“I was naked and you clothed me…”

It was wrap-up time.  The curtain was coming down, so low that now you could almost touch it.  That’s what Jesus must have felt.  3 days before his last Passover meal with his disciples, he wanted them to be as prepared as possible for the coming weekend’s events, shocking as they would be to them.  First the dinner, then the time of prayer in the garden, the betrayal, the arrest and trial, the whipping (which by itself could kill a man), then the crucifixion, death and … what he was really waiting for, the resurrection.  He couldn’t wait to see their faces for that.  He told them several times, but it blew right by them, went right over their heads.  Every time they didn’t get it.  But they would…in time.  Not long now.

So Jesus spent considerable time with his disciples instructing, challenging and warning his men, though so often they seemed like children.  One topic he covered was the end of time: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory…all of the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25:31-32).  He described sheep as those who helped him when he was “hungry…thirsty…a stranger…naked…sick…[and] in prison” (vs. 35-36).  When were these descriptions true of Jesus?  He clarifies it this way: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me” (v. 40).  Among all the nations are those that help God’s people (sheep) and those that don’t (goats).  His point is that at the end of time, goats that ignored believers in plight “will go away to eternal punishment” (v. 46), indicating their lack of faith in Christ as evidenced by their callousness.  Sheep that treated believers with care and compassion will go away “to eternal life”.

For today, let’s consider the situation of nakedness.  The first mention of this condition closes Genesis chapter two: “The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame”, indeed a surprising comment for fallen readers fully clothed.  Right off the bat Scripture connects being naked as at least one, if not the highest, indicator of being shamed or shameful.  What does that suggest about those running around in nudist colonies?  You don’t have to come from or live in a culture where honor and shame are prized to understand this.  It is a given among all humanity.  Repeatedly in the Old Testament we read that one of the consequences of going into captivity is nakedness, being stripped of one’s clothes.

This last description means more than just being literally naked.  After Satan’s first assault on Job, the blameless man from Uz made a famous statement: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart.”  True, everyone is born literally naked.  Every doctor, midwife and nurse will attest to the first part.  But not everyone dies naked.  Very few, in fact.  So what does Job mean?  Solomon clarifies it for us: “Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he comes, so he departs.  He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand…since he toils for the wind” (Eccl. 5:15, 16).  In other words, naked means you take absolutely nothing, not even the clothes on your back, with you.  Job concurs: “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away” (1:21).  I wouldn’t be surprised if Job, sitting in the ashes, ditched his clothes to “scrape himself” of “painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head” (2:7-8) after Satan’s second volley.  It was naked as naked can be.

Mark 15:24 has only 4 words in it: “And they crucified him”.  This verse is, as they say, very pregnant with meaning.  The first thing soldiers did to the condemned, once they arrived at the execution site, was strip off all his clothes.  Right then and there, the most extreme form of shame began.  Next was the excruciating pain of being nailed to a cross.  Then lifted up high for all to see from even far away.  Very much like being born: painful, bloody, naked.  Jesus had to experience all those things — and many more not discussed here — for all those carrying their effects of a fallen and rebellious world in their souls.

In all my years of looking at paintings and images and movies of the crucifixion, I have seen only one portrait of a naked Jesus on the cross.  A black and white piece tastefully using creative shadowing, it was still shocking.  I sensed in that moment only the tiniest fraction of the accumulated shame our Savior felt that day.  And it was mine, yours and the world’s.  His nakedness was necessary to deliver us from those bonds.  And indeed, he did deliver us!  If shame still haunts you, it really is paid for.  He has clothed us with his righteousness.  No designer outfit can top it.  Are you wearing this Designer’s clothes today?