Jesus Was Stripped for You
April 19, 2019
Jesus was stripped for you.
In Catholic and Protestant churches across the world, people gathered on “Maundy Thursday”—the day before Good Friday—to remember that fact. At the end of the Maundy Thursday service, everything goes deathly silent. The church leaders come out wearing all black, and they begin to strip the altar, removing beautiful things in the church as a symbol of what happened to Christ. As they take away the golden candles, silver goblets, and vividly-colored cloths off the altar, we can remember all the ways Jesus was stripped and left bare for us.
He was stripped of His Heavenly home to come and be born as a baby and live on Earth with us. He “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” (Philippians 2:7)
He let His Heavenly beauty and majesty be stripped away: “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him…He was despised and rejected by mankind.” (Isaiah 53:2-3)
He was stripped of His exalted, kingly status, and instead, “He was despised, and we held Him in low esteem.” (Isaiah 53:3)
On the Thursday before His crucifixion, He stripped Himself of His robe, taking it off so He could kneel down and wash His disciples’ feet in love and service. (John 13)
After He was arrested, Jesus was stripped of His closest friends—they all deserted Him or denied Him. (Mark 14:50; Luke 22:54-62)
Leading up to His crucifixion, worship and praise was stripped away from Him, and instead He was mocked, hit, and spit on. The soldiers mockingly bowed to Jesus after putting a crown of thorns and a purple, kingly robe on Him. Then, they stripped Him of that robe and led Him away to the Place of the Skull to crucify Him. (Mark 15)
Before nailing Him to the cross, the soldiers likely stripped our Savior naked, and then gambled with each other to win His clothes. (Matthew 27:35)
After hanging in agony on the cross, Jesus cried out and gave up His spirit (Matthew 27:50). In the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus let His very life be stripped away.
And then…death and decay was stripped away from Jesus’ body, and He rose to life again!
Now, all our sins, punishment, and worries can be stripped away, and we can be clothed in His righteousness. One day, all death, disease, and tears will be stripped away from us when He comes again in glory, and we too can be raised to new life. (2 Corinthians 4:14)
In Service,
Colorado Citizens Coalition
Gary Gates started the non-profit Colorado Citizens Coalition because he has a passion for individual liberty and preserving the Constitution, and it’s a fight he’s engaged in with every facet of his life. He believes a coalition is needed because it takes all of us being actively involved to move our state and country forward. We as citizens must stay informed because We the People are in charge and must hold government accountable. Gary desires to provide Colorado citizens a free resource to get useful information about state government from a conservative perspective.