By, Jeremy Wallace, Hartselle, AL
The tenth day of April marks the beginning of Holy Week for the year 2022. It is Palm Sunday, a day that celebrates Christ’s descent from the Mount of Olives, His triumphal ride into Jerusalem, and the start of the events that would lead up to His crucifixion. It is introduced by cries of “Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest” (Matt. 21:9) as Jesus enters the city. Next, we find Him in the Temple overthrowing “the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves” (Matt. 21:12). He then begins to boldly proclaim His reason for coming—through the parable of the man who planted a vineyard and traveled into a far country, only to have his servants, and finally, his son killed by the husbandmen he’d left it to. He goes on to tell of the marriage of the king’s son. How those bidden to the wedding would not come, so the king turned to others and bade them (speaking of Israel’s rejection of Him and God’s turning to the gentiles), and He warned against the doctrine of the scribes and Pharisees. Eventually, He began to tell His disciples of last days events, the signs of His triumphal return, and the judgment that was awaiting this sinful world. And He exhorted them to be always watchful and ready.
We have much of Christ’s teachings from these days as His time was fleeting, so He was being very direct, which angered the chief priests and scribes, whose wrath was so strong they were ready to take Him immediately and kill Him. “After two days was the feast of the passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death” (Mark 14:1). We then see the Lord in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper. There a woman enters carrying an alabaster box of precious ointment, which she breaks to anoint the Lord. His very own disciples are filled with indignation at the waste of the costly ointment, but Jesus tells them “she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial” (Matt. 26:12). This meeting at Simon’s home would be the last gathering for a meal together (Passover) and a last opportunity to hear the Lord in a private setting. It is here that Peter vows to follow Christ even unto death and that Judas storms out to seek betrayal money from the chief priests. So much is going on during this Passion week—blessings and cursings, arguing and fighting amongst the twelve disciples, one’s betrayal, one’s denial, until the rest scatter, abandoning Him.
We are now brought to the prophetic Scripture passage that was fulfilled as Christ was dying on the Cross. Consider, as you read, that tragedy, stressful situations, and confusing times will cause people to either unite together or argue, fight, become indignant, rebel, or flee from and betray one another. “Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did” (John 19:23, 24).
I had always accepted these verses as fulfilling a prophetic sign of the crucifixion of the Messiah, but some time back they gripped me and I felt the Lord convey something stronger in them. What I kept returning to was that His coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. This coat is a tunic, described as of white linen, sometimes blue (blue was usually made from silk). It was made of one piece, had sleeves, and reached to the ankles. It was the inner or undergarment and was very smooth and comfortable, for it was to be worn against the body. Nothing was between the body (skin) and the tunic, which didn’t have seams to cause a rough place in the garment that could chafe or cause irritations.
The tunic was a common garment among the priests of Israel. Aaron and his sons wore similar ones: “And they made coats of fine linen of woven work for Aaron, and for his sons” (Ex. 39:27). Ezekiel records God’s direction regarding their priestly use. “And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within” (Ezek. 44:17). Moses adds further instruction in the law regarding mixing divers materials in garments. “Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woollen and linen together” (Deut. 22:11). Two dissimilar pieces of garments could not be woven together and made seamless and as comfortable as a linen garment would be. Jesus even mentions the joining of dissimilar fabrics. “No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse” (Mark 2:21).
An old cloth has already relaxed, shrunk, and become weaker than when it was new. To sew a new piece of cloth onto an old garment would force a worse rend, for when the new is tightly bound to the old, it begins to relax and shrink and pulls upon the old that is already weaker. The garment then starts to tear away from the new piece that was sewn to it. As Jesus said, “the rent is made worse.”
How are we to be as the Body of Christ? “So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another” (Rom. 12:5). “For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread” (1 Cor. 10:17). “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ” (1 Cor. 12:12). There were many threads in Christ’s coat, but it was woven together so that it was seamless and one. This could only be accomplished by one who had the skill and training to weave a garment without a seam, making it smooth and comfortable to wear. “For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ” (Col. 2:1, 2).
Woven together into one! A seam is a weak place in a garment. It is also a visible sign that two pieces have been joined together. One could even say it has the appearance of a scar, looking, at times, like two pieces have been forced together.
We should not have the appearance of being forced together, but we should submit ourselves to the One who knows how to place us in the Body as He sees fit. It’s true that we may mess up and feel like we’ve ruined a beautiful garment, and as members of the Body of Christ, we can fail at times, but no one is a disposable portion of the vesture. If you realize that you may have caused a tear in a woven garment, don’t despair and don’t give up. There is a tailor who can repair it seamlessly, who can make it look as if nothing has ever happened! If God is willing to forgive and mend someone who’s woven into the vesture, we dare not build up a boundary against them that would show as a seam or a scar. Imagine if everyone in God’s Church humbled themselves and sought Him to fix their hearts, renew their vision and place in the Body, and repair the tears. Oh, how great would The Church of God be?
