Why Did Jesus Fold the Napkin?
Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection?
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 verse tells 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 out ran Peter and got there first. He stopped and looked in and
saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go in.
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 it really significant? Yes!
In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, we need
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.
When the master was 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, 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!”
Sent
in by Heather Hoyle of Central Point, Oregon.