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.
1 Early morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and
found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. 2 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!" 3 Peter and the other disciples ran to the tomb to
see. 4 The other disciples outran Peter and got there first. 5 He
stooped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go
in. 6 Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the
linen wrappings lying there, 7 while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was
folded up and lying to the side.
Is 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 was 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 servant knew that the folded napkin meant, "I'm not finished yet." The folded napkin meant, "I'm coming back!"
He is Coming Back!
I recieved all of the above from a godly brother with an e-ministry of encouragement. Fred is also a retired U.S. Marine Master Seargent and up and coming (pun intended) tree surgeon. As I wandered about the web looking to verify or debunk this, it is clearly... unclear. All I can add is: Even so, come quickly, Lord.
