Now the tunic was seamless, woven from the top through the whole. So, they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but let us cast-lots for it to decide whose it will be”—
John 19:23b-24a DLNT
They stripped Him of his tunic
His seamless cloak with all the rest
Dividing up all that they could
Then gambled for the best
While above their heads He watched
As He fought His fight with death
In suffering still He loved us all
As He struggled for each breath
And when they took Him from the cross
Where He had suffered in our place
There He died for us, alone, exposed
So, He could cover us with grace
And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.
Matthew 5:40 ESV
So He Could Cover Us With Grace by Peter Caligiuri
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Author’s note: I have been intrigued by the stories of the shroud of Turin, and have watched with interest several presentations about its history. But, as I recently came upon the verse in the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus tells us to yield our tunic and cloak, I remembered how the soldiers, ruthlessly stripped Him naked and then gambled for His seamless robe. Then, I was ashamed to think that I had been drawn to stories of the cloth He may have been buried in, but never wondered about what He wore in life.
Beautiful and so moving. Thanks, Pastor Pete! God bless you, today.
Thank you Cindy. This one went through 6 rewrites, as I prayed and worked through the message and the verses.
Excellent, Pete. Unbelievers (and we also with our sinful natures still intact) are wont to idolize the physical/material (e.g, religious relics), but we are told to refrain from idols and worship God in spirit and in truth.
Amen Tom. I do get drawn in by the history, but you are so right about venerating those relucs.