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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - John 19:23 - 19:25
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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Joh_19:23-25 a
23Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and made four parts, a part to every soldier and also the tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece. 24So they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be"; this was to fulfill the Scripture:, "They divided My outer garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots." 25Therefore the soldiers did these things.
Joh_19:23 "made four parts, a part to every soldier" The soldiers gambled for Jesus' clothes. This refers to His outer garments only. It is uncertain how Jesus' clothes could be divided in four ways. This must refer to His shoes, prayer shawl (tallith), waist band, and outer garment(s). It is uncertain whether Jesus wore a turban. The Jews would have been offended by total nakedness. This is another fulfilled prophecy quoted in Joh_19:24 (cf. Psa_22:18).
▣ "the tunic" Jesus' outer garment is referred to by the plural term himatia. His long undergarment, worn next to the skin, was the tunic (chitôn). The distinction between these can be seen in Mat_5:40 and Luk_6:29. Dorcas made both of these items of clothing (cf. Act_9:39). First-century Jews apparently wore an additional piece of underwear called a loin cloth. Jesus was not completely disrobed.
The last phrase of Joh_19:23 is another editorial comment from one who lived with Jesus.
▣ "now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece" This may have theological significance. A tunic like this was unusual and may have been expensive. It seems out of character for Jesus to have an unusually expensive piece of clothing. From Josephus (Antiq. 3.7.4), we know that the High Priest wore a robe like this ,as rabbinical tradition asserts that Moses did. Could this be a reference to Jesus as
1. the High Priest (cf. Hebrews)
2. the new law giver
Double meanings are always possible in John's Gospel, but interpreters must be diligent not to allegorize all the details!
Joh_19:24 "this was fulfilled Scripture" Psalms 22 formed the OT background to the crucifixion.
1. Psa_22:1-2 - Mat_27:46; Mar_15:34
2. Psa_22:7-8 - Mat_27:39; Mat_27:43; Mar_15:29; Luk_23:35
3. Psa_22:15 - Mat_27:48; Mar_15:36; Luk_23:36; Joh_19:28-29
4. Psa_22:16 - Mat_27:35; Mar_15:24; Joh_20:25
5. Psa_22:18 - Mat_27:35; Mar_15:24; Luk_23:34; Joh_19:24
6. Psa_22:27-28 - Mat_27:54; Mar_15:39; Luk_23:47; (Joh_20:31; Mat_28:18-20; Luk_24:46-47; Act_1:8)