I heard an Evangelist preach a sermon on this once, a long time ago, and while getting ready today God brought it to my mind again. John 20:1-7 is where it is in the Bible but I'm especially referring to verse 7 which says "And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself." The napkin was not just laying there with the discarded grave clothes......it was separated from the grave clothes and folded neatly.
God doesn't just put things in the Bible for no reason, which means this action has significance. But what is it? Well, to understand it more fully you have to go back to the Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and the 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 set perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare to touch the 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 because 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!"
Imagine the despair the disciples were going through. They had seen miracle after miracle and even when Jesus tried to explain to them that He was going to die but He would be coming back (John 16:16), they still didn't understand (John 16:17). So when they watched them crucify Him it really shook their faith. Then after 3 days, they saw an empty tomb. Not only did they see an empty tomb, but they saw a folded napkin in that empty tomb! I'm speculating here, but as my Preacher says, 'Let's use our sanctified imaginations'. I really think that when they saw that folded napkin God spoke to their hearts and said, "He's not finished yet, He's coming back!" I think that even before He appeared to them the folded napkin brought to them, a little glimmer of hope. I think they understood that the folded napkin meant something.....after all, they were all Hebrews and undoubtedly knew the tradition. I believe that was their first clue that He was coming back....and He did. Jesus appeared to all of the disciples and more than 500 people (1 Corinthians 15:6).
Praise the Lord! I also believe that the folded napkin has significance for us today. I believe a correct application can also be made that He is coming back for his own (the saved) someday.
"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. Wherefore comfort one another with these words."
~~1 Thessalonians 4:16-18~~
I heard a sermon on this subject preached several years ago but I wanted to review some of the facts of the Hebrew tradition so I used this site to refresh my memory.
