Striped

This Sabbath comes just before the Feast of Dedication, also known as the Festival of Lights or Hanukkah, and just after we have celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday. Jesus celebrated this feast in John 10:22-23. It was at this feast that Jesus was challenged to declare Himself to be the Christ if He was so. Jesus told them that His works revealed who He was. Those people didn't ask this of Him because they wanted to know in order to come to the truth. They asked only to give themselves a reason to accuse Him falsely of a crime. He told them that they were not of His sheep. One of the scripture readings of this Sabbath gives us the account of Jacob presenting a gift to his favorite son, Joseph, in Genesis 37. In verse 2 it is written: "This is the history/generations of Jacob." That word that is translated as "history/generations" is the Hebrew word toledot. We learned previously that toledot has a meaning that goes beyond describing generation(s). It includes the concept of establishing a spiritual precedent or pattern that is being set for descendants. Jacob gave a special tunic or robe to his son, Joseph (v. 3). In English the tunic is described as "a coat of many colors". However, the Hebrew words used do not include colors of any kind. The Hebrew that describes Joseph's coat or tunic is kutonet pas pas (or passim). Kutonet means a robe or tunic worn next to the skin, usually of linen or cotton, with long sleeves to the palms of the hands, and of long length to the knees or to the ankles. It also means "to cover, to clothe", and its root meaning is "the shoulder, the shoulder-blade, and a lateral projection or extension from the shoulders". Passim means "the flat of the hand (palm), the wrists, the soles of the feet, the ankles". The root meaning of passim is "do away, blot out, cease, vanished". There is nothing here about color. To sum it up, the Hebrew means a long robe or tunic with long sleeves made from linen or cotton, being especially connected in meaning to include the shoulders and extension from the shoulders, but covering the whole body. It also comes from a meaning to do away with. or blot out something. The Jewish commentaries record that Joseph's tunic was probably not multi-colored, although it could be embroidered, but they believe that it was striped for reasons that we shall see. So while we may have lost the tradition of "colors" through this translation of the Hebrew, we have gained the greater significance of "stripes". The picture that this has created for me is the one of the passion of Christ, including the lateral extension from the shoulders, which would have been the cross. While the soldiers took Jesus' unusual robe from Him after they crucified Him, and gambled for it (Mt. 27:35-37, Ps. 22:18), Jesus still wore His spiritual striped robe, His kutonet passim, that covered Him from His shoulders to His wrists, all the way down to His ankles. The Shroud of Turin witnesses that the stripes of scourging on Jesus were not confined to His shoulders and back, as one might think, but extended all the way down and around His body, ending at the point where His wrists and ankles/feet were pierced, and where the length of His spiritual kutonet passim would have ended. This striped "robe" of Christ's body "covered" our sins, and "blotted out" our transgressions before God, as included in the root meaning of kutonet passim. The toledot of Jacob to be manifested in his later descendant included this robe given to his favorite son, Joseph. Jewish writers also note that in the other place in scripture where the kutonet passim Hebrew expression for robe is mentioned, deals with the robes of the later royal household of David (see 2 Sam. 13:18). They write in agreement that striped robes were historically associated with royalty. A many-colored robe is mentioned in Psalm 45:14, but it is a different Hebrew word, riqma, which means "embroidered". In Joseph's story, being hated and rejected by his brethren (see Jn. 1:10-11) as they plotted to get rid of Joseph by selling him into slavery, they took Joseph's robe and dipped it in blood to be a false witness to their father of Joseph's death by beasts (Gen. 37:31-34). Again we see the toledot of Jacob, and also Joseph, established in his future descendant. Of Jesus' return, it is written: "He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God...And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." (Rev. 19:13-16). We also see the prophetic promise of Christ who was to come in the Hebrew letters of Joseph's name: Yod, Vaw, Samekh, Pe. The pictographic meaning of these letters combined might be expressed: "The finished work of the hand and the nail, propped against a support, is the open mouth, or the entrance, the beginning." I think that in this season of thanksgiving, and the coming Feast of Dedication, the toledot story of Joseph, and the robe his father gave him, brings us a special look into the redeeming work of Jesus Christ. If you would like to know more about Jesus who wore this spiritual robe, you can pray as I pray: "Father, I give You my greatest thanks for the robe You gave Your Son to wear for my sake. Though Jesus was rejected by His brethren, and by those in governing power, He was still willing to put on this striped robe for me. I dedicate my living temple, my self, to receive Jesus, and His triumph over sin, death and darkness. Forgive me of my sins, and renew me in re-dedication. Fill me with Your Spirit so I can be a part of, and follow after, the Son of Righteousness. I ask this in the name of Jesus, AMEN."