The Clothing of the King
The Foretaste of Fashion
Welcome to worship today at Morrison Zion Lutheran Church. We exist to glorify God. We have set out to do this by gathering around the Gospel so that we may grow in the Gospel and go to others with this Gospel.
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from Jesus Christ, our Lord:
Christmas time is often a time of thinking about clothing. Maybe it’s getting new clothing. Maybe you have to buy a new winter coat as winter comes around. There are some special Christmas things that you do. Maybe you get those holiday pictures, so you have to get the matching clothes or the matching pajamas. Does anyone do those, the matching pajama thing? Or maybe you have an ugly Christmas sweater party, so finding that perfect ugly sweater. Whatever it is—maybe it’s coming for that Christmas Eve service (kids) and you have to wear your best outfit. Maybe you get a dress or maybe you get a suit and tie. Maybe it is the fanciest you look all year. I remember that when I was a kid—getting all dressed up for that Christmas program. Maybe many of you can think of that from years ago or even with your kids, grandkids, how the clothing for Christmas is pretty special.
Clothing in the Bible in general is pretty meaningful. God talks about robes. He talks about coverings and coats. Think about Joseph. All of these different coverings and clothing—we talk about robes of white in heaven. Clothing in the Bible is not usually random. It has meaning. They put a scarlet robe on Jesus. As we look at this Advent season, we are going to look at different clothing, and especially look at how God clothes us, and then we’ll look at the clothing of the King who is coming. We are going to see what it all means for us and especially who our God is.
What is neat is as we start with Genesis, the first book of the Bible and some of the first events that happened in history, we are going to see clothing that is needed because before, they didn’t need clothing. Think about how crazy that was, that Adam and Eve were perfect and they didn’t need clothes! They weren’t ashamed. They weren’t shocked. No one said anything and they weren’t proud or all these other things. It was just perfect.
But when they fell into sin, what did they do? They sewed fig leaves together. They made clothes for themselves. We know that the devil had deceived them to not trust God, to think that God didn’t love them and that God didn’t want the best for them and that they should become like God is what Eve was encouraged to do, to gain that wisdom of the knowledge of good and evil. But what has sin done? We see the effects that it brought them, shame and pain, and it has continued to bring shame and pain for the world.
What other effects has that fall brought to you and to me? Maybe you are reeling with the effects of sin today. This holiday season, as Thanksgiving has come and all the cheer for the holiday is here, maybe you don’t feel the same way because someone is missing; a loved one that was here and now all of the special events just aren’t the same. You’re reeling from pain and sin and the sorrow of what that brings.
Maybe there are different pressures, the pressures of finances and getting all the right things and having enough money for your kids and stress about jobs and work. Maybe as you gather together as family, there are stresses of family. Maybe there have recently been splits and problems. Maybe there are those family members that you just don’t get along with and you don’t look forward to those Christmas gatherings.
Sin affects us all in so many different ways, but the holiday season is no different. So as we stand here, we see the effects of what happened in the Garden of Eden. We know that for Adam and Eve, they were filled with shame. When they sinned, they tried to cover their shame with clothing that they made. But then what did they do? They ran from God! Have any of you tried to do that? Maybe you tried to run from mom and dad when you made a mistake and you were so ashamed that you didn’t want to see them, so you ran and hid. Can you run and hide from your parents? No. Do you think you can run and hide from God? How silly it was that they thought that they could run and hide. They were filled with guilt and shame and if they were left on their own, they would have no solution and no hope.
What do we see God do? God comes to them and what does He do? He clothes them. It says in Verse 21 that God had loved them. It says, The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. Think about that. Think about that death and pain was coming and that Adam and Eve were going to die because of their sin, but what does God actually do? God doesn’t leave them in that and say “Okay, you’re on your own.” What does He do? Even though Adam and Eve were guilty, He doesn’t take plants or other sources of cotton and make something. He actually goes and finds something innocent and sacrifices it. He uses leather. He uses an animal. This is the first death in the Bible, where God sacrifices something to clothe His people, to give them warmth and to cover their shame.
How amazing it is that God comes to us and He covers our shame and shows He loves us. We see that this is just a glimpse of what is to come. We talked about it in Galatians, that we are clothed in Christ. God was promising to Adam and Eve a Seed, an offspring that would come and crush the head of the serpent. So not only does He cover their shame but He gives them a Savior. So we know that we are not just covered with shame and guilt for a moment but we are covered with Christ in our baptism.
That promised Savior took a long time to come. Adam and Eve were promised a Savior years and years ago. It took a while, but they trusted in that promise and generation after generation trusted in that Savior. So now we don’t have to fear. We don’t have to stand out there and run from God, to feel filled with guilt and shame, but we know that we are forgiven. We know that whatever we face, whatever effects of sin we are facing in our life, we can run to God. We know we don’t deserve it. We know that God, like Adam and Eve, could have sent them on their way, but God loves us so much. God loves us so much that He sent a Savior, and that’s what we are preparing for—the coming of the Savior. We know our Lord loves us and has redeemed us.
So as we go forward in this Advent season, continue to hear of the beauty of what God gives us in His clothing, how He clothes us in righteousness and beauty, not because of what we deserve but because of the King, because of His love for us. Know that as He is clothing you, you don’t stand there in shame and guilt, worrying about all the effects of sin but knowing you have forgiveness now. And then what awaits us but a robe of righteousness because we are clothed in Christ in our baptism and through faith.
So rejoice, rejoice, as we’ll talk more and more about the clothing God gives us, but rejoice that you’ve been clothed in the oldest clothing created—that clothing that God gave to Adam and Eve to cover their shame and to show that He is with them and loving them and has promised a Savior for them, as He has promised a Savior for you. Remember the clothing you have and know that you are loved and forgiven. Amen.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7) Amen.