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

I never thought about this before.
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 separate from the grave clothes.
 
Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, 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 out of the tomb, and I
Don't know where they have put 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 cloth that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and lying to the side.
 
Was 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; 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. 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!
 

Resurrection Power!

How comes this flower to bloom is so fair

With loveliest fragrance to fill the air

A short time ago, the seed lay dead,

The cold, wintry ground its desolate bed.

But now, behold, from the damp earth,

Without a sound to betray its birth,

This thing of beauty has blossomed and grown,

To possess a loveliness all its own.

And as we view it, standing there

With a majesty quite beyond compare,

A mighty conviction grips my heart:

This beautiful flower has a counterpart.

Our Saviour once suffered and died for sin,

Though no one so righteous as He had been

Ie seemed that the devil had sealed His doom,

As they buried His body in Joseph's tomb.

But what is this wonder that greets our eyes,

As the rays of the third morning's sun arise!

Behold! He is risen! The grave the grave could not hold

The Author of life, the anointed of God.

And now the dead who have trusted His Name,

Though sleeping in Jesus, will rise again,

With bodies more glorious than this flower,

Sown in weