In Revelation1:13 we read about a robe reaching
to the feet and a sash, but we do not read about a white turban. We do, however,
read in vs.14 that his head (and then separately his hair) is described in terms
of white wool. There is some similarity to the high priest’s attire for the Day
of Atonement during which, unlike his daily clothing, the High Priest’s clothing
was all white. In a much later rabbinic discussion on the function of priestly
vestments we read in the Babylonian Talmud, Zevachim 88b:
“R.
‘Inyani b. Sason also said: Why are the sections on sacrifices and the priestly
vestments close together? To teach you: as sacrifices make atonement, so do the
priestly vestments make atonement. The coat atones for bloodshed… The breeches
atoned for lewdness… The mitre made atonement for arrogance. The girdle atoned
for [impure] meditations of the heart… The breastplate atoned for [neglect of]
civil laws… The ephod atoned for idolatry… The robe atoned for slander… the head
plate atoned for brazenness…”
This
reference cannot be taken as background information since it was written much
later, yet it shows general interpretive trajectories (as with almost everything
in the Talmud) that may be traceable to the time of Jesus and before. So at
least one thing is clear; Jesus’ heavenly garments are intentional, they are in
fact highly symbolic – they show that Jesus is the heavenly priest, fully
prepared and qualified to carry out his duties.
Other symbolism that comes to mind
is the image of Jesus as the Word of God. In Jewish worship, biblical scrolls
are adorned and literally dressed. In the Synagogue, scrolls are usually kept in
a mantle which is an outer cover to preserve them from the elements. In more
recent days, scrolls were outfitted with crowns and finials, called rimmonim
(pomegranates). Just as priests wore breastplates, so the torah scrolls also
have breastplates. Both the crown and the breastplate are typically made from
precious or semi-precious metals and under the covering, the scrolls even have a
belt-like sash that prevents the scroll from unrolling when
folded.
There is no reason to expect an
exact correlation between the priestly vestments in the Mosaic Tabernacle and
those of Jesus. Jesus’ priesthood is decisively of a different order (the order
of Melchizedek and not the order of Aaron). Relative correlation can, however,
be established and it shows the general idea of Jesus as the heavenly
priest.
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