They crucified Him and parted "My garments"
When they came to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left (Luke 23:33).They crucified Him, and parted His garments, casting lots that it mighty be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, “They parted My garments among them, and upon My vesture did they cast lots” (Math.27:35).Christ, the Holy and righteous One, was crucified along with the two malefactors, who were condemned criminals. There is a dividing line between the Cross and Jesus Christ and the crosses of these two malefactors. The Law of Moses condemned these malefactors to death by crucifixion whereas God the Father gave His only begotten Son for condemnation to death by crucifixion. It is not Pilate or the Sanhedrin that condemned Christ to death. Of course, they were ordained of God the Father to accomplish His salvation plan for us or to fulfill the Scriptures.
We cannot find fault with the perpetrators of the crucifixion of Christ. Nor do we find fault with the perpetrators of the crucifixion of the condemned malefactors because the Law of Moses had to be fulfilled.
It was the sin of this world that justified the crucifixion of Christ Jesus whereas it was the personal sins of the malefactors who broke the Law of Moses that justified their crucifixion. The malefactors represent the sin of this world whereas Christ represents the righteousness of God the Father. God placed His Son on the same pedestal with the sinners at Golgotha. If the malefactors were not there, then the sin of this world would not have been exposed. Ultimately one of the malefactors accepted Christ and the other malefactor rejected Him. Both of them had the vision of the Crucified Christ. But one of them was saved and the other was condemned to hell. Today we find many Christians who have the great privilege of seeing the Crucified Christ through the Bible but they miss the goal because they do not repent like the malefactor who repented. They sing songs and worship Him but are not saved because they have not repented. They are nearer the Christ of the gospel but are not saved.
It is the sin that we commit today, that we had committed yesterday or before, and that we will commit in future that justified the death of Christ on the Cross 2000 years ago. “They crucified Him” is the prophetic word. Who crucified Him? Today if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us (I John 1:8-10). Let us rush to the Calvary daily and confess our sins to Him so that we may not crucify the Son of God afresh. All unrighteousness is sin. If we cease to pray for others, it is also a sin. Sin is not only an act of commission but also an act of omission.
“They parted My garments among them”. Jesus did not own anything in His life while doing His ministry. He had no place to lay His hands when the foxes had holes to live in. His only asset was His garments. He did not wear costly garments because He was the son of a carpenter. His garments might have been soiled because He was going from village to village along with His disciples, taking rest under the trees. At Golgotha, He lost finally His garments to the soldiers who had tortured and mocked Him.
Christ had claimed only His garments as His. “They parted My garments”. He had not claimed anything as “Mine”. Today we own anything in this world in His Name. I was told that are some evangelists in USA who own jets for preaching the gospel in many nations. I thank and praise God for their ministries.
In India, there are many poor saints in our mission fields proclaiming the gospel in places which are not yet reached by the gospel. Most of them do not own any property except their precious children or their old parents. They just lead a life of hand to mouth existence, serving God in places which are not even connected by roads with the rest of the nation, not to talk of traveling in cars in these places. They go on their bicycles from village to village, in the midst of severe persecution, and reach the tribes who have not heard the gospel even once in their entire life time.
These poor saints need the minimum comforts of life which their evangelical organizations are not able to meet. Jesus had His garments on his body. The garments of Jesus are for His Church, the mystical body of Christ.
In Rishikesh, the place of pilgrimage, a saint of God lived there as a witness of Christ in the midst of Hindu priests. His name is Sadhu Kandiah Anand. He was not popular in the Christian world because he lived in an obscure corner of India where there were no evangelists, pastors, churches but only the multitudes of the Hinduism who visited such holy places of pilgrimage seeking divine peace and salvation. He lived as a Sadhu (a hermit of the priestly order of the Hinduism). Sadhus use to live in places of Hindu pilgrimages). He was called the "Christian Sadhu" like the Sadhu Sundar Singh of India. Sadhu is a person who renounces life and everything that goes with it (religion, caste, family, etc.) and essentially becomes a wandering hermit seeking salvation.
He would have been popular if he had worked amongst the people who had already heard the gospel. He would have been popular if he had sought the pulpits of churches. He would have been popular if he had published a book or a magazine. He would have been popular if he had associated himself with a popular evangelist or a pastor who had a big congregation. His love for Christ and His Body, the Church was so burning in his heart that he yearned after fellowship with those evangelists who were used of God mightily in the towns and cities. Once he knocked at the door of a very popular evangelist in Chennai just to meet him. But he was turned away by them who guarded the bungalow of this evangelist, apparently, because he wore the soiled dress of a Sadhu. The establishment of this dear evangelist did not allow an apostle of Christ who was of the same Body of Christ to meet the former. This servant of God had possessed only His garments in his entire life. But when he turned up to meet this beloved evangelist, he was not allowed to meet the latter because His garments were soiled and were typical of a Sadhu.
The soldiers parted the garments of Jesus which exclusively belonged to Him. The poor saints in His body need “My garments”. The garments of Jesus, prophetically meaning, are not clothes stitched by tailors. They are the minimum comforts for His body, the Church. If we deny them “My garments”, this is tantamount to our parting of “My garments” amongst ourselves. “My garments” which belong to the poor saints in His body should not be parted amongst ourselves. God has blessed many of us with more than what we need. Do we share our blessings with the poor saints who are engaged in His vineyard?
- Job Anbalagan