What Jonathan gave freely, Saul lost by force—and what that teaches us about Christ’s lordship.
The Naked King
This is the kind of Bible passage that makes Sunday school teachers squirm. In 1 Samuel 19, Saul—the king of Israel—lies flat on the ground, stripped of his clothes (1 Sam. 19:23–24). It’s a strange and unsettling image and, as such, is the sort of passage we tend to skim past. When this scene appears, the reader’s attention is already drawn to previous unusual details, like the household idols in David’s house (1 Sam. 19:13), the company of prophets around Samuel (1 Sam. 19:18-20), or Saul’s violent pursuit of David (1 Sam. 19:8-10). But the narrator lingers on Saul’s nakedness—and he does so for a very important reason. However, the key to understanding why comes from the broader narrative: just one chapter earlier, Saul’s son Jonathan also removes his royal robe. When placed side by side, the contrast between these two episodes couldn’t be sharper.
Jonathan’s Voluntary Surrender
In 1 Samuel 18:3–4, Jonathan takes off his robe and gives it to David. This is no small act. In the ancient world, clothing symbolized identity and status. Jonathan’s robe wasn’t just fabric; it represented his position as crown prince. To give it away was to yield his claim to the throne. Jonathan’s gesture is covenantal and deliberate. It’s an act of humility, a recognition that God’s hand rests on David. He decreases so that David may increase. His submission is voluntary, born of faith and love.
Jonathan’s actions anticipate the New Testament pattern of discipleship. To follow Christ is to “put off the old self” and “put on the new” (Eph. 4:22–24). To be his disciple is to “hate” father, mother, wife, children, brother, sister—even his own life (Luke 14:26). Jonathan prefigures this dynamic by laying aside his own honor and clothing another with it. He voluntarily casts his crown at the feet of the anointed one of YHWH (Rev. 4:10-11).
Saul’s Forced Humiliation
By contrast, Saul’s disrobing is not chosen but compelled. In 1 Samuel 19:23–24, the Spirit of God overwhelms him, and Saul strips off his clothes and lies helpless throughout the day and night. What Jonathan surrendered in covenant love, Saul loses in humiliation. Far from a heroic prophetic moment, Saul’s nakedness symbolizes his undoing. The king who resists God’s anointed is forcibly stripped of his dignity—the one who would not yield is brought low.
The Bible often uses clothing as a sign of honor or shame. Joseph is given a magnificent coat of honor (Gen. 37:3). The Prodigal Son is covered in his father’s best robe (Luke 15:32). In contrast, Adam and Eve hide in shame once they realize their nakedness (Gen. 3:7). Job tears his robe when undone by grief (Job 1:20). Isaiah walks naked as a prophetic sign of judgment (Isa. 20:2–4). To be clothed is to be honored, but to be stripped bare is to be exposed, powerless, and humiliated. Saul’s unraveling fits this biblical pattern.
Commentators agree on this basic understanding but highlight different angles. Robert Alter describes Saul’s condition as “the grotesque abasement of the king.”1 David Tsumura emphasizes that the removal of garments likely signified the loss of royal dignity.2 Dale Ralph Davis underscores the humiliation of a king undone by God’s Spirit.3 Walter Brueggemann notes the biting irony: Saul, who sought to destroy God’s anointed, finds himself unmade by God’s power.4 In general, scholars tend to agree that Saul’s nakedness symbolizes a loss of royal status. Yet the irony is sharper when read alongside Jonathan’s robe-giving: what Jonathan does willingly, Saul experiences unwillingly.
Reading the Forest, Not Just the Trees
If one read these episodes in isolation, the rhetorical contrast might be overlooked. Jonathan’s robe-giving simply seems like a tender story of friendship. Saul’s nakedness looks like a bizarre prophetic frenzy. Read as disjointed stories results in merely moralized illustrations for the church. But when read together, they form a deliberate juxtaposition—two paths of submission.
This is why it is so valuable to read large swaths of Scripture at once. The Bible’s authors were master storytellers. When we zoom in too tightly, we risk missing the broader patterns. Jonathan and Saul’s contrasting acts make sense not as stand-alone vignettes but as side-by-side portraits of willing surrender versus forced humiliation.
Every Knee Will Bow
This contrast points us forward to a deeper reality. Paul writes in Philippians 2:10–11 that one day “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”
Some, like Jonathan, will bow gladly—casting down their crowns in joyful submission.
Others, like Saul, will be brought low despite themselves.
Either way, Christ will be confessed as King.
Encouragement for the Church
So why is Saul naked in 1 Samuel 19? Because Jonathan was naked in 1 Samuel 18. One disrobed in covenant love, the other in divine humiliation. One bowed gladly, the other was brought low.
The contrast isn’t only about two men in Israel’s history; it’s about two ways all people respond to God’s Anointed. One day, every knee will bow—some with joy like Jonathan, others in judgment like Saul. Either way, Christ will be confessed as King.
That’s why the church can take courage today. Those who humble themselves now are not left exposed but are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. The question is not whether Jesus will be confessed as Lord, but how. Will it be the willing surrender of faith—or the forced acknowledgment of defeat?
Jonathan shows us the path of covenant loyalty, humility, and joy. Saul shows us the path of resistance, pride, and humiliation. Both remind us that the Lord will not be mocked: his anointed King will be honored.
How Might We Practice “Forest Before Trees” Bible Reading Today?
A few suggestions:
- Read whole books in one sitting. Just as letters weren’t meant to be piecemeal, neither were Samuel or Acts. Try reading through an entire Gospel or prophetic scroll in a single afternoon.
- Trace repeated themes. Look for how clothing, covenant, exile, or temple imagery develops across the text.
- Ask narrative questions. How does one scene echo or contrast with another? How does this section prepare for what follows?
- Then zoom in. Once the big picture is clear, dig into word studies, cross-references, and applications.
By reading broadly, we not only see the forest—we start to understand why each tree was planted where it is.
- Robert Alter, The David Story, (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1999), 118–19 ↩︎
- David Tsumura, The First Book of Samuel, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007), 508–9 ↩︎
- Dale Ralph David, 1 Samuel: Looking on the Heart, (Glasgow: Christian Focus, 2000), 196–202 ↩︎
- Walter Brueggemann, First and Second Samuel, (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1990), 138–39 ↩︎
Weston Blaha 