John 19:24 Commentary and Bible Study

And amidst shouts and jibes, terrible insults and scorn, here are these four casting lots with some sort of dice possibly, according to the pagan gambling at the time. What human depravity is depicted here! Why is it specifically recorded? Well, because it is a fulfilment of prophecy a thousand years before in Psalm 22, and also to draw attention to human depravity. There, in the very presence of Christ the eternal Son of God, atoning for human sin on Calvary’s cross, at that time human depravity and callousness and disinterest is indicated and shown.Well, this was all predicted and prophesied. In fact it is estimated – but this is difficult to precisely calculate – that there are over 300 Old Testament prophecies fulfilled in the life of Christ by his work, by his actions, and of course many in connection with Calvary and exactly what took place. And some of them so precise and so unforeseeable and here just a number of them are brought out by John. The Lord’s nakedness, stripped and nailed to Calvary’s cross so that his susceptibility to judgement was seen. Our judgement, our nakedness as we are due to stand before God on the day of judgement – without any righteousness with which to please him – and he bore that state and condition that belonged to us, if we trust in him and belong to him. He was stripped of all worth in appearance for us, symbolising that he was standing in our place entirely.