Thursday, March 13, 2008

Easter



I got this in an email, and thought it was really neat...

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 at the head of that stony coffin.

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.

Is 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 is Coming Back!

4 comments:

Amy said...

Oh wow, how cool! I love learning about those details and customs and traditions. There are so many details in the Bible I miss because of not knowing about the customs and traditions of that time. I would love to go to the Holy Land someday. My in-laws went and loved it! They learned so much.

Steph said...

wow that is so neat! Would you be so kind as to email that to me so I can enlighten others? Thanks

Jinglebritches said...

Sister sister!!

That is the coolest thing i have ever heard!! I have goose bumps! Thanks for posting. Where did you find this?

LYTP

Sandy

Miriam said...

Not to contradict you my friend, but I've also heard it the other way--that carpenters of the day would leave a folded cloth that they'd wiped their hands with after working to signify that the work they were doing was finished. Either way, it's a neat detail to know, and every detail offered in the Bible is there for a reason.