We had a little fun this past weekend at church, discussing John 20:6-7. Here’s the scene…
Mary Magdalene had come to the tomb of Jesus early in the morning while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb. She ran and told Simon Peter and John that she believed Jesus had been taken out of the tomb, and she didn’t know where He was. So John and Simon Peter went to see what was going on, but when they got to the tomb, all they saw were the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth that had been on Jesus’ head were not lying with the linen cloths, but were instead, folded up nicely in a place by themselves.
Lots of ideas flew around the room. Who would rob a grave, and stop to neatly fold the linen cloth the body was wrapped in? A thief wouldn’t do this! Makes perfect sense! There is no way that grave was robbed.
I suggested that perhaps it was proof that Mary taught her son how to fold clothes. (I bet she taught him how to do dishes and scrub floors, too).
But then, I got this email from someone in class explaining the important significance of the folded napkin, and I thought it was worthy of passing on, because He is, in fact, coming back!
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!
Hasten the Day!
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