Saturday, April 03, 2010

Easter...Part II


Why Did Jesus Fold the Napkin?


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 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.

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 finished..."

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!"

14 comments:

Julie Harward said...

And he is...I'm hoping it is sooner than later. I love that story..a great object lesson! Hope you are having a wonderful Easter! Come say hi :D

Teresa @ Grammy Girlfriend said...

Have always loved this....Happy Easter sweet friend.

Carolina Mama said...

Great lesson for sure! Have a blessed Easter! Love the picture of you and the grandchildren. They are so cute and you are so pretty. You are an encouragement - a successful WWer. :)

Bacardi Mama said...

I have never heard that before. Thanks for sharing. Happy Easter to you and your wonderful family.
p.s. Our grandson isn't our first grandchild, just the first grandson. We have two granddaughters who are going to be the big sisters.

Justabeachkat said...

Wow...I learned something new tonight. Thanks

Happy Easter sweet friend!
Kat

nomo wino daph said...

Thank you for sharing!
HAPPY EASTER FRIEND ✟
xxoo

...You May Say I'm A Dreamer said...

I LOVE this! Thank you so much for sharing. I hope you have a wonderful Easter and may we keep our Lord Jesus Christ in in hearts every day!
~Mary

Erin said...

I LOVE this story!! Thanks for sharing. And thank you Jesus for folding the napkin!!
happy Easter!

Tonja said...

had never heard yhat before. what a great analogy! Thanks for sharing.

Jenny Lynn said...

So awesome.

nest of posies said...

i'll never look at a folded napkin the same way again.

this was such a special post! aren't we the lucky ones to know that HE is coming back!

thank you for this!
kellie

Tales From My Empty Nest said...

I had heard this story before, but I enjoyed it again so much. Thanks for sharing. What a blessing to know that Jesus is coming back for us. Love & blessings from NC!

Kaye Swain said...

I had so much fun visiting your site and enjoying the photos of your kids and grandchildren. As a grandmother of a passel of adorables - some long distance and others close enough for me to be their Granny Nanny, I'm always up for more cute grandkids pix! :)

I have to tell you, I LOVED this post! I had never heard this before and I just got goose bumps at the awesome words of encouragement as we are again reminded, HE WILL RETURN! And I'm praying for SOOOOON! :) :) :)

Thank you so much for the blessing! :)

Kaye Swain said...

P.S. I was looking for something for someone else and was reminded of this post. Thought it went great with yours. :)