Friday, September 28, 2007

The Linen Burial Cloth

I received this in an email recently and got a real blessing out of it. I thought there might be some who did not know about this sort of thing. So I thought I'd share it with you and let it bless you too!!

Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection?

In John 20:7 the Bible tells us that the napkin....which was placed over the face of Jesus...was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes. "And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself." 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.

Is that important? You better believe it! Is that significant? Absolutely!!

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 coming back."

Believe it...he will be back to gather His people unto Himself.

I Thessalonians 4:16-17 "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."

AMEN!!!

12 comments:

Katy-Anne Binstead said...

Thanks for sharing that Mrs Julie, that's awesome.

Sis. Julie said...

katy-anne...I thought it was when I first heard this in a message that was preached a few years ago.

Jessica said...

I heard a preacher preach about that a few years ago, it was a HUGE blessing back then, and it still gives me chills just to read it! What a blessing.

Love you!!

PamelaK said...

Dear Julie-
Thanks so much for posting this. Isn't it wonderful what a detail oriented God we serve!!!

Sis. Julie said...

jessica....it does me too!!

Sis. Julie said...

sis. pamela....yes it is!!

Mimi said...

I did not realize the significance of the folded napkin to the hebrews .. thank you so much for sharing this your blog is a real blessing to me

Sis. Julie said...

sis. mimi....it is neat isn't it? Thank you for your faithfulness to coming by and leaving a comment.

~~Deby said...

Julie...I never heard this before and it is so profound...thanks for sharing....this was so so...tiple so...GOOD.
Deby

Sis. Julie said...

sis. deby....I'm shocked that so many haven't heard this before. I thought everyone would have. I knew if would be a blessing to those who didn't though. Love you Sis!!

Susannah said...

This is such a cool story. Even though I've run across it before, it's interesting to contemplate. It makes me think of Jesus' comments that we would see him again at the wedding banquet, the marriage supper of the Lamb. He's preparing a place for us, and I can hardly wait! Hugs.

Sis. Julie said...

e-mom...I can't wait either. What a day that will be!!

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