John 19 "Divided"

John 19 – Brandon Hatmaker “Divided”
Tuesday, April 8, 2008

“When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. ‘Let’s not tear it,’ they said to one another. ‘Let’s decide by lot who will get it.’ This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, ‘They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.’ So this is what the soldiers did.” – John 19:23-24

They divided his garments. I don’t know what they gained from it. Maybe they brought a great price. They certainly came with one.

Today, we divide His garments as well. We take the things we love about Jesus and live them. We take the things that are tough to swallow and ignore them. We take the truths that are simple and make them difficult and the things that are supposed to be difficult, we sometimes oversimplify. We take mega-themes of church and make them minor and we take minor themes and make them major. We think mission exists for the bride (church) instead of the bride for the mission. We overanalyze, oversimplify, and bend truths to fit our agendas. I’ve fallen guilty of this so many times.

I’m sorry Jesus. Give me the courage and strength to take your whole life message, the full revelation of God, the good news for all people, and live it.