Charles Spurgeon Commentary John 19:24

"They said therefore one to another, 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 garments among them, And upon my vesture did they cast lots." — John 19:24 (ASV)

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.

Those rough Roman soldiers knew nothing about the ancient prophecy, yet a divine destiny guided them. God's Word must be fulfilled; and they, in the freedom of their will, did exactly what God had ordained, and the Spirit had long before prophesied. There are two things that are true; that men act freely and are therefore responsible when they sin, but that there is a divine predestination that rules all things according to the purpose and will of God.

It would have puzzled us to explain how such a prophecy could be fulfilled at all, parting Christ's raiment among them, and then casting lots for his vesture; yet so it was, they divided what could be divided, and they cast lots upon what would have been spoilt if they had rent it. I think that no Christian man will ever like the rattle of dice when he remembers that they were used at the cross; all games of chance should be put away from us, for we can, as it were, see our Master's blood bespattered upon them.

Which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did.

Doubtless, on the dice there fell the blood of Christ, yet they still gambled there. There is, perhaps, no sin which so effectively hardens the heart as that of gambling; it is a sin with which Christians should not have even the reluctant connection.