We may say that if everyone in the world would accept Christ, the world would be a wonderful and peaceful place. This may seem to be an impossibility from our perspective, but there’s no reason that The Church of God cannot be free of sin, guilt, shame, division, hurts, cliques, and other schisms that put seams into what He has woven together—making us look scarred, compromised, uncomfortable, and undesirable to those who are looking upon us!
There is no reason that The Church of God cannot be a happy, loving, and peaceful place, so much so that the very appearance of her woven beauty should cause others to desire to be woven into her! The only reason it is not is because of “ME.” Everyone must be willing to say, “It is my responsibility to be humble and submissive to God”—being fully committed so that self or self-righteousness is not in the way.
Genesis 37:3 tells us that, “Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.” This coat is said to have been a woven coat with many colors, meaning it was seamless and not of divers materials but of the same material having divers colors. It was given to the son as a sign of great love from his father. “And they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood; And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son’s coat or no. And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces” (Gen. 37:31-33). The coat was torn and covered in blood to make Israel believe Joseph had died a violent death. The garment was contentious to Joseph’s brethren. They all had the same father but Joseph had been given a special coat to show the father’s great love for him above his brothers, so they destroyed it.
When Jesus died, His blood was shed for all to be saved but yet there was ONE that was chosen to be the bride and she is a source of envy in this world. Many of the brethren have sought to rend her, to destroy, and to divide her, but from the very moment that Christ established her, He ordained that the gates of hell shall not prevail against her. While upon the cross, as He was bleeding for her, it was already prophesied, it is ONE WOVEN vesture, do not destroy, divide or rend it! Everything else was rent and divided but not this woven inner vesture.
You see, when Joseph was sold into slavery, his brethren knew that if the coat was produced with blood and tears through it, the son would be believed dead. They wanted to make it appear that he had died, but the son Joseph was not dead! Jesus, even though He was beaten and shamed on the cross and died a horrible death, was still one with the Father as He had prayed, “And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are . . . That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (John 17:11, 21). If the world sees us as ONE, then they will believe that Jesus was the Son of God, sent to redeem the world from sin.
Jesus went through a lot of abuse at the hands of His enemies, yet He remained one with the Father. As He was on the cross being stripped of His clothing, the last garment taken was His tunic, the coat nearest to Him that was woven and not sewn. The soldiers were parting all the other garment pieces when they came to this one and decided it was too nice to rend into pieces, so they cast lots to see who could keep it whole. This is just as Jesus desired and as was prophesied, that it would not be rent or divided. The value was recognized and they each desired to own and have control of this vesture.
As I studied on these words concerning this vesture that was woven and not sewn, I went back to the Old Testament verse of this prophecy. I had yet to make the connection of the symbolic importance of this woven garment. Psalm 22:18 says, “They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.” When I read the word vesture here, I wondered, “Maybe it doesn’t mean what I’ve assumed it meant.” I had always just accepted it to mean a garment, for that is what makes sense since it was worn as a covering, but I decided to look at the Hebrew word for “vesture.” Do you know what it was? Strong’s Concordance says that it was a garment, but it had an additional definition that I was not expecting and is likely ignored by many as unimportant. The secondary definition given by Strong says, “by implication, a wife.”
Yes, this vesture is symbolic of the Bride of Christ. Why else would Christ desire it to be preserved and prophesy that it be not rent into pieces, kept as one even when in the control of the enemy? This vesture was preserved so the world would see and believe that Jesus was the Son of God sent to this earth to redeem the lost. If the world can make it appear that SHE is destroyed, then the world will believe that Jesus is also destroyed! Just as Israel thought his son, Joseph, was dead when his coat was rent, Satan desires that the world see the Bride of Christ as rent and destroyed. But the good news is that Jesus is alive and well and His beloved vesture is kept intact also. Let the world see that we are ONE, a woven work of fine linen “the righteousness of saints” (Rev. 19:8)!
In light of all that is going on right now, how do we look as the Body of Christ to the world today? Are we divided? Are we murmuring and complaining about each other? Are we indignant? Or is the Body of Christ woven seamlessly together to look so smooth and comfortable that everyone wants to have a part in her comfort and safety? This is the time we must be ONE in Christ. Speaking the same thing and minding the same thing. This is the time to be Woven, NOT Sewn.