Station 4: Jesus is stripped of his clothes | Scripture Reflection

Psalm 22 (NIV, 1984)

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me,

so far from the words of my groaning?

O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,

by night, and am not silent.

Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;

you are the praise of Israel.

In you our fathers put their trust;

they trusted and you delivered them.

They cried to you and were saved;

in you they trusted and were not disappointed.

But I am a worm and not a man, 

scorned by men and despised by the people.

All who see me mock me;

they hurl insults, shaking their heads:

"He trusts in the LORD; 

let the LORD rescue him.

Let him deliver him,

since he delights in him."

Yet you brought me out of the womb;

you made me trust in you

even at my mother's breast.

From birth I was cast upon you;

from my mother's womb you have been my God.

Do not be far from me, 

for trouble is near

and there is no one to help.

Many bulls surround me;

strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.

Roaring lions tearing their prey

open their mouths wide against me.

I am poured out like water,

and all my bones are out of joint.

My heart has turned to wax;

it has melted away within me.

My strength is dried up like a potsherd,

and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;

you lay me in the dust of death.

Dogs have surrounded me;

a band of evil men has encircled me,

they have pierced my hands and my feet.

I can count all my bones;

people stare and gloat over me.

They divide my garments among them

and cast lots for my clothing.

But you, O LORD, be not far off;

O my Strength, come quickly to help me.

Deliver my life from the sword,

my precious life from the power of the dogs.

Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;

save me from the horns of the wild oxen.

I will declare your name to my brothers;

in the congregation I will praise you.

You who fear the LORD, praise him!

All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!

Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!

For he has not despised or disdained

the suffering of the afflicted one;

he has not hidden his face from him

but has listened to his cry for help.

From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;

before those who fear you will I fulfill my vows.

The poor will eat and be satisfied;

they who seek the LORD will praise him—

may your hearts live forever!

All the ends of the earth

will remember and turn to the LORD,

and all the families of the nations

will bow down before him,

for dominion belongs to the LORD

and he rules over the nations.

All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;

all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—

those who cannot keep themselves alive.

Posterity will serve him;

future generations will be told about the Lord.

They will proclaim his righteousness

to a people yet unborn—

for he has done it.

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.

Station 4: Jesus is stripped of his clothes

John 19:23-24 (ESV)

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, so they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be." This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, "They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots." So the soldiers did these things...

Station 3: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem | "Not Easy. Not Alone. Not Finished." - by Ali McDermott

This week’s station focuses on Jesus’ meeting the women of Jerusalem and verses Luke 23:27-31 and John 19:25-27. As I read these verses I was struck by the contrast of Jesus’ words to these two groups of women. At first I thought they really had nothing to do with one another other than it being Jesus speaking to women (and maybe they don’t). But as I sat with each, I began to see a connection—almost like a part 1 and a part 2. For me…that was almost the whole point.

Part 1: Luke 23:27-31 (ESV)

And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

Jesus was on His way to death. He knew where He was going. And in this moment I see that even on His way to death He was not thinking of what He was going through, rather why and, more importantly, who it was for. In His words to these women I see Him reminding those with Him to do the same.

In Luke 23:28, I interpret Him saying to the women who were mourning for Him, "Look—this is not what you need to be crying about. I will be ok—I know what’s up. This is just a step in the process. You should not be mourning for me—you need to be mourning for yourselves and why I am doing this. I am doing this because it needs to be done. This world is broken and painful. People sin. People hurt each other. People hate me. This is not going to change. In fact, if this is how they are treating me, the Son of God who came in person to save them—guess what—it’s going to happen to you too. Life is going to be hard. So hard. You don’t need to cry for me. Cry for why this is happening and for what is to come after I am gone."

I thought, "How depressing! If these were the last words of Jesus, this would be the worst!" So, after reading this passage and without any instant gems or revelations to share as a devotion, I decided to see what the other verse for this week had to say, because, let’s be real, this first one is tough.

Part 2: John 19:25-27 (ESV)

...but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

Here we meet our Jesus on the cross. And again He addresses the women in His life—this time His mother, family and friends. And this time He is once again taking the focus off of Himself and His suffering and calling out to them. As He sees His mother and the disciple that He loved, He speaks some of His final words—He stops to tell them to take care of each other.

As I read this I experienced a connection of these words to the words He spoke to the women of Jerusalem—almost a part 1 and a part 2. While they are not necessarily connected in direct sequence or even in the same book…here is what leapt off the pages of the Bible and into my heart.

Twice Jesus stopped—stopped himself in His overwhelming physical pain and spoke to these people with words of guidance about life after He is gone. Here is what I hear the Lord saying to me (and maybe you?) from these moments in Scripture:

• Part 1: Life is hard. Life without me is even harder.
• Part 2: You do not have to do this alone. 

Obviously, I don’t know the exact reason Jesus told each group what He did, and most likely they aren’t connected at all in the actual text, but I do know what resonated with me—this was a two-parter. Part 1: walking with the Lord is not always easy—in fact, many times it will require hard choices, choices that will bring sacrifice of the self and even pain. (Just think how much worse it would be NOT walking with Him—Luke 23:31.) Part 2: the good news is that the story doesn’t stop there—leaving us to figure out this life and fend for ourselves. He gives us guidance for how to walk through it—whether it is through the gift of walking with others as shown in Jesus’ words in John 19 or through the presence of the Holy Spirit or Scriptures.
 
And while both of those are good to know, I think that the biggest take-away or reminder is that with Christ there is always a Part 2. And while we may not understand what Part 2 is in our current situation, we can hold on to the hope that He will show us. In both scenarios above, Jesus stopped in His tracks to address each group and proceeded to redirect and point them to what they needed to be focused on. His guidance for them began with His actions saying, “I see you. I hear you. Now listen.” He knows what’s up, and I believe He will give us what we need to know. He’s not the author of a single act or one-parter. There is more to come. He sees you. He hears you. Now listen. 

Station 3: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem | Reflection by Miranda Dupree

"Jesus turned and said to them, 'Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. For the time will come when you will say, "Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!" Then "they will say to the mountains, 'Fall on us!' and to the hills, 'Cover us!'" For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?'" (Lk. 23:28-31, NIV, 1984)

How is it that Jesus can say this? How can he look into the wet eyes of these mourning women and—despite the throbbing pain in his body from the beatings and lashings and the thorny crown buried in his brow—have compassion on them? How can he find more in his heart to pour out after being betrayed and abandoned by his closest friends? How does he have more compassion to give, a continued ability to see the pain of these women not just in that moment but in the future—to see a pain in them deeper than the pain they see in themselves—and then dwell on that pain for a second? How is he not overwhelmed and focused entirely on his own suffering?

Then I wonder at other questions...

Where are our hearts today? Where are our tears? Are we weeping for the things Jesus is weeping for? Seeing the things he is seeing?

For some of us, perhaps we need his eyes for our own pain. Perhaps we need to accept his compassion and care for our own burdens and wounds.

For others, perhaps we need his heart for those outside of us. Perhaps we need to see our friends—and our enemies—as he sees them.

For all of us, perhaps we need his vision for his church. Perhaps we need his vision for his world.

Jesus, we long for your heart. We pray that you will refashion us, grant us a heart of flesh that mourns for the things you mourn for and that honors you wholly. Please give us your heart for ourselves and for others. Help us to know and to reflect you well.

Station 3: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem | Hymn Reflection

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
Helen Howarth Lemmel (1922)
Source: hymnary.org (referenced 03.05.18)

O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there;
O’er us sin no more hath dominion—
For more than conqu’rors we are!

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

His Word shall not fail you—He promised;
Believe Him, and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.