Station 4: Jesus is stripped of his clothes | Reflection by Sue Warnke

“Then 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. So 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.”  John 19:23-24 (NASB)

Being stripped of clothes and made naked is very embarrassing, awkward, demeaning and frightening.

Being exposed brings shame. Adam and Eve felt shame and hid in the garden when they realized they were naked. Their sin caused them to be “self-conscious.”

Jesus died naked and took our shame because of our sin. But He also lived naked. He was stripped of His will. He also went to the garden, not to hide, but to pray. Knowing He was on the way to being crucified, brought to a horrible death, even knowing He would experience the feeling of separation from God because of our sin, He was His most naked. “He fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will”  (Matt. 26:39, NASB).

He told His disciples in Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (NASB).

During this Lenten season, the Lord impressed me to “strip down my soul” by continuing the media fast until He says otherwise.

He said He wanted to show me the “flabbiness in my soul” and to build “fiber” in me.

He said, “No TV. Be honest and real with Me. Don’t live your life watching fictional characters. Be naked in your thoughts, your fears, your burdens, your choices. I came to serve, not to be served. Follow My example.”

I confess, I love to “check out,” “zone out,” and be entertained by watching my favorite shows. At the end of the day when I’m weary, my knee and other parts hurt and ache, and I’m burdened with life, I watch shows I have recorded, like Price is Right, Jeopardy, animal shows, Fixer Upper, This is Us, The Wall, and other series shows that I follow. And yes, it is true, I’d rather watch other people live their lives than meditating on the goodness of the Lord.

Now that I am in my seventies and a grandma, I am slowing down, and I sit more than I used to, which is natural. But the Lord said, “Watch yourself.”

In I Corinthians 9:27, Paul says, “I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified” (NASB). I want to obey.

I feel vulnerable, lost and uncomfortable outside of my “TV Land” comfort zone, but my mind is not cluttered with “TV chatter.” It is becoming less painful each day, and I feel more peaceful. As I obey, I am being stripped of the old, filthy rags of my unrighteousness. (It’s only been a little over two weeks; there’s more to come……. my agony is nothing compared to what Jesus did for me.)

Isaiah 61:10a: “I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness” (NASB).

Perhaps by my obedience, I am allowing the Lord to make part of a new sleeve for my garment, or He is starting a new collar on my robe of righteousness.

Jesus was stripped so that I can be clothed. His clothes do not fade, shrink, stretch or wear out. You can get them at the “God’s Will Store” on the corner of submission and obedience. There are no secondhand garments, and they fit perfectly.

I want to wear my beautiful new garments to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb.