Prologue
The 40 days of Lent from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday are counted by NOT including Sundays. While the Lenten days are days for spiritual, emotional, psychological and physical fasting, the Sundays are "the Lord’s Day†and a time of celebration. Accordingly, each Friday during the Lenten season, a different devotional will be posted here to help focus our mediation on the cross of Jesus. You may be using any number of devotional tools during Lent, but perhaps on each Sunday, we might come together as a faith community in spiritual oneness and meditate in unity. Each Sunday, we will consider a different one of the components of the cross of Jesus which led to His death for our sins. May the Lord Jesus be near to us as we pilgrimage together during the Lenten season. And may we arrive at Resurrection Sunday on 12 April with hearts that explode with new understanding of the precious Treasure that is Jesus.
The 40 days of Lent from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday are counted by NOT including Sundays. While the Lenten days are days for spiritual, emotional, psychological and physical fasting, the Sundays are "the Lord’s Day†and a time of celebration. Accordingly, each Friday during the Lenten season, a different devotional will be posted here to help focus our mediation on the cross of Jesus. You may be using any number of devotional tools during Lent, but perhaps on each Sunday, we might come together as a faith community in spiritual oneness and meditate in unity. Each Sunday, we will consider a different one of the components of the cross of Jesus which led to His death for our sins. May the Lord Jesus be near to us as we pilgrimage together during the Lenten season. And may we arrive at Resurrection Sunday on 12 April with hearts that explode with new understanding of the precious Treasure that is Jesus.
7. WHITE ROBE
After the resurrection, John 20:5-7 records,
[John] bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.
And Revelation 1:13-14 gives us advance notice,
“…and among the lampstands was someone ‘like a son of man,’ dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.â€
In Revelation 7:9-10 John sees people in heaven and writes,
“After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’â€
And 2 Corinthians 5:21 confirms that,
“God made [Jesus] who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.â€
The white robe signifies what Jesus left behind in a vacated tomb, and what Jesus was dressed in after He rose again. But this robe also points to two other things: 1) the way Jesus will be dressed when we see Him again and 2) the apparel of all who come to faith in Christ.
The Bible is clear about the physical return of Christ to the earth. We do not know a lot of details; but we know that He will come to the earth; He will ride a white horse and be dressed in a white robe. We have a choice about whether or not to receive the first coming of Jesus; but we have no option about receiving the second. Jesus will come, every eye will see Him as Conqueror, every knee will bow to Him as Master and every tongue will praise the white-robed King.
While we wait for Jesus’ second coming, the Bible tells us that all who receive Him now as Savior and Lord, are dressed by Him in the white robe of His own righteousness. This of course is not about a garment we can see; but about one that God always sees. The Gospel says that Jesus became sin—taking on Himself the load of all the sin, for all people, for all time. In this way, He was able to pay by being punished, for all the sin that He took on Himself—nailing it to the cross along with His body. When by His death and resurrection Jesus conquered sin and death, His white robe was an indication that sin no longer had any power. And now, Jesus offers to dress anyone in a white robe when they come to Him in faith, handing over the control of their lives. This white robe of righteousness, which Jesus wears and then gives to us, is an imitation of Jesus, meaning that until the time when Jesus comes to earth again, we are presented as perfect in the sight of God—just like Jesus. When we have the robe, we have Jesus’ perfect record as our own in place of our stained and tainted record. When God looks at His forgiven people, He sees only the white robe of Jesus righteousness that covers us. Because of the cross and the empty tomb, Jesus has become the King and we can become the righteousness of God—no more guilt, shame, accusation or condemnation. We are without fault, just like Jesus, if we accept the white robe that He offers.
The robe should remind us of a Return and a Righteousness. With the second we wait for the first.
After the resurrection, John 20:5-7 records,
[John] bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.
And Revelation 1:13-14 gives us advance notice,
“…and among the lampstands was someone ‘like a son of man,’ dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.â€
In Revelation 7:9-10 John sees people in heaven and writes,
“After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’â€
And 2 Corinthians 5:21 confirms that,
“God made [Jesus] who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.â€
The white robe signifies what Jesus left behind in a vacated tomb, and what Jesus was dressed in after He rose again. But this robe also points to two other things: 1) the way Jesus will be dressed when we see Him again and 2) the apparel of all who come to faith in Christ.
The Bible is clear about the physical return of Christ to the earth. We do not know a lot of details; but we know that He will come to the earth; He will ride a white horse and be dressed in a white robe. We have a choice about whether or not to receive the first coming of Jesus; but we have no option about receiving the second. Jesus will come, every eye will see Him as Conqueror, every knee will bow to Him as Master and every tongue will praise the white-robed King.
While we wait for Jesus’ second coming, the Bible tells us that all who receive Him now as Savior and Lord, are dressed by Him in the white robe of His own righteousness. This of course is not about a garment we can see; but about one that God always sees. The Gospel says that Jesus became sin—taking on Himself the load of all the sin, for all people, for all time. In this way, He was able to pay by being punished, for all the sin that He took on Himself—nailing it to the cross along with His body. When by His death and resurrection Jesus conquered sin and death, His white robe was an indication that sin no longer had any power. And now, Jesus offers to dress anyone in a white robe when they come to Him in faith, handing over the control of their lives. This white robe of righteousness, which Jesus wears and then gives to us, is an imitation of Jesus, meaning that until the time when Jesus comes to earth again, we are presented as perfect in the sight of God—just like Jesus. When we have the robe, we have Jesus’ perfect record as our own in place of our stained and tainted record. When God looks at His forgiven people, He sees only the white robe of Jesus righteousness that covers us. Because of the cross and the empty tomb, Jesus has become the King and we can become the righteousness of God—no more guilt, shame, accusation or condemnation. We are without fault, just like Jesus, if we accept the white robe that He offers.
The robe should remind us of a Return and a Righteousness. With the second we wait for the first.
Thoughts on Seeking God during the Lenten Season
What is Lent?
Lent is the 40-day period between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday (Sundays are not counted) that has been observed by much of the Church since the 2nd century A.D. These 40 days have been used in the Church in various ways, but all with the goal of focusing on Jesus. Corporately in some churches, Lent was set aside as a time of teaching and study to prepare Christians for participation in the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Additionally, individual Christians have used the Lenten season as a time for fasting, primarily from food, in imitation of Jesus’ 40-day fast in the desert. But there are other worshipful and edifying ways to utilize the season of Lent as well.
Commonly, Lent is associated with fasting (self-denial) – and often limited to fasting from food in particular. While food-fasting (foregoing designated mealtimes in favor of focused time with God) in its various implementations is the kind most often referred to in Scripture, it is certainly not the only fasting which can be practiced (Isaiah 58:6-9). So in addition to the historical spiritual disciplines below, consider those things in your life which may be inhibiting your relationship with God – not only sins, but also “good†things that receive more priority in your life than they should. How might you “fast†from these things? For example, in the digital age, surely there is a case for most of us to consider the place that mobile devices have in our daily lives and to lessen the space allowed for social media in order to make more “soul space†for God.
Spiritual Disciplines
Lent is a time to focus on spiritual disciplines – especially those which we might not regularly practice. Spiritual disciplines are devotional practices which point us to Jesus and assist us as disciples in the practical application of faith and developing Christlike patterns for living. It is important to keep in mind that the practice of spiritual disciplines is not to gain the approval of God, but rather to draw nearer to the Father Who already loves and approves of us (James 4:8; Jeremiah 31:3).
Historically, the list of (Lenten and all) spiritual disciplines is divided into disciplines of abstinence (things we remove from our lives) and disciplines of engagement (things we add to our lives).
Disciplines of Abstinence (self-denial) – Solitude, Silence, Fasting, Sabbath, Secrecy, Submission, Sacrifice, Slowing
Disciplines of Engagement – Word, Worship, Prayer, Soul Friendship, Meditation, Service, Tithing, Giving
For explanations of these disciplines and more information:
What is Lent?
Lent is the 40-day period between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday (Sundays are not counted) that has been observed by much of the Church since the 2nd century A.D. These 40 days have been used in the Church in various ways, but all with the goal of focusing on Jesus. Corporately in some churches, Lent was set aside as a time of teaching and study to prepare Christians for participation in the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Additionally, individual Christians have used the Lenten season as a time for fasting, primarily from food, in imitation of Jesus’ 40-day fast in the desert. But there are other worshipful and edifying ways to utilize the season of Lent as well.
Commonly, Lent is associated with fasting (self-denial) – and often limited to fasting from food in particular. While food-fasting (foregoing designated mealtimes in favor of focused time with God) in its various implementations is the kind most often referred to in Scripture, it is certainly not the only fasting which can be practiced (Isaiah 58:6-9). So in addition to the historical spiritual disciplines below, consider those things in your life which may be inhibiting your relationship with God – not only sins, but also “good†things that receive more priority in your life than they should. How might you “fast†from these things? For example, in the digital age, surely there is a case for most of us to consider the place that mobile devices have in our daily lives and to lessen the space allowed for social media in order to make more “soul space†for God.
Spiritual Disciplines
Lent is a time to focus on spiritual disciplines – especially those which we might not regularly practice. Spiritual disciplines are devotional practices which point us to Jesus and assist us as disciples in the practical application of faith and developing Christlike patterns for living. It is important to keep in mind that the practice of spiritual disciplines is not to gain the approval of God, but rather to draw nearer to the Father Who already loves and approves of us (James 4:8; Jeremiah 31:3).
Historically, the list of (Lenten and all) spiritual disciplines is divided into disciplines of abstinence (things we remove from our lives) and disciplines of engagement (things we add to our lives).
Disciplines of Abstinence (self-denial) – Solitude, Silence, Fasting, Sabbath, Secrecy, Submission, Sacrifice, Slowing
Disciplines of Engagement – Word, Worship, Prayer, Soul Friendship, Meditation, Service, Tithing, Giving
For explanations of these disciplines and more information:
Additional Options:
- Follow another online Lenten devotional.
- Sign-up to be a part of ECB’s weekly prayer and fasting discipline.
- Use the Sunday devotional meditations found in the ECB App.