Friday February 11, 2022

A purple garment

The soldiers braided a crown of thorns which they put on his head and put a purple coat on him. John 19:2

Purple dyeing has been known on the shores of the Mediterranean since ancient times. God prescribes to the Hebrews that this sumptuous color adorns the textile part of his tabernacle : curtains and veil, clothing of the priests.

The secret of making purple made the fortunes of the cities of Tire and Sidon and many other cities until Roman times (Lydia, of Thyatira, was a merchant of purple, Acts 16:14). A liquid located in a gland in the wall of the respiratory canal of certain small shellfish, very common in the Mediterranean, serves as the basis for its manufacture. When the liquid is extracted, it is yellow. It turns red when exposed to sunlight. Depending on the exposure time, a varied range of reds is obtained. As this substance could not be stored for very long, the dyes had to be made on site. Suddenly, the clothes of wool, then of silk, dyed in the purple were very expensive. They were therefore reserved for sovereigns. Darius, king of Persia, as well as Alexander of Macedonia, wore a purple cloak. Among the Romans, kings, magistrates and especially emperors reserved the use of purple garments by official decree. It was the supreme distinction.

We perhaps understand a little better the reproach our Lord had to bear in the painful hour of his condemnation, when the soldiers take thorns, symbol of the curse of the ground pronounced by God, weave a crown they place on his head, and clothe him with purple, the royal color. The Lord remained silent before this mockery, but the psalmists and Jeremiah, by the prophetic Spirit, had expressed in advance the feelings of the suffering Messiah (Psalm 22:6-8 ; 69:19,20 ; Lamentation 3:14 ).

Let us adore him who, to save us, accepted this shame, this humiliation and wait, by faith, for the glorious day when he will appear as supreme leader, King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16). King over his people Israel, he will be Lord of the nations. All must submit to his authority.

Source (Pleasing the Lord)