Jesus became red so He could deliver us from the red that stains us: “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow…”
Sermon Transcript
When I bought my car, back in 2018, I was determined that it would be my safest car ever because I would be carrying my precious grandchildren in it. And for this reason, I wanted a red car. To be honest, I’ve always wanted a red car, and this was the perfect time to get one because red cars can be seen better than most other vehicles on the road, which for me is a good safety feature. It’s also very handy to have a red car when you forget where you’ve parked, at a shopping center, because once again the colour red stands out when you’re desperately looking for it!
I’ve always loved the vibrant colour RED. It is beautiful. But throughout history it has not always been easy to come by because the color red doesn’t always naturally occur in the things we make.
In early times, red pigment was mostly made from clay or red rocks. In the 1400s however, the Aztecs invented a new way of using (COA-CHIN-NEAL) insects to make red dye. Today, those same tiny bugs supply the whole world with red dye.
Could we have a look at that picture A please?
Here we have an infestation of cochineal insects on a cactus plant (which is what they eat). Several plump females (as indicated by the red arrows) have given birth to tiny white nymphs. The nymphs and adults are concealed by a protective white cottony mass secreted by the adult females (this is why the bugs appear white) but their bright red body fluids are the source of cochineal dye.
Today, cochineal dye is primarily used as a colorant in lipstick (yes ladies, you probably have bugs on your lips) AND in food. For example, cochineal dye provides colour to your strawberry yoghurt (no it’s not the red strawberries that give colour to your yoghurt), cochineal dye is also found in red jelly, artificial crab meat, pink pastries, tomato sauces…. And the list goes on.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father, let the words of my mouth be fully aligned with Your precious word today. Allow Jesus to stand out and be seen and be truly worshipped today by everyone who hears this sermon. Amen
Let us read Matthew 27:27-31
The Soldiers Mock Jesus
27 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around Him. 28 They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him, 29 and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on His head. They put a reed in His right hand. Then they knelt in front of Him and mocked Him. Saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” 30 They spit on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head again and again. 31 After they had mocked Him, they took off the robe and put His own clothes on Him. Then they led Him away to crucify Him.
In Bible times, clothing for common people was usually drab and unbleached. It was hand-woven, generally from sheep or goat’s wool.
Unlike today, only the rich, in the Bible times, could afford expensive, dyed clothes.
The average Roman soldier could afford colourful clothing since they were paid well, but also because they could take whatever they wanted from imprisoned people.
Maybe the robe they used to mock Jesus with had been stripped from a wealthy prisoner…
We don’t know where the robe came from that the soldiers draped over Jesus when they were busy jeering Him, the Bible doesn’t say.
But what we do know for sure is that the robe was used with the full intention to mock and ridicule Him.
They cruelly stripped Him of His own simple clothing to place the colourful “royal” robe upon Him.
They also twisted together a crown of thorns which they took delight in pushing into His bloodied head. And then they placed a reed, to represent a royal scepter, in His right hand. They mockingly knelt before Him and hailed Him as the “king of the Jews”. And then they took the reed, that had been placed in His right hand, and beat Him on the head over and over again as they slapped him, spat on Him, and pulled his out his beard in clumps.
It seems that the Roman soldiers went to whole a lot of trouble to make a fool of Jesus. They really put a lot of thought into the degree of mockery and abuse they poured upon Him.
But listen to this,
In
Philippians 2:7-9 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
It says that
7 Jesus (God) stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful dignity], so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being.
8 And after He had appeared in human form, He abased and humbled Himself [still further] and carried His obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of the cross!
The brutal Roman soldiers thought they had full control over the malicious violent scene that was playing out that day. Little did they know that it was God who was allowing it to happen so that God could save them.
Interestingly, EVERYTHING, everything at Jesus’ crucifixion was prophesized, or predicted, beforehand which we can read for ourselves in the Old Testament: the jeering crowd, his whipping, his piercing, the earthquake. The crown of thorns which was implied by Isaac’s substitutionary ram in Genesis 22:13. And the reed was a weed like those that grew for Adam after the Fall.
