Without Seam
Let me share with you an insight that I had many years ago that has really stuck with me. I was reading in John 19:23 about the crucifixion of Christ. I came across the sentence "now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout." Sometimes when I'm really studying, I like to focus on the individual words and what they mean, then mash all of those meanings together to gain greater insight. So I started pondering on the word 'coat.'
The thing about clothing in the scriptures is that when we talk about them, we're so seldom talking about the actual, literal, physical article of clothing. For example, in Ephesians 6:13 we're admonished to put on the "whole armor of God." Paul goes on to expound on what, exactly, the armor of God is: the breast plate of righteousness (:14), the shield of faith (:15), etc. Isaiah (you knew I'd go there) even talks about being clothed with the "garments of salvation" and "the robe of righteousness (61:10)".
So, if clothes aren't just things to keep us covered, but are types of greater things, what, possibly, could John have really been talking about in chapter 19? Certainly Christ's literal coat, but what more? Let's look at the attributes of his coat first: it was 'without seam, woven from the top throughout'. For a cloak to be without seam, means it had to have been woven as a single piece (i.e. "from the top throughout"). Something the size of a cloak that was woven as a single piece would have been very expensive, which is part of the reason the Roman soldiers were casting lots for it—think if you and three friends found a priceless item that you were allowed to keep, you'd all want it. The soldiers were no dummies, they knew the value when they saw it. We read in John 19:24: "They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose is shall be." Interestingly, John add his commentary right after he finishes quoting the soldiers, "that the scriptures might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture thy did cast lots." (See Psalms 22:18).
Ok, so, valuable, perhaps even priceless, something that people are all trying to get... what if the coat is actually a type for the Gospel of Christ. It's perfect, with out seam, there are no portions that are sewn on to make up the greater whole. You can't divide it and maintain it's value—notice the soldiers never contemplated cutting it and dividing it up among themselves. It's an all or nothing deal. With that in mind, let's flip over to Luke 23:34. Here we're still with the soldiers and they're divvying up the spoils, as it were. Verse 34 reads "Father, forgive them: for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots." We know that Christ is talking about the people who are crucifying him, "forgive them, for they know not that they slay the Son of God." What if he's also talking about the soldiers who are dividing up His raiment (all of his clothes, not just the cloak, and this is made evident back in John)—or the churches or people that divide up His gospel.
Now, wait... what if we are talking about the gospel? What if, the cloak represents the Gospel of Christ? Dividing it (the literal coat) diminishes the value—too much dividing and it's worthless. The same holds true with the Gospel. Let's flip over to 4 Nephi 1:27, Nephi teaches, "yea, there were many churches which professed to know Christ, and yet they did deny the more parts of his gospel." They had only a portion of the cloak, and, in desperation (or, perhaps sincere belief) they denied that the fragments of the cloak of the gospel that others held were actually parts of the whole.
Here's the thing, and this is where this really applies to you and me: we, ourselves, are sometimes guilty of dividing up the gospel, of picking and choosing the aspects which appeal to us more, and setting the rest aside. But, really, it's an all or nothing deal. You can't have a fragment of the cloak and say "Here, this is all there is, this piece is priceless, and it will be sufficient to cover me and keep me warm." No, you need the whole thing. The whole cloak. Elder Wirthlin in February of 1998, had this to say about picking and choosing elements of the gospel and clinging to them as if they were all that mattered, "You cannot approach the gospel as you would a buffet or smörgåsbord, choosing here a little and there a little. You must sit down to the whole feast and live the Lord’s loving commandments in their fullness.
You have been taught the commandments. You know what to do: pray, study the scriptures, fast, pay your tithes and offerings, attend your meetings, partake of the sacrament, magnify your callings and serve others, sustain your Church leaders, make and keep sacred covenants, share the gospel, be honest, true, chaste, benevolent, and virtuous (Wirthlin, It's Your Choice, New Era February 1998)."
Let me repeat the first part of that, "You cannot approach the gospel as you would a buffet." The gospel is an all or nothing deal. If you believe the Book of Mormon to be true, if you have a testimony of the truthfulness of it, you have to believe that Joseph was a prophet, that God the Father, and Jesus Christ revealed themselves to him in that sacred grove and brought about the Restoration of the Gospel. If you believe that Christ suffered for the sins of all mankind in that sacred garden in Gethsemane, then you have to believe that He suffered for you, that His atonement extends to everyone, including yourself. If you find that you struggle with an aspect of the Gospel, that's ok. There will frequently be something that gives you pause. It's in those moments, and those more than anything else, when you need to turn to our loving Father and plead with him, as the man we know only as 'the father of the child' in Mark did, "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief (Mark 9:24)." Or, Lord, I believe all of this, help me, please in my faith on this other part. Now, is the time. Now more than ever. Not when you've beaten your favorite sin and it's no longer a problem for you, not when you've finished reading the whole New Testament. Now. Now, now, now. Now is when you need to fall to your knees and plead to know what is true. Because, the gospel is not a buffet. It's a feast, and you've got to partake of the whole thing to truly experience it. And, really, why would you put that off just because you're not perfect. We're not supposed to be perfect, we're suppose to strive for it.
The thing about clothing in the scriptures is that when we talk about them, we're so seldom talking about the actual, literal, physical article of clothing. For example, in Ephesians 6:13 we're admonished to put on the "whole armor of God." Paul goes on to expound on what, exactly, the armor of God is: the breast plate of righteousness (:14), the shield of faith (:15), etc. Isaiah (you knew I'd go there) even talks about being clothed with the "garments of salvation" and "the robe of righteousness (61:10)".
So, if clothes aren't just things to keep us covered, but are types of greater things, what, possibly, could John have really been talking about in chapter 19? Certainly Christ's literal coat, but what more? Let's look at the attributes of his coat first: it was 'without seam, woven from the top throughout'. For a cloak to be without seam, means it had to have been woven as a single piece (i.e. "from the top throughout"). Something the size of a cloak that was woven as a single piece would have been very expensive, which is part of the reason the Roman soldiers were casting lots for it—think if you and three friends found a priceless item that you were allowed to keep, you'd all want it. The soldiers were no dummies, they knew the value when they saw it. We read in John 19:24: "They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose is shall be." Interestingly, John add his commentary right after he finishes quoting the soldiers, "that the scriptures might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture thy did cast lots." (See Psalms 22:18).
Ok, so, valuable, perhaps even priceless, something that people are all trying to get... what if the coat is actually a type for the Gospel of Christ. It's perfect, with out seam, there are no portions that are sewn on to make up the greater whole. You can't divide it and maintain it's value—notice the soldiers never contemplated cutting it and dividing it up among themselves. It's an all or nothing deal. With that in mind, let's flip over to Luke 23:34. Here we're still with the soldiers and they're divvying up the spoils, as it were. Verse 34 reads "Father, forgive them: for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots." We know that Christ is talking about the people who are crucifying him, "forgive them, for they know not that they slay the Son of God." What if he's also talking about the soldiers who are dividing up His raiment (all of his clothes, not just the cloak, and this is made evident back in John)—or the churches or people that divide up His gospel.
Now, wait... what if we are talking about the gospel? What if, the cloak represents the Gospel of Christ? Dividing it (the literal coat) diminishes the value—too much dividing and it's worthless. The same holds true with the Gospel. Let's flip over to 4 Nephi 1:27, Nephi teaches, "yea, there were many churches which professed to know Christ, and yet they did deny the more parts of his gospel." They had only a portion of the cloak, and, in desperation (or, perhaps sincere belief) they denied that the fragments of the cloak of the gospel that others held were actually parts of the whole.
Here's the thing, and this is where this really applies to you and me: we, ourselves, are sometimes guilty of dividing up the gospel, of picking and choosing the aspects which appeal to us more, and setting the rest aside. But, really, it's an all or nothing deal. You can't have a fragment of the cloak and say "Here, this is all there is, this piece is priceless, and it will be sufficient to cover me and keep me warm." No, you need the whole thing. The whole cloak. Elder Wirthlin in February of 1998, had this to say about picking and choosing elements of the gospel and clinging to them as if they were all that mattered, "You cannot approach the gospel as you would a buffet or smörgåsbord, choosing here a little and there a little. You must sit down to the whole feast and live the Lord’s loving commandments in their fullness.
You have been taught the commandments. You know what to do: pray, study the scriptures, fast, pay your tithes and offerings, attend your meetings, partake of the sacrament, magnify your callings and serve others, sustain your Church leaders, make and keep sacred covenants, share the gospel, be honest, true, chaste, benevolent, and virtuous (Wirthlin, It's Your Choice, New Era February 1998)."
Let me repeat the first part of that, "You cannot approach the gospel as you would a buffet." The gospel is an all or nothing deal. If you believe the Book of Mormon to be true, if you have a testimony of the truthfulness of it, you have to believe that Joseph was a prophet, that God the Father, and Jesus Christ revealed themselves to him in that sacred grove and brought about the Restoration of the Gospel. If you believe that Christ suffered for the sins of all mankind in that sacred garden in Gethsemane, then you have to believe that He suffered for you, that His atonement extends to everyone, including yourself. If you find that you struggle with an aspect of the Gospel, that's ok. There will frequently be something that gives you pause. It's in those moments, and those more than anything else, when you need to turn to our loving Father and plead with him, as the man we know only as 'the father of the child' in Mark did, "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief (Mark 9:24)." Or, Lord, I believe all of this, help me, please in my faith on this other part. Now, is the time. Now more than ever. Not when you've beaten your favorite sin and it's no longer a problem for you, not when you've finished reading the whole New Testament. Now. Now, now, now. Now is when you need to fall to your knees and plead to know what is true. Because, the gospel is not a buffet. It's a feast, and you've got to partake of the whole thing to truly experience it. And, really, why would you put that off just because you're not perfect. We're not supposed to be perfect, we're suppose to strive for it.
posted by granola girl at 12:21 am
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