The Beauty Of The Prayer Shawl (Part 3) Series

We believers are also promised a double-portion of power. In John 14:12 Jesus says, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”

Like Elisha watching his teacher being taken unto heaven, the disciples stood on the Mt. Of Olives to watch their Messiah taken into heaven. And just as Elijah’s mantle (prayer shawl) fell to his student to remind him where his power came from, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples at Pentecost and upon every believer since then to remind us where our true source of spiritual strength and power comes from.

III. The Talit and Visions

And finally, we see the prayer shawl playing a part in Peter’s vision and calling, and in Christ’s Second Coming.

A. Peter’s Vision

In Acts 10:9-16, the Apostle Peter has a vision. In it Peter sees a great sheet held by 4 corners descending from heaven. In the sheet are all kinds of unclean animals which the Lord tells him to kill and eat. Peter says no because it goes against the Jewish laws to eat such animals. But God tells him that when God calls or makes something clean, man had no right to claim that they aren’t.

What did this vision mean? By now you should recognize what that sheet really was. The sheet was a Jewish prayer shawl and the unclean animals represent the Gentiles, that is any people not of Jewish heritage (us). God is showing Peter that the covering of the lamb which is His Son’s blood (represented by the talit in the vision,) is for all people not just the Jews. He is commanding Peter to take the gospel to the Gentiles and once they accept it – to consider them clean and no longer outcasts.

This was a new concept to the Jews. At that time it was not considered proper for a Jew to be in the presence of a gentile – let alone go into their homes and talk with them. But by using the prayer shawl (a Jewish symbol that stood for Jesus’ blood covering sin) God was telling Peter that the Gentiles were included in the promise of salvation.

B. Jesus’ Second Coming

And finally, the prayer shawl of our Savior, Jesus Christ plays a unique part in His Second Coming. It’s appearance actually makes a portion of scripture a little easier to picture and understand.

Let’s take a look at Revelation 19:11-16.

Jesus is pictured wearing a vesture dipped in blood. Once again the word translated as “vesture” is the Greek word himation which we’ve already seen is the word used to describe the prayer shawl. Our Savior is going to return to earth wearing His talit. How do I know this? Look at verse 16 again.

“And he hath on his vesture (prayer shawl) and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

Would you believe that there are some pastors teaching that Jesus will have this name tattooed on His thigh? They can’t find any other way to explain this verse. But if you realize that Jesus is wearing his prayer shawl, it makes perfect sense.

You see if a man is wearing his prayer shawl, and he is sitting down (like Jesus would be riding on a horse) what would drape across His thigh? – The tzitzit – the very thing that claims (YHWH Ekhad) who is KING OF KINGS!