Apparently YHWH and his son, Jesus, are both pro-torture, war mongers. At least, that’s what many Republican Christians want you to believe. In defending the CIA’s use of torture on America’s enemies, they have tried to use the scriptures to support the idea that Jesus himself would have water boarded his America’s enemies. Which is weird because Jesus himself never did anything like that to the people who tortured and killed him. At least, not according to the scriptures. In a video I watched today, the speaker talked about Jesus wearing a robe dipped in blood from Revelation 19:13, as evidence of Jesus’ the Warrior. Of course I’ve read this verse many, many times. I’ve read it as if Jesus was a maniacal warrior ready to kick ass and take blot out names. But I’ve never actually studied this verse. So I decided to do a quick little search on the phrase “dipped in blood” in the scriptures.
These were only two relevant verses that popped up.
Genesis 37:31 – “So they took Joseph’s tunic, and slaughtered a male goat and dipped the tunic in the blood.”
Revelation 19:13 – “He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.”
In Genesis, Joseph had just “escaped” the pit that his brothers had thrown him into. When one of his brothers went back to get him, he was gone. So they took his tunic, dipped it in blood, and gave it to their father, Jacob, as evidence that Joseph was dead. Now all the way at the end of the scriptures we see Jesus riding out of the heavens wearing a robe dipped in blood.
The weird thing is, most commentaries say that this is an allusion to Jesus having the blood of his enemies all over his robes. But, this vision is of Jesus coming out from the heavens, before any battle even begins. He comes out wearing a robe dipped in blood. These same commentaries refer to Isaiah 63:2-3 as the allusion being made:
Isaiah 63:2-3 – Why is Your apparel red, And Your garments like the one who treads in the wine press? “I have trodden the wine trough alone, And from the peoples there was no man with Me. I also trod them in My anger And trampled them in My wrath; And their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments, And I stained all My raiment.”
Yet, none of the commentaries even mentions Genesis 37:31; the single verse in the Scriptures that almost matches exactly the description of what Jesus is wearing.
Am I grasping at straws here or is this obviously an allusion to Joseph? Honestly, I don’t know why this allusion is being made or what it means. But I don’t think I’m making stuff up here and I think when a Jewish person 2000 years ago read or heard about a robe dipped in blood, they probably would have thought about Joseph.
What do you think?
I suspect you will like neither me nor my answer, but here goes anyway: I think you’re spot-on about the Joseph-Christ Jesus connection. The implications go much deeper than mere typology or symbolism, though.
I would encourage you to carefully re-read portions of Scripture that discuss things like Jesus’ statement that John the Baptist IS Elijah, that Jesus said He is about to leave the world AGAIN, that after crucifixion & burial and three days, He will rise AGAIN, that He claimed to be the root (sire) and offspring (child) of David. Perhaps such a study might open fresh avenues for your study on the Joseph/Jesus connection.
On a more self-oriented note, if I were to ever write a regular feature like your excellent “Things I Used To Believe,” I would start off with “The Jews are God’s chosen people, and the people who identify as ‘Jews’ today are the same people who were identified as the Israel and/or Hebrews of the Holy Scriptures.”
Incidentally, this is a very fine website. Many thanks for your serious, diligent work.