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“And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?…But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:28-30, 33

For many years, I would read this passage and find comfort in knowing that I could trust God to be the source of provision in my life. This passage in the book of Matthew seemed so straight forward: Jesus says that if we concern ourselves with righteousness and the pursuit of God’s kingdom, then we can trust that God will take care of the physical needs of our life. But is that all there is to this passage? Is it simply a part of a greater spiritual theme woven through scripture from Genesis to Revelation?

In Genesis 2-3, God creates man and woman in His image. Not only do they have a paradise in which to live, but they walk in perfect righteousness in the very presence of God. However, God gives them a choice: He’s given them everything they need to thrive in life, but one tree in their paradise—the tree of the knowledge of good and evil—is off limits for them to eat. 

Growing up, I always thought it was the eating of the fruit that opened their eyes and gave them the knowledge of good and evil, as though there were something genetic in the fruit that supernaturally changed them. But, I’m not so sure there was anything intrinsically special about the tree, or its fruit, at all. You see, in God’s economy of righteousness, there is good, what God has declared to be so, and there is evil, those things that run counter to what God has declared good. Adam and Eve had never known evil because they had lived according to what the Lord had declared as good. There was no sin, or missing of God’s standard, in their lives.

It’s important to understand that God wanted genuine relationship with His creation, and in order to have that, there must be free will. God created an opportunity for man to choose what their relationship with God would look like. He even told them what the consequences would be ahead of time to try and deter them choosing a path that lead to death. But they ate of the tree anyway, and in so doing discovered the knowledge of evil, which is to disobey God. This act of disobedience opened their eyes to what it would be to no longer walk in the perfect presence of their Creator. And thus they saw their nakedness—a nakedness not just of their bodies, but also their souls.

And how did God respond to their nakedness? He clothed them.

“And the LORD God made for Adam and his wife garments of skins and clothed them.” – Genesis 3:21

Even at the beginning of humanity, God knew that the price of sin was the cost of life. And so to cover the nakedness of man’s disobedience, blood must be shed to provide a garment for us to be able to walk unashamed. This same scenario would play out in Exodus as Moses continually cried out as God’s messenger to the Pharaoh of Egypt to release the Israelites from slavery. Pharaoh, however, would sin by disobeying the commands of God. The Egyptians would continue to subject and oppress the people of Israel against God’s will and so God gave them warning of the consequences of their disobedience: death. 

But God didn’t just dole out swift judgement; He gave the entire nation of Egypt a way to avoid the penalty of their sin. And just as blood would be shed to cover the physical and spiritual sin of Adam and Eve, so too would blood need to be shed again to cover the physical and spiritual sin of Pharaoh, the nation of Egypt and even the people of Israel. Each household in the land would shed the blood of a spotless lamb and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel, the beam above the door that sits on the doorpost. As the Spirit of the Lord would pass over the land, the households that did not clothe their homes with the blood of a lamb would experience the loss of their firstborn son.

This brings us forward to the life of Jesus Christ. In our sin and disobedience there will always be the penalty of death. Blood must be shed. To cover our spiritual nakedness of sin a sacrifice must be made, either by our own death or by the death of another. So God, desiring to establish a right relationship with man, has chosen to drape the garments of punishment of our evil on the shoulders of His Son, Jesus Christ, the perfect and spotless Lamb of God.

The cross became the doorposts of our lives where the blood of the Lamb was applied. The spiritual transfer of Jesus’ perfect garment of righteousness was removed from Hhis shoulders and cloaked over our own so that we might no longer stand “naked” before a holy God.

Although many portraits and portrayals of the crucifixion show Jesus wearing some form of cloth to cover Him, this was not typically the practice of crucifixion by the Romans. Most likely, Jesus was stripped completely of all clothing and nailed to the cross fully naked as an act of both punishment and humiliation.

However, Jesus wasn’t just physically naked on the cross, an allusion to Adam’s nakedness in the garden of Eden; He became spiritually naked by taking off the clothing of our sin and unrighteousness. We see this in His words cried out on the cross:

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” That is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” – Matthew 27:46

And just as Adam and Eve stood both physically and spiritually naked before God, so too was Jesus stripped of his physical and spiritual clothing. He clothed us in splendor and a crown of righteousness while we clothed him in sin and a crown of thorns.

So, what does this all have to do with the lilies of the field in our opening passage? While most of the time we find ourselves concerned about our physical clothing, God is concerned most with our spiritual clothing. Our bodies and its needs, like the grass of the field, “which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven” (will decay and die), should not be the source of our anxiety and stress. God knows those needs and can take care of those needs. But the spiritual decision to walk in righteous obedience to God—the same decision set before Adam and Eve and Pharaoh—is yours to make.

God calls us to be first concerned about our spiritual nakedness and those things that sever our relationship with Him. God loves you and desires relationship with you. And this is only done when there has been a spiritual covering placed upon your life.

Are you anxious about your spiritual clothing? Do you feel yourself naked before God? Jesus gave the answer to this problem: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). And when you seek the Lord, proclaiming Jesus’ sacrifice to be the ultimate sacrifice that is completely sufficient to cover your sins, you will no longer stand naked before God.

He has clothed you. Soli Deo Gloria!

LYRICS

Verse 1:

I was in the garden and I walked with You

In Your loving presence, no shame I knew

Holy communion, perfect and true

Verse 2:

My heart’s desire turned away from You

I fell from glory and I hid from You

You sought me out and what did You do?

You clothed me, You clothed me

Chorus:

You offered the first sacrifice

You paid the price for my life

You would do it again every time

‘Cause Your love is gracious and kind

Verse 3:

I began to doubt in Your plan for me

But Jehovah-Jireh, You will always be

So I’ll consider Your lilies

You clothed me, You clothed me

Bridge:

We clothed You in purple and crowned You with thorns

And You were beaten, mocked and scorned

The Father turned from You, for our shame You bore

Just so that we wouldn’t fear anymore

Chorus 2:

You offered the last sacrifice

You paid the price for my life

Now I live because You’re alive

Your love is gracious and kind

Verse 4:

Unchanging love, how can it be

That the blood of Christ would cover me

Dressed in righteousness and glory

You clothed me, You clothed me