John 19:23-24

‘The soldiers therefore, when they had crucified Jesus, took his clothes and made four parts, to every soldier a part, and they also took the coat. Now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore one to another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, who shall have it”, that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says, ‘they parted my clothes among them and on my raiment did they cast lots' (Psalms 22:18). These things therefore the soldiers did.'

His degradation was emphasised by the fact that having been stripped naked, His bloodstained clothes were divided up among themselves by the members of the escort. It was in fact normal for those who carried out a crucifixion to share the possessions of the victim. Jesus would have had an escort of four and these four divided up His clothes.

‘The coat was seamless.' This was similar to the robe of the High Priest (Exodus 28:31) and the connection may have been in John's mind. The thought is that it was unmarred and complete in itself. Far more important to him, however, was that it ensured the exact fulfilment of Psalms 22:18. For it made the soldiers cast lots for it, so that just as the Psalmist had prophesied, the soldiers ‘did it'.

‘Also the coat'. A difficult phrase possibly put in later as an explanatory note to make the situation clear. It is not found in the Bodmer papyrus. But it does not matter whether we include it or not. The meaning is clear enough with it or without it.