Even the color of His robe was prophesied about and has significant meaning.
Luke 23:11 simply calls it a “gorgeous robe.” Matthew 27:28 says it was a scarlet robe, or a red robe.
However, Mark 15:17 and John 19:2 say it was a purple robe. Is this a conflict with the mention of different colours?
Well, actually NO, because there was no quality control back then.
Dyes were not colour fast and often changed shades depending upon the dying process.
The same Greek word translated purple can also mean any shade from violet to crimson, or any color between blue and red.
So what does the reddish robe of ridicule mean spiritually? What’s the significance?
What does red symbolize in the Bible and why did Jesus have to wear it?
Arguably, the most important color symbol in the Bible is red.
As you know, red is the color of blood. In the New Testament, Jesus’s sacrifice, often employs the imagery of blood which is RED. For example, John 6:55 New International Version
55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.
So firstly, red symbolizes blood simply because it’s the colour of blood.
See the next picture B – BLOOD
But what else does red symbolize in the Bible? Well, the Old Testament prophet Isaiah, prophesied that JESUS, as KING, would come to earth wearing a red robe, indicating His sacrifice for all!
Isaiah 63:1–3
Who is this coming from Edom,
from Bozrah, with His garments stained crimson?
Who is this, robed in splendor,
striding forward in the greatness of His strength? (Kingship)
“It is I, proclaiming victory,
mighty to save.”
2 Why are your garments red,
like those of one treading the winepress?
Isaiah was clearly prophesying that the great King Jesus was coming ROBED in SPLENDOR and that robe would definitely be RED!
In the Bible, the expensive colour red also denotes royalty.
Show picture C – ROBE (as it has down through the ages)
And lastly, but tremendously important for us, red, in the Bible, also represents SIN and SHAME.
Show picture D – SHAME
Isaiah 1:18 English Standard Version
“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
In Isaiah 1:18, the words scarlet and crimson refer to strong red dye colors that stand out and are colorfast, meaning they will stick to the cloth and not fade or wash away. Just like our sins and shame stand out to God to the point where God can NOT overlook them. Our sins are grievous and obvious to HIM.
My RED car stands out in a dull grey car park.
Our sin stands out glaringly within His creation.
And we personally can’t do anything about them. There is nothing, absolutely nothing that we can do, ourselves, to get rid of or wash our filthy sins away because they are colourfast!!
Our shame and sin stand out to God like bright scarlet or crimson permanent dye spilt on pure white snow or clean fresh white wool. A cloth dyed red stays red. Just like our sin stains our hearts for good.
So, in the Bible red denotes
royalty, it also signifies
sin and shame, and it’s the colour of
blood.
You got that?
Red denotes royalty, it also signifies sin and shame, and it’s the colour of blood.
When the soldiers “stripped [Jesus] and put a scarlet robe on him” (Matthew 27:28), these three symbolisms merged into one heartbreaking image of red:
#Jesus was violently ridiculed as would-be royalty,
#He was cloaked in shame,
#and He was robed in the color of the blood He would soon shed for all humanity.
Jesus became RED so He could deliver us from the red that stains us: “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they be red like crimson they shall be as wool.”
One other thing about those cochineal insects used worldwide for red dye—on the outside they were definitely a milky white colour!
Only when they are crushed do they release their red blood which we use for dye. THE INSECTS MUST BE CRUSHED FOR US TO OBTAIN THEIR AMAZING BLOOD.
This little fact echoes for us other words from Isaiah 53:5
But He (Jesus) was pierced for our transgressions,
He (Jesus) was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on Him,
and by His wounds we are healed.
Jesus, who knew no sin, is here to save us who are red with sin.
You see, in His crushing death, Jesus endured a whole lot of RED so you could be white as snow.
Jesus endured a whole lot of RED so you could be white as snow.
Isaiah 1:18
English Standard Version
“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool
Only Jesus, who is the King of kings, can remove that permanent crimson stain of sin with His precious blood, because He suffered the shame on our behalf.
He died with you on His mind.