The Naked Truth

When I was a teenager, I developed an interest in the Second World War. I had a book about the Nazis in which there were some black and white photos. One of these has always stuck in my mind. It showed a number of naked women, of various ages and sizes, moving between huts with uniformed German soldiers looking on. Although some seemed uninterested, others appeared to be disdainful, sneering and perhaps uttering lewd comments. How humiliated and vulnerable those women must have felt.

The first man and woman were created naked. They had no sense of shame or humiliation; they were innocent. After they had rebelled against the word God had spoken to them, they realised that they were indeed naked. Their primary concern was not to be seen in this state by God and they hid from him whilst at the same time attempting to put in place a cover-up (the proverbial fig leaves).

This account comes to us in the Old Testament part of the Bible. So is it relevant to us today? The New Testament says emphatically ‘Yes’. We are told, ‘No creature is hidden from God's sight. All are naked and exposed before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.’ Our thoughts, words and actions are all seen and known by God and we will each need to explain ourselves; any attempt at cover-up will be seen for what it is.

Can you feel the weight of this? Jesus presses the matter home saying, ‘You say, “I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.” But you do not realise that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.’ He is speaking spiritually as the doctor of our souls. Happily, with his diagnosis comes a cure.

On Good Friday, Jesus was tortured, stripped naked and humiliated. In that state he was crucified; there was no cover-up - not even a loincloth. He took on our shame, our nakedness, suffering on behalf of people like you and me.

When our souls are exposed before God and the bare truth revealed, we’ll need to give an account. The Christian can point to Jesus who took our nakedness and clothed us in his own goodness. We do not need to find fig leaves but to trust that Jesus has paid the price to put us right with God.