Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Why Did Jesus Fold......

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

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 is Coming Back

4 comments:

Kathy said...

this was great! I never paid attention to that either! Thank you for sharing!

Kim said...

How interesting! Thanks for sharing that, it helps to better understand the whole significance of the resurrection story.

In your comment on my blog today you asked what TMI meant. It stands for Too Much Information :-)

Haven't met your BIL & SIL yet but hope to, since they're our niece's in-laws.

Penny said...

I love this post. You sound like my Sunday School teacher delving into the history part of the lesson. I always want to know the "whys" don't you? :)
Anyway, about the birthday boxes (or bags) I sometimes fill it up with inexpensive stocking stuffer type stuff and usually include one or two bigger things that they are into such as Barbies or HotWheels. Being a Kindergarten teacher, they always get at least one book. Rebecca's included two DVDs that she wanted but didn't get for Christmas, a couple of shirts from a clearance sale, and the other stuff was just little dollar/discount store things that I picked up at different times. (Hannah Montana and High School Musical-- no Princess stuff this year.) Her birthday is only 6 weeks after Christmas, so it's easy to find something she didn't get and hit the clearance aisles. It's not as easy with the Oct. and Nov. ones. :) I've only been able to do the birthday box for a few years with her and the oldest. It's harder when they're under three, because you can't buy them a lot of small toys. And I think as they get older, it will get more difficult because their tastes are way more expensive. (and their expectations) I think about 4 is a good age to start and I will try to do this as long as they enjoy it. A teenage girl would like makeup, jewelry, hair accessories, perfume, DVDs, CDs, etc. I'm not sure about teenage boys-- if you read all my posts, you saw we only have daughters and the "baby" is almost 17. I inherited a teenaged stepdaughter recently and today is her 15th birthday. Since I've known her less than a year, she'll probably get money. That's always a sure bet at this age anyway. That's all my kids get from my Dad and stepmother and they count on it like income. :) Whatever you give them, I'm sure they appreciate it.
My Mimi always gave me one big thing, and I loved both gifts, thoughts, and of course, both of them. This was just a lot of fun for me as a child and something I really wanted to pass down. Kind of like my Mimi's recipe for mac and cheese. lol

Penny said...

I forgot to answer your question about whether or not I wrap every little thing. No, though that would be more fun for them, but too much extra for me. :)