Genesis 37:23

The inner garment is the kethoneth, a long tunic worn by men and women. It was made of wool, cotton, or linen. This was the garment God made of skins for Adam and Eve, and what Jacob made of many colours for Joseph. Gen. 3:21; Gen. 37:3, 23-33. It formed part of the priest's dress... It was this garment of the Lord's that was woven in one piece, John 19:23.

The name does not mean exactly "of many colors." Nor was it a seamless robe of one piece, the kind the Lord Himself usually wore. It is a "tunic of pieces," which suggests variety. I think it points to the many powers seen in the Lord in those mighty works which He called works "from the Father."

His brothers stripped him of his coat of many colours and threw him into the pit. The father had marked him out with that coat; the brothers degrade him by tearing it off. It happens again and again with Christ. Some special display of divine power, wisdom and grace sets Him above all others, and at once man strips Him of His coat of many colours. Man tries to drag Him down to the level of an ordinary man by asking, "Is not this the carpenter's son?"... With Joseph the stripping was only the first step toward the pit. So with Christ: man rejected every witness to His glory, and at last, with wicked hands, delivered Him to death.

Joseph here shows himself as the righteous or separated one, and so he stirs up the hatred of his wicked brothers. The light makes the deeds of darkness visible, and the darkness hates the light. In the same way the world later hated Joseph's Lord, because He testified that its deeds were evil. And the marks of divine favour placed on the righteous one only stir that hatred further... His brothers envy him. Later, out in the field together, they take counsel like another Cain, who killed his brother: shall they kill Joseph, throw him into the pit, or sell him to strangers?

They likely took pleasure in stripping Joseph of his coat of many colors, because of their jealousy toward him over his father's favouritism. All of this reminds us of men taking the garments of the Lord Jesus and casting lots for them at the time of His crucifixion (Matt. 27:35). Joseph's brothers calmly sat down to eat. In the same way, Matthew says of those who crucified the Lord, "they sat down and kept watch over Him there" (Matt. 27:36).

The many-coloured coat... was a mark of renown, of superior dignity or excellence... The persecutors of the Son of God were not satisfied until they had stripped Him, as far as they were able, of everything the many-coloured coat of Joseph stood for — His dignity, His moral excellence, His honour. They took everything they could lay their guilty hands on... Yes, they stripped Him. But like a sheep silent before her shearers, He did not open His mouth. He submitted without complaint to the mockery and humiliation, and because of this God has "highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name."

Enough was done, and enough is written, to show that the Holy One of God stood before the eyes of the One who knows how to carry out His deliberate counsel and foreknowledge. God did this not only despite the unbelief of the Jews who had turned away from Him, and despite the hands of lawless Gentiles, but through them. In their blind pride they did not know what they were doing. Yet they knew more than enough to leave both without excuse.