Midweek Advent Worship - Clothing of the King

Join us as we prepare our hearts and souls for Christmas

Every morning, the sun rises, alarm clocks sound, foggy eyes open, and then, at some point, we get dressed. Socks, underwear, pants, shirts, and shoes: we don clothing that rightly corresponds to our vocations, our culture, and even the weather outside. Our clothing serves as the marker that sets us apart as a species and as an indicator of societal and individual values and traits. As Mark Twain once said, “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.” Twain may have been right on that first part, but his statement excludes the first naked people in history, Adam and Eve. And we would argue these two have had quite the influence on who we are and where we are going due to both their lack of clothes as well as their eventual attire. And so it follows that clothing in the Bible is more than a tangential detail. In fact, clothing often has significant implications for revealing God’s plan of redemption, for our Creator is also the first tailor, seamstress, and cobbler. Despite their rebellion, he covered Adam and Eve’s shame and nakedness. Later, he designed and instructed the Israelites on the priestly garments of the Tabernacle, which all have an intricately thought-out purpose and intent for the people to fellowship with their God. The biblical authors use both metaphorical and actual descriptions of priestly and royal garments to point us to the one true Priest and King, Jesus. And it’s this King, first wrapped in the rags of a swaddle, who then hangs naked on the cross in order to clothe us in the riches of his righteousness.