The four soldiers who crucified Christ had the right to divide his garment. The centurion, however, did not stoop so low as to join them in this degrading task. So the four took away from Jesus the last of his possessions stripping him of dignity. The crucified felons were generally stripped naked further to debase them.
This humiliation proclaimed the majesty of Jesus. His seamless tunic resembled that of the high priest. Jesus himself is the divine High Priest the intercessor for all humanity. For this role he suffered and was tortured.
A thousand years earlier, the Holy Spirit had prophesied details of the crucifixion, and that in Psalm 22 where it is said, "They parted my garments among them", a matter familiar to the soldiers. The Spirit further predicted, that they would cast lots for the clothing. The spirit disclosed the fact of the cross accurately, declaring that Jesus’ crucifixion was God’s will in essence. As Jesus had said: No hair of your head will fall without your heavenly Father knowing it. Whoever says that the cross never took place not only denies historic facts, but resists the Spirit of God who predicted this event a millennium earlier. The soldiers behaved in ignorance and in an unfeeling manner at the foot of the cross. They bickered over the remains of the tortured. They were devoid of pity; they never considered that the world’s redeemer was shedding his blood on the cross.
Brother, have you been crucified with Christ, in union with his death? Or do you run after riches and fame? Do you love the Crucified. and have you received divine righteousness and true holiness by his death? Or are you a superficial observer, uncaring as he gazes on the Crucified? The Holy Spirit unites with God’s Son in faith and love, that we might share in his death, burial and sacrificial life.