Bibledoorajar: Blue and Scarlet Make Purple

     Son Of Man
Son of Righteousness
King of the earth
For sinners slain…
              Bless the Lord (Son of Man)
              Lyrics by Tye Tribbett

    As the Hebrew seeker continued to look at the vail, he would see a band of purple above a band of scarlet and both below the blue band. Scarlet is a color often associated with the earth. Even now as we humans look just below the blue heavens, we will see scarlet in the earthly terrain. Earthly kings have often been robed in scarlet, but that was not to be the case for the Jewish King. Failing to receive God who became Man, the Jews provided Him with no robes of scarlet. But as the song above reads, the Son of Man was a king. He was a King for sinners slain.
     Scarlet as a description of sin is now considered an archaic definition of the word. Some of us may remember the book, The Scarlet Letter. In that story, a woman was forced to wear a scarlet A on her forehead so that all would know of her particular sin. The Bible is very familiar with this word scarlet and references both earthiness and terrible sin with it. There is a story in the Bible about a birth in the earthly family line of Jesus. The mother was going to have twins. It was imperative that the firstborn and heir be identified. When a baby stuck out his arm from the womb, the midwife tied a scarlet string around the arm. But the baby drew the arm back into the womb and he arrived second in the birth order. In that way the midwife's earthly efforts were thwarted in favor of God's. He ensured that Pharez, the rightful heir, came first. In another passage, Rahab exhibited her faith by letting down the scarlet cord for the Israeli spies. Perhaps the most noted passage about sin and scarlet, is the Isaiah passage that reports.."though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow."
    A royal colored robe was  scornfully put on The Son of Man at his crucifixion by the soldiers. Matthew calls it scarlet and Mark calls it purple. God knows blue. God knows scarlet and God knows purple. And, he knows the perceptions of men. No secrets. When the colors of blue and scarlet are mixed together one gets purple. All was planned for us to see our Savior with cleansed hearts and to make Him Lord of All.  One day those soldiers will bow their knee to Him.

"Man of Sorrows, what a name..."

                                                                       P.B. Bliss