Royal Robes

Royal Robes

What kind of robes did Jesus wear? Not royal robes, as we will see! In Bible times there were only three dyes known to be intense in color and extremely permanent: scarlet, blue, and purple.

1

Important people wore blue or purple. The kings of Midian wore “purple garments” (Jud. 8:26 NIV). A “woman of worth” wore clothing that was purple (Prov. 31:22). The rich man in the story of Lazarus wore “purple and fine linen” (Mk. 16:19). When Mordecai was being honored, he wore “royal garments of blue ... and a purple robe” (Est. 8:15). Sacred garments for the high priest and the priests who ministered in the sanctuary were made from cloth dyed scarlet, blue or purple (Ex. 28:5; 39:1). The Roman emperors dressed in royal robes dyed completely in purple; and at one point, if you were not Caesar or one of the nobles, you could be put to death for wearing any purple at all!2

Both blue and purple dyes were obtained from the same sea snail. These were harvested by divers, and each shell crushed and processed to obtain a small amount of yellowish liquid. If the liquid were processed in the sunlight, a blue dye resulted, but only in the absence of sunlight did the purple dye result. No doubt the difficulty of gathering the snails, and the care required to process the extract, contributed to the great expense of the dyes. Ordinary people could not afford cloth dyed with them.

Ordinary people wore scarlet or drab colors. The scarlet dye was obtained from crushed insect eggs and was apparently much less expensive. A scarlet robe was available to Roman soldiers (Mt. 27:28). The common people, however, generally used cheap dyes obtained from plants, and their robes were drab brown, green or yellow in color, and eventually faded.1 Since Jesus was a “carpenter”(Mk. 6:3), and a “carpenter’s son” (Mt. 13:55), His robes were undoubtedly the drab robes of ordinary people.

Pilate referred to Jesus as the “King of the Jews” (Mk. 15:9), had him delivered to the Roman soldiers to be crucified, and they “mocked Him (saying), ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’” (Mt. 27:29). As part of the mockery, the king needed a crown, scepter, and royal robe. They made Him a crown of thorns, put a reed in His right hand as a scepter, and gave Him a royal robe that was not purple but scarlet (kikkinos, Mt. 27:28). Because it was a mockery of the royal purple, John called it reddish purple (porphureous, Jn. 19:5).3 Jesus was then presented to the Jews wearing this mock royal robe, and they were told, “Behold the man!” (Jn. 19:5 JND).

This statement is prophetic! We will indeed “behold the man” when Jesus establishes His kingdom in actual power and glory on earth, and reigns literally as King of kings. The Scriptures abound with references to this. At His birth, the angel prophesied: “The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David” (Lk. 1:32). His will be a literal kingdom on earth! In the future, when He takes authority, royal robes will rightly pertain to Him, and, when He is manifested, “every eye will see Him” (Rev. 1:7), maybe even wearing literal royal robes. The hymn writer, R. Holden expressed it this way in a hymn of worship.4

Royal robes shall soon invest Thee,
Royal splendors crown Thy brow;
Christ of God, our souls confess thee
King and Sovereign even now;
Thee we reverence, Thee obey,
Own Thee Lord and Christ alway.

END NOTES
1. Greenspan, Ari, Bromine, C&EN, Sept. 8, 2003, p. 96.
2. Gower, Ralph, The New Manners and Customs of Bible Times, Moody, 1987, p. 162.
3. Vine, W. E., Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, Oliphants, vol. 3, p. 233.
4. Spiritual Songs, Believers Bookshelf, 1981, no. 134.

By Alan H. Crosby