Chapter XIX: His Vesture

MATTHEW 27.35

PERHAPS you ask, "What are these men so busily doing?"

Little did they know that hundreds of years before it had been written by God's Prophet: "They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots."

Those four soldiers, whom Pilate had ordered to crucify the Lord of glory, and who had heard our dear Lord say, when they had nailed Him to the Cross, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!"—those four soldiers, did not take any heed of the matchless love of those words of forgiveness. They were only thinking about dividing His clothes.

They had crucified Jesus, the Saviour of the world, and two malefactors with Him, one on the right hand and the other on the left, and Jesus in the midst.

And now the people who were watching, saw the four soldiers carry away His raiment to a little distance, to divide it between themselves.

When they found that His coat, or under-robe, was seamless, and woven in one piece, they cast lots for that, so that it should not be torn or divided, as God had said, so long ago.

In this picture we do not see the Cross on which our dear Lord was crucified, but it must have been very near to the men.

There was a piece of parchment nailed on the Cross; and though Pilate had said, "I find no fault in Him," yet when he sat down to write his accusation on the parchment, he was obliged to put something; and he wrote, in Hebrew, and in Greek, and in Latin, "JESUS OF NAZARETH—THE KING OF THE JEWS."

This writing was read by many people, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near to Jerusalem, and many were passing backwards and forwards at this Passover time.

The cruel Jews, who had urged Pilate to crucify Jesus, wanted him to take the writing down from the Cross.

They said, "Do not say that He is the King of the Jews! But say that He said He was!"

But Pilate would not alter it. "What I have written, I have written," he said.

So when Jesus died, this was His accusation—that He is King!

Then the rulers who were standing by mocked him, saying, "He saved others, Himself He cannot save! Let Him come down from the Cross!"

Perhaps some of you who read this may think that it was the cruel nails which held His dear hands fast, so that he could not come down?

But that was not the reason—oh no!

It was love that made the Son of God stay there; love to you, and to me. "He gave His life a ransom for us."

He stayed there that He might die for us; that His precious Blood should be shed to pay the price of our sins.

No one can tell the depth of woe and loneliness which Jesus suffered, while the load of our sins rested upon Him; but the more we understand it, the more we shall love Him, for His great love.