Gambling over Jesus' Clothes

A couple of nights ago, I caught two of my students “shootin’ dice” in a corner away from everyone at Berean after our Bible study. Seems they had some unfinished business from playing basketball at Coit Park. On a side note, basketball at Coit Park in Grand Rapids resembles the movie, “White men can’t jump.” Often you have to put up money to play on the court, or you don’t get to play. Anyways, on the eve before Good Friday, they were so desensitized to the passion story of Christ, which J.T. alluded to in his Bible discussion, that they were able to shoot dice without any respect or regard to Christ and his work on the cross, our Thursday Night Hype program, and the church building in which we meet.

As I read the Easter story today, after Jesus was beaten, scourged, and finally nailed to the cross, I was reminded that roman soldiers gambled for his clothes. Like our students, they were callous and hardhearted to the execution of God-in-the-flesh, insensitive enough to cast lots over his garments. Here we have the God of the universe as a man experiencing excruciating torment, suffering physically through beatings from the palace guards, the horrific scourging that ripped apart the skin of his back, and the impact of weighted iron spikes driving into his wrists (which even pales to the untold suffering of having God the Father turn his back on him while deflecting the Father's wrath, taking on the penalty and guilt of our sin so that we could become the righteousness of God). Were the soldiers that anesthetized to death and violence that they would gamble over the clothes of Jesus?

Yet so many times, like my students I play the role of the roman soldier, desensitized to One who has purchased me with His blood. Do I find myself only reflecting on Christ’s death and resurrection during the Lord’s supper and Easter? Here is a song called “Clink of the Nails” from the Cross Movement that visually guides us in reflection of Christ’s atoning death on the cross.