Easter Series: The Robe

I saw her on the corner of a busy road in a bright red bathrobe with large, white polka dots. She repeatedly brought her fingertips together like a silent clap as she looked vacantly around. Her frazzled white hair blew gently in the wind. I was glad her remaining ensemble included green and blue plaid pajamas and black slippers since it was chilly out. The 911 dispatcher promised me the police would do a welfare check and get her safely home.

A robe can mean many things—comfort, warmth, royalty, a cover-up. In these last weeks before Easter, I’d like to explore four elements of Jesus’ story: The Robe, The Tears, The Crown, and The Blood. Each tells us more about Him and why Jesus Christ is vital to the celebration of Easter.

Jesus’ robe was a far cry from the old woman’s housecoat. Like other men and women of His time, Jesus wore a linen tunic under a longer robe with sleeves. A man who went out in just a tunic would be considered naked. Stripping prisoners before crucifying them added shame to their pain. The soldiers gleefully taunted Jesus like schoolyard bullies.

After His arrest, “They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him....They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’ they said....After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him” (Matthew 27:28-31).

The Jews had expected a Messiah to rescue them from Rome’s oppression. They rejected Jesus because He came as Savior and King for all mankind. We make the same mistake when we assume He comes to rule to our advantage. Christ is not a piece of Easter décor like bunnies and eggs, or someone we acknowledge only once a year. He is our King and deserving of worship every day.

Something else Jesus’ robe exposed is greed. Imagine what went through His mind as the soldiers gambled for His clothes while He bled on the cross for them. “When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. ‘Let’s not tear it,’ they said to one another. ‘Let’s decide by lot who will get it’” (John 19:23-24).

I hate to think I'm guilty of greed, but some of my prayers sound more like a wish list for Santa than an outpouring of gratitude to my Savior and Lord.

Our robes (spirits) are stained by the thoughts, attitudes and works of sin. But Jesus’ death on the cross made a way for our cleansing. “‘Come now, let us settle the matter,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool” (Isaiah 1:18). Exchanging our filth for His purity is as simple as believing Jesus Christ is who He said He is, and asking Him to take away our sin. In exchange, He makes us clean (Isaiah 61:10).

No more wandering in slippers filthy from street walking. No more garments of hypocrisy, bitterness, or rage. No more fretting on the corner, lost and afraid in a red polka dot robe. Jesus gives us new clothes, not just for Easter, but for every day.

Finally, there will come a time when we will see Jesus in His robe of glory. He will come to reign as King over all “dressed in a robe dipped in blood…On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and lord of lords” (Revelation 19:13, 16).

Who do you think Jesus is? On what have you based your decision? Was He confused and delusional, or is He seated now at the right hand of God reigning in glory?

#Eastermessage #Jesusrobe #whoisJesus #Saviorordelusion #mockorworship