Caiaphas’ rending of his garments

Exodus 28: 31 – 32: And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue. And there shall be an hole in the top of it, in the midst thereof: it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it, as it were the hole of an habergeon, that it be not rent.

Matthew 26: 63 – 65: But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy.

The tearing of the clothes was an ancient tradition among the Jews to express humility, mourning, grief, and loss. The Bible mentions in multiple places the tearing of the clothes; the first being Reuben who tore his clothes when he learned that Joseph was missing (Genesis 37: 29), and then of Jacob who tore his clothes when he heard that a wild beast had supposedly killed Joseph (Genesis 37: 34).

Although the tearing of the clothes was a powerful and public expression of grief, yet the high priest was forbidden to do this because of what his anointing and position represented before God. The special nature of the high priest’s office meant that he was to be separated from some of the common customs of the people, including grief (Leviticus 21: 10: And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes;), and the garments of the high priest were a symbol of God’s holiness and glory, which is why strict measures were put in place for these garments not to be torn in any way.

When Caiaphas tore his high priestly garments in anger and contempt for Jesus, he was in effect breaking the Law, and is the only high priest recorded of in the Bible to have done so. But when compared to Jesus who was the true High Priest, and who hung on the cross whilst the soldiers took possession of His garments, they did not tear up His clothes, but instead cast lots for them (John 19: 23 – 24: Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did.). So Caiaphas tore-up his garments whilst Jesus’ garments remained intact.

Jesus’ garments not being torn-up by the soldiers reveals to us that He is the ultimate High Priest who perfectly kept the high priestly code of holiness. Caiaphas by contrast violated the requirements of his office in rejecting the specificity of the Law as well as rejecting Christ whom his own high priestly office pointed to. The priesthood and the temple all culminated in Christ, so when He died on the cross, not only had the high priest (Caiaphas) rent his clothes, but the veil of the temple was rent in twain as well (Matthew 27: 51: And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;), showing that the earthly high priesthood and the earthly temple were finished and done away with in the sight of God.