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Thursday, April 1, 2010

The Folded Napkin


"Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen." John 20:6-7

Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection?
I never noticed this...

The Gospel of John 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 placed by itself.

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 stopped 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 significant? Yes!

To understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about the Hebrew tradition of that day.

The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew the tradition.

When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that is 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, clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table.

The servants 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 his 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!"


He is coming back!!! I hope you and your family have a blessed Easter!


31 comments:

Unknown said...

And that is that the truth!!!

Kayren said...

I didn't know that about the napkin. Thanks for sharing the story.

Rae said...

Amen to that. Beautiful! I had never heard this before and I so glad you posted it. I loved reading it.

Jenny said...

I love that story. Thanks for reminding me, Mari!

Brenda said...

OH YES! Praise God!
I've heard this story and it still gives me happy bumps!

Brenda said...

OH YES! Come quickly Lord!

Vickie said...

This is so beautiful Mari. Thank you for enlightening us and awakening our hearts and minds to the the fact that Jesus is coming back.

Hope you have an awesome resurrection weekend.

blessings
Vickie

A Stone Gatherer said...

That's cool Mari!

Susan said...

Soon, and very soon!!!

Connie said...

He's coming back for you and me!

Anonymous said...

Mari, I hope you don't mind that I shared this story on my blog too, this story is too beautiful not to keep it going. If you aren't okay with it, let me know and I'll pull it. Either way, thank you for this beautiful reminder that is coming back for us!! He is Risen!

I've commented a few times before, but it's been awhile. I still enjoy your blog! =)

Jill @ Sneaky Momma said...

Thank you so much for sharing this story with us. I had never heard it before. Awesome. :)
Have a wonderful Easter weekend!

Anonymous said...

Thank you Mari! =)

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

I can't tell ya how many times I've taught this lesson and never ever stopped once to question the folded linen cloth. Thanks for this very interesting interpretation. You have a wonderful Easter, sweetie.

God bless and have a fabulous Friday!!!

Raise Them Up said...

That's neat! I never heard the napkin story before.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Sandra said...

Thank you so much for posting this. This was one of the first lessons on Hebrew traditions that I learned years ago. Just shows how much richness is missed when we don't understand the roots of our faith.

Sandra said...

Thank you so much for posting this. This was one of the first lessons on Hebrew traditions that I learned years ago. Just shows how much richness is missed when we don't understand the roots of our faith.

Connie said...

I love this story. Our pastor shared this with last year.
Have a blessed Easter, Mari - your family too.

Terri said...

Love that!

Jean said...

That is really, really cool!!!

Tea with Tiffany said...

Come back, Lord. We are waiting.

Happy Easter. He is risen.

Alice said...

Blessed Easter to you and your family, Mari!

Cherdecor said...

What a great post! I loved reading it. Happy Easter!

septembermom said...

So true!

Happy Easter Mari!

Hootin Anni said...

Mari...

Just wanted to stop by and wish you and yours a blessed Easter Sunday tomorrow!!

Anonymous said...

Wow, I love this! I'm sharing this! Very cool!!!

Unknown said...

Wow. So powerful Miss Mari. So very powerful!

Justabeachkat said...

I never knew this until I saw it on another blog a few minutes ago. So interesting!

BTW...how is Heather doing? I've had her on my mind. Good I hope.

Happy Easter sweet friend!
Kat

Country Wings in Phoenix said...

Good Morning Mari Sweetie and Happy Easter...
What a beautiful share. I read it the other day for the first time, and it just does my heart good to hear it again. So beautiful truly. I am going to print it and keep it in my Bible. I just love it.

I hope you and your family have a beautiful blessed day. Country hugs and much love sweetie...Sherry

Sandi @the WhistleStop Cafe said...

Mari~ He is risen indeed!
I hope you are wearing your Easter bonnet today. Enjoy this beautiful spring time resurrection.

Lara said...

Amen!
Mari, thanks for always visiting me and commenting whenever I post in English. I've been a bit lazy lately, not reading much and posting only in Portuguese.
I hope you had a very blessed Easter.
Love
Lara