THE GARMENT JESUS AND THE LIE

THE GARMENT  JESUS AND THE LIE

PART ONE

The Soldier, The Garment, and The War

They Came for War

The soldiers at Golgotha were not altar boys. They were not priests. They were not seekers of truth.

They were instruments of Rome, trained to kill, conditioned to conquer, hardened by occupation. Their hands had taken many garments from many dying men. This was the spoils of empire. This was the wage of war.

But on that Friday afternoon, they took more than linen.

They took the seamless tunic of the High Priest of Heaven, woven from the top, undivided, consecrated—and they did not know what they held.

The lot fell.

One soldier walked away with the garment of God wrapped in the indifference of a gambler's prize.

The War Did Not End at the Cross

That soldier returned to his garrison. Perhaps he wore the tunic. Perhaps he sold it. Perhaps it hung in a barracks or a tavern.

But the war—the war against the Truth—did not end when the centurion said, "Truly this man was the Son of God."

No.

That was only the beginning.

PART TWO

The First Lie: "His Disciples Stole Him"

The same soldiers who took His garments were given another assignment.

Matthew 28:11–15:

"While they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, and said, 'You are to say, "His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep." And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and keep you out of trouble.' So they took the money and did as they were instructed."

They took the money. They spread the lie.

The Garment Was Taken—Now the Truth Was Buried

Observe the pattern:

At the Cross At the Tomb

They took His garment They tried to take His resurrection

They divided His clothes They distributed a lie

They cast lots for the tunic They cast aside the truth

The soldier possessed the linen The soldiers were paid to suppress the Light

The same Rome that stripped Him now silenced the witnesses.

The same hands that held His tunic now held blood money to cover the empty tomb.

They took the garment. Then they took the truth.

PART THREE

The Garment Used for War

A soldier does not take spoils for display. He takes spoils for use.

What did Rome do with the garment it seized?

It wore it. And it went to war.

1. War Against the Resurrection

The first battle: Deny the empty tomb.

If the body was stolen, then He is not risen.

If He is not risen, your faith is futile (1 Corinthians 15:17).

Rome did not need to destroy the disciples. It only needed to discredit the testimony.

And for two thousand years, this lie has been repeated:

· Jewish leaders spread it in the first century.

· Pagans mocked it in the second.

· Skeptics repackaged it in the Enlightenment.

· Atheists recite it today.

The garment of the High Priest was taken. The resurrection of the Son was attacked.

2. War Against the Name

The second battle: Erase His identity.

The soldier took the tunic of the High Priest.

But Rome would later claim that the priesthood had passed to Caesar—and then to the Bishop of Caesar's city.

· Pagan Rome called Christians atheists and executed them.

· "Christian" Rome called itself the sole ark of salvation and excommunicated those who believed Scripture alone.

The garment was not returned. It was re-tailored.

3. War Against the Scriptures

The third battle: Suppress the Word.

If the garment is the authority of Christ, and Rome wears it, then Rome speaks for Christ.

If Rome speaks for Christ, then Scripture is not sufficient.

If Scripture is not sufficient, then the church must define truth—not the Spirit speaking through the Word.

This is not speculation. This is history.

· Bibles were chained.

· Translators were burned.

· The Gospel was locked in a language the people could not read.

The soldier took the tunic.

The institution took the text.

The war continued.

4. War Against the Body of Christ

The fourth battle: Kill those who wear the true garment.

Who are those who are clothed with Christ (Galatians 3:27)?

They are believers. Every one of them. Not by linen, but by faith.

Rome understood this.

If the tunic is authority, and only Rome possesses it, then those who claim to be clothed with Christ outside Rome are rebels.

And rebels must be crushed.

· The Albigensians were massacred.

· The Waldensians were hunted in the mountains.

· The Hussites were betrayed and burned.

· The Reformers were excommunicated and executed.

The soldier took the garment by lot. The institution took the sword by decree.

PART FOUR

The Irony: They Used the Garment to Fight the One Who Wore It

This is the deepest wound.

The seamless tunic belonged to Jesus.

The authority belonged to Jesus.

The priesthood belonged to Jesus.

The truth belonged to Jesus.

But Rome claimed these things for itself—and then used them to fight Him.

· It claimed to be His vicar, but acted as His rival.

· It claimed to hold His keys, but locked the door of knowledge.

· It claimed to guard His truth, but persecuted His saints.

The garment taken at the cross was now worn by those who continued to crucify Him afresh.

PART FIVE

The Same Pattern Continues

From then until now.

At the Cross In History Today

Soldiers took His tunic Rome claimed His authority Institutions claim His name but not His nature

Soldiers gambled for the cloth Popes wore the title Vicar of Christ Leaders wear Christian labels without Christian lives

Soldiers were paid to lie The resurrection was denied The Gospel is diluted, mocked, or marketed

Soldiers served Caesar The church married the state Power is preferred to purity

The garment is still being used for war.

PART SIX

But the Garment Is Not Yours

To every soldier who has taken what you did not receive:

To every institution that has clothed itself in authority not given from above:

To every empire, every pope, every pastor, every preacher, every teacher who wears the name of Christ but does not bow to Him as Lord:

The garment is not yours.

You may hold it.

You may wear it.

You may claim it.

You may fight in it.

But it was woven from the top—and only the Owner knows who truly wears it.

He gave it to no soldier.

He sold it to no institution.

He bequeathed it to no earthly heir.

He wears it still.

Revelation 19:13–16:

"He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God… And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS."

PART SEVEN

Who Then Wears the Garment?

Not those who took it.

Not those who claimed it.

Not those who fought in it.

Those who received it.

And how is it received?

By faith.

By baptism into His death and resurrection.

By putting on Christ Himself (Galatians 3:27).

"For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ."

The tunic is not linen.

The tunic is Christ.

You do not receive it by lot.

You do not seize it by decree.

You do not inherit it by office.

You are given it when you are given Him.

PART EIGHT

The War Ends When He Returns

The soldiers are still casting lots.

The institutions are still claiming the cloth.

The lies are still spreading.

The truth is still suppressed.

But the empty tomb remains.

He is risen.

He is seated.

He is returning.

And when He comes, every garment seized by force will fall.

Every authority claimed without covenant will crumble.

Every lie paid for with blood money will be silenced.

Then the true High Priest will stand.

And those who are clothed in Him—not in linen, not in titles, not in human decrees, but in His righteousness alone—will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

CONCLUSION

A Word to Those Who Still Fight

To those who still take the garment and use it for war:

Lay it down.

You cannot fight the Owner with His own clothing.

To those who still spread the lie that He did not rise:

Stop taking money to silence the truth.

The tomb is empty. The witnesses were not silent. The Gospel has not been chained.

And to those who have been wounded by soldiers wearing stolen garments:

Your High Priest is not in Rome. He is not in any cathedral. He is not in any palace.

He is at the right hand of the Father.

And He is coming back.

The garment is His.

The war is His.

The victory is His.

And He shares it with all who are clothed in Him.

✝️

Da Effiong Daniel

This publication is not written against flesh and blood. It is written against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

The sword is the Word of God. The belt is truth. The breastplate is righteousness.

And the garment?

It was never ours to take.

It was always His to give.