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Soldiers cast lots for Jesus’ robe

24 May 2023 · 1 min

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In this brief devotional, the speaker links Psalm 22:18 (“They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment”) to the New Testament account of Roman soldiers dividing Jesus’ garments and casting lots for his purple robe. He emphasizes the robe’s royal symbolism, noting that purple dye was rare and reserved for high officials, making the soldiers’ desire to keep the whole garment understandable. The speaker argues that Psalm 22, written a millennium before the crucifixion, predicts the suffering of Jesus, highlighting the depth of his anguish. The reflection concludes with a blessing.

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Psalms 22:18 declares, They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment. The soldiers started to divide up the clothes of Jesus until they came across his robe that he was wearing, a beautiful purple robe representing his royalty and majesty, reserved for specifically high officials. Purple was a difficult color to make in ancient times. The Roman soldiers would have seen this as an opportunity, as something to be profited from, or even treasured. Rather than tearing up the robe, they divided by casting lots to see who would get the entire robe. This distinction was made 1,000 years before Jesus' death on the cross in Psalm 22. In fact, much of Psalm 22 is a prediction about Jesus' death on the cross, powerfully showing the depth of anguish our Lord and Savior would go through while suffering for all of us. God bless.