Thursday, August 13, 2009

WHY DID JESUS FOLD HIS BURIAL NAPKIN?

NOTE: I did not write this but knew of the custom. To understand the Bible, It would be prudent to study Jewish customs and traditions of the day. It would be advantageous to study Jewish marriage customs especially in these last days. I plan to post a blog covering this in a series of blogs starting next week.



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 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. 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!'

HALLELUJAH!!!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I NEVER THOUGHT IT THAT WAY-LOVED IT -THANKS FOR SHARING
VICKIE

Karen said...

I love how someone can find something in the Bible that seems so insignificant and point out how powerful it truly is. Goes to show us that NOTHING is insignificant in God's Word.