May God, continue to minister His unfailing love to you, giving you the peace that you need at this time of remembering…
Thanking Him for the big sister that came alongside you, and the many more plans He has for you…
God bless you Valanne…big hug and love…x
You touch my heart every time I read your writing! So proud to call you my sister although we have never met! Thank you for sharing and making this scene so real and raw…beautiful!!
Heather, Thank you…for your loving words.. and guess what….I like that you are my sister toooo…God bless you too, sis..x
Tina- having lost a daughter myself, your words truly resonated with me. Thank you for the beautiful perspective! Holidays are difficult, but your words have given me some enlightening food for thought. Blessings to you xoxoxo
Carrie, I am sorry for your loss…so very sorry….
Holidays and birthdays are difficult, BUT God…He gets us through them…and I am thankful for His presence in my life everyday…
Carrie, praying God's blessing over you,.. may He turn His face to shine on you..today and always..xxx
Sending a BIG sister hug from England…x
Tina, Thank you so much for your wonderful words and your openness in sharing your story. What really drew my attention was when you spoke about the woman with the issue of blood touching the hem of Jesus garment, the power and the guards also touching the garment. What a beautiful thought. I always have believed that the head of the guards at the crucifixion came to a true understanding of who Jesus was that day and it changed his life forever.
Heather, I reckon there's something to preach on that…don't you?
Have a good and God blessed day…and thank you…x
Beautiful.
Love.
Garments of grace, compassion and love. What a beautiful image!!! Thank you SRT writers! Every day your devotional a speak God’s word deeply into my heart and relate it to my every day world! You are blessed with a gift of words and God is smiling on your use of your gift!
Again. Another reminder of how Jesus is always with us