{"id":6051,"date":"2015-03-31T09:53:26","date_gmt":"2015-03-31T13:53:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/?p=6051"},"modified":"2020-04-10T20:49:17","modified_gmt":"2020-04-11T00:49:17","slug":"jesus-naked-and-not-ashamed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/jesus-naked-and-not-ashamed\/","title":{"rendered":"Jesus – Naked and Not Ashamed"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe soldiers\u2026took His outer garments\u2026and also the undergarment\u2026\u201d (John 19:23; Psalm 22:18). Jesus was naked on the cross. No passion play, movie, TV series, art picture, sculpture, poster, or any piece of jewelry ever portrays this biblical scene accurately. Why?<\/em><\/strong> It is too scandalous and not \u201cfit\u201d for public consumption. The stark facts of scripture have to be sanitized in some way. But for a moment let the weight of the scriptural account permeate the sanitized images we have in our heads about the cross. Jesus was totally exposed and naked for the public to see. Why?<\/p>\n

Exposure<\/h2>\n

A piece of advice that has been given to public speakers in the past to help calm nerves was to imagine their audience in their underwear. I believe the first time I heard this was on a Brady Bunch<\/a> episode when I was growing up. I suppose the philosophy behind this piece of advice is if you feel \u201cexposed,\u201d as public speakers might with every word being scrutinized, then simply imagine your audience \u201cexposed\u201d as well. If you feel vulnerable, imagine others in a vulnerable position. I don\u2019t use this advice myself nor do I teach this with the pastoral students training for public ministry. However, the advice portrays a real issue about the fear of \u201cexposure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nakedness of the Soul<\/h2>\n

Physical nakedness exposes our entire physical being to scrutiny. Naked people do not control what people see regarding their physical bodies. Nothing is covered. Everything is known. Likewise what if every thought, motive, fantasy, and personal secret was uncovered about you? I suppose we could call that \u201cnakedness of soul.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

If our soul was on full glorious naked display to the world how might we respond? If we were utterly known down to the core of our being, what visceral reaction would we have? We would probably recoil in fear, knowing that we might be rejected because of what is seen. At the core of our being, we know something is wrong with our souls. Evil resides in our soul. Hurtful thoughts take up residence there. Meditations of getting my way are rehearsed regularly there. Ugly self-absorption is there. Don\u2019t believe me? Get married. Have children. Commit yourself to the well-being of others and not yourself to see how difficult that really is. Something is wrong in our souls. In regard to this unease in our soul called \u201cguilt,” we all tend to carefully craft coverings for our souls. We craft our behavior, speech, activities, and social associations so that people see what image we want them to see about us, whether or not it is true.<\/p>\n

What if we could be utterly known down to the nakedness of our soul but still be utterly loved?<\/p>\n

Naked so that We Might be Clothed<\/h2>\n

Jesus Christ thought very little about the \u201cshame\u201d of His exposure on the cross (Heb 12:2). In fact, Jesus Christ embraced His exposure willingly without hesitation. Why? Jesus had nothing to hide. He had no personal guilt that needed covering. Even Pilate said, \u201cI find no guilt in Him\u201d (John 18:38). More than physical nakedness exposing His body, His soul was completely exposed throughout His ministry and an even higher resolution exposure was found on the cross. While Jesus was unclothed physically on the cross, He was clothed with the greatest clothing of all\u2014Love for humanity in bearing their guilt and shame.<\/p>\n