8. JESUS IS STRIPPED

Verses

“For if these things are done when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
— Luke 23:31 (NLT)

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”  And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.
— Luke 23:34 (NLT)

Questions

What’s your most embarrassing moment? Not the one you tell others. The one you hope no one finds out?
Who have you seen metaphorically “stripped” bare? What were their circumstances?

Meditation

Roman crucifixion was designed to shame both the victim and the community they came from.

In this station a cutting saw is placed beside a stripped limb — an image that reflects what it means to have everything taken away.

In life people often cover themselves with many forms of protection: reputation, possessions, achievements, or the stories they tell about themselves.

Yet suffering has a way of exposing what lies beneath.

Jesus partook in not being able to hide.

Literally. And representationally to all of us.

Because every human life will eventually be exposed to an undignified nakedness. Everyone eventually feels the shame of being stripped down to the bare self, without the coverings that once seemed to protect.

Before He was nailed to the cross, Jesus was stripped of His garments and exposed before the watching crowd. The humiliation was public. The shame was intentional.

And yet, remember, the writer of Hebrews says of Christ:

“Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame.”
— Hebrews 12:2 (NLT)

The shame was real, but it did not define Him. The humiliation was deep, but it did not overturn the love of God.

Everything in the dark eventually comes into the light.

Jesus Himself once said:

“For all that is secret will eventually be brought into the open, and everything that is concealed will be brought to light and made known to all.”
— Luke 8:17 (NLT)

The cross reveals that moment of exposure.

Yet the light that shines there is not the harsh light of condemnation. It is the light of mercy.

The Son of God endured humiliation so that humanity might be restored.

The shame that was meant to destroy Him became the very place where the love of God was revealed.

The Church remembers this love with these words:

“Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace.”
— Book of Common Prayer, p. 101