The world behind the page
Clothing in the First Century
Jesus tells his hearers that if a man sues for your coat, let him have your cloak as well. The saying, and the soldiers casting lots for his seamless robe, both turn on what people actually wore.
“And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.”Matthew 5:40
The reality
The reality. Ordinary dress in Jesus' world centered on two main garments. Next to the body was the tunic, an inner garment, and over it the cloak or mantle, a larger outer garment. The cloak mattered greatly to the poor, because it also served as a blanket to sleep in at night, and for this reason the Law of Moses protected it: if a man's cloak was taken in pledge, it had to be returned by sunset so he could sleep in it (Exodus 22:26 to 27). Clothing was made from wool or linen, spun and woven by hand, and a good garment represented real labor and value; ordinary people did not own large wardrobes. Some garments were woven in pieces and sewn together, while a garment woven in one piece without seam was more valuable and finely made. This is the point of the note in John 19:23, that Jesus' coat was "without seam, woven from the top throughout," which is why the soldiers who divided his clothes decided not to tear it but to cast lots for it. The everyday importance of these garments, especially the protective cloak, lies behind several of Jesus' teachings about generosity and non-retaliation.
Why it matters for reading the Bible
Why it matters for reading the Bible. In Matthew 5:40 Jesus says, "if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also." To grasp the force, remember that the cloak was the outer garment the Law itself protected as a poor man's covering, the thing he slept in. Jesus tells his followers to surrender even that, the very garment they were legally entitled to keep, rather than grasp for their rights, an extravagant call to open-handed love that goes far beyond fairness. The same clothing world illumines the crucifixion. In John 19:23 to 24 the soldiers part Jesus' garments among them but, finding the tunic seamless, cast lots for it rather than ruin it, fulfilling the words of Psalm 22:18, "They parted my garments among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots." A detail about how a garment was woven becomes a quiet witness that even at the cross, Scripture was being fulfilled.
How it helps you see Christ
How it helps you see Christ. Christ, who told his followers to give away even the cloak off their backs, was himself stripped of his garments at the cross, and soldiers gambled for the seamless robe woven in one piece. The One who taught radical generosity was left with nothing, his clothes divided among his executioners while Psalm 22 was fulfilled before their unseeing eyes. There is a quiet dignity in the seamless robe, a garment of value woven whole, laid on the man who gave everything away. In his poverty at Golgotha we see the meaning of his own hard words about the cloak: he did not merely teach open-handed surrender, he lived it to the end, keeping back nothing for himself, so that we might be clothed in a righteousness not our own.
Questions people ask
What were the coat and cloak?
The coat, or tunic, was the inner garment, and the cloak was the larger outer garment. The cloak also served the poor as a blanket, which the Law protected by requiring it be returned by sunset if taken in pledge.
Why is the seamless robe significant?
A garment woven in one piece without seam was more valuable and finely made. In John 19:23 to 24 the soldiers cast lots for Jesus' seamless coat rather than tear it, fulfilling Psalm 22:18.
What does "give your cloak also" mean?
In Matthew 5:40 Jesus tells his followers to surrender even the protective cloak the Law let them keep, rather than cling to their rights, a call to generosity that goes far beyond mere fairness.