23/06/2016
Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His
resurrection? I never noticed this....
The Gospel of John (20:7) tells us that the napkin,
which was placed over the face of Jesus, was not just
thrown aside like the grave clothes. The Bible takes
an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly
folded, and was placed separate from the grave
clothes.
Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary
Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the
stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She
ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple,
the one whom Jesus loved. She said, 'They have taken
the Lord's body out of the tomb, and I don't know
where they have put him!' Peter and the other
disciple ran to the tomb to see.. The other disciple
outran Peter and got there first. He stooped and
looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he
didn't go in.
Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also
noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the
cloth that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and
lying to the side.
Was that important? Absolutely!
Is it really significant? Yes!
In order to understand the significance of the folded
napkin, you have to understand a little bit about
Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had
to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish
boy knew this tradition.
When the servant set the dinner table for the master,
he made sure that it was exactly the way the master
wanted it..
The table was furnished perfectly, and then the
servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master
had finished eating, and the servant would not dare
touch that table, until the master was finished. Now,
if the master were done eating, he would rise from
the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his
beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto
the table.
The servant would then know to clear the table. For in
those days, the wadded napkin meant, 'I'm done'.
But if the master got up from the table, and folded
his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant
would not dare touch the table,
because........... The folded napkin meant,
'I'm coming back!'
HE'S COMING BACK!!!!