...have you ever contemplated that the first act of the resurrected Lord was apparently to make His bed? John 20:6,7. Gives new meaning to "our God is...a God of order" eh?
It's an excellent detail St. John gives us. If I were a 19th Century Rationalist preacher, I could devote ten whole sermons to bed making and house cleaning based on this whole verse. ;)
I had the following emailed to me. What do you think?
Why did Jesus fold the napkin?
Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection? I never noticed this......
John 20:7 tells us that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus, was not 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 that Sunday morning, 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 and I don't know where they have taken 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 napkin that had covered Jesus face was folded up and lying to one side.
Is that important? Absolutely!
Is that really significant? Yes!
In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about the 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 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. The Servant would not dare touch that table until the Master was finished.
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 finished".
I did not know this.....
If the Master got up from the table, and folded his napkin beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because....the folded napkin meant, "I'm coming back!"
A bunch of seminarians and vicars discussed that very e-mail (since we got it multiple times from members)).
The true implication of "folding the napkin" is that Jesus has risen from the dead. If the body had been stolen no one would have taken the time to fold the linen.
A friend also noted this: "it's folded as if it was never used. Death has been defeated, and even the linens are folded and put away."
Finally, here are some quotes from some Fathers of the Church on this very passage:
Chrysostom: When [Mary] came and said these things, the apostles heard them and drew near to the sepulcher with great eagerness. They see the linen clothes lying there, which was a sign of the resurrection. For if they had removed the body, they would not have stripped it first, nor, if any had stolen it, would they have taken the trouble to remove the napkin and roll it up and lay it in a place by itself apart from the linens. They would have taken the body as it was. Therefore, John tells us by anticipation that it was buried with much myrrh, which glues linen to the body not less firmly than lead. He tells us this so that when you hear that the napkin lay apart from the linens, you may not endure those who say that he was stolen. For a thief would not have been so foolish as to expend so much effort on a trifling detail. [Homilies on the Gospel of John 85.4]
Eusebius of Caesarea: The cloths lying within seem to me at once to furnish also a proof that the body had not been taken away by people, as Mary supposed. For no one taking away the body would leave the linens, nor would the thief ever have stayed until he had undone the linens and so be caught. And at the same time they establish the resurrection of the body from the dead. For God, who transforms the bodies of our humiliation so as to be conformed to the body of Christ's glory, changed the body as an organ of the power that dwelt in it, changing it into something more divine. But he left the linen cloths as superfluous and foreign to the nature of the body. [To Marinus, Supplement 2]
I've thought about that frequently. If only I could follow our Crucified and Risen God's example.
ReplyDeleteHave you been listening to HT Radio? :-)
ReplyDeleteI used that line too!
http://higherthings.org/radio/shows/2009-04-17.html
I'm glad no one every pointed that out to my mom.
ReplyDeleteIt just proves the Lord was not a teenager at his Holy Resurrection.
ReplyDeleteBrian
Even in this, I fail to follow my Lord :)
ReplyDeleteIt's an excellent detail St. John gives us. If I were a 19th Century Rationalist preacher, I could devote ten whole sermons to bed making and house cleaning based on this whole verse. ;)
It's a good reason to be married . . . (running!)
ReplyDeleteI had the following emailed to me. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteWhy did Jesus fold the napkin?
Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection? I never
noticed this......
John 20:7 tells us that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus, was
not 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 that Sunday morning, 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 and I don't know where they have taken 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 napkin that had covered
Jesus face was folded up and lying to one side.
Is that important? Absolutely!
Is that really significant? Yes!
In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to
understand a little bit about the 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 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. The Servant would not dare touch that table until the Master was
finished.
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 finished".
I did not know this.....
If the Master got up from the table, and folded his napkin beside his plate, the
servant would not dare touch the table, because....the folded napkin meant, "I'm
coming back!"
He is coming back!
A bunch of seminarians and vicars discussed that very e-mail (since we got it multiple times from members)).
ReplyDeleteThe true implication of "folding the napkin" is that Jesus has risen from the dead. If the body had been stolen no one would have taken the time to fold the linen.
A friend also noted this: "it's folded as if it was never used. Death has been defeated, and even the linens are folded and put away."
Finally, here are some quotes from some Fathers of the Church on this very passage:
Chrysostom: When [Mary] came and said these things, the apostles heard them and drew near to the sepulcher with great eagerness. They see the linen clothes lying there, which was a sign of the resurrection. For if they had removed the body, they would not have stripped it first, nor, if any had stolen it, would they have taken the trouble to remove the napkin and roll it up and lay it in a place by itself apart from the linens. They would have taken the body as it was. Therefore, John tells us by anticipation that it was buried with much myrrh, which glues linen to the body not less firmly than lead. He tells us this so that when you hear that the napkin lay apart from the linens, you may not endure those who say that he was stolen. For a thief would not have been so foolish as to expend so much effort on a trifling detail. [Homilies on the Gospel of John 85.4]
Eusebius of Caesarea: The cloths lying within seem to me at once to furnish also a proof that the body had not been taken away by people, as Mary supposed. For no one taking away the body would leave the linens, nor would the thief ever have stayed until he had undone the linens and so be caught. And at the same time they establish the resurrection of the body from the dead. For God, who transforms the bodies of our humiliation so as to be conformed to the body of Christ's glory, changed the body as an organ of the power that dwelt in it, changing it into something more divine. But he left the linen cloths as superfluous and foreign to the nature of the body. [To Marinus, Supplement 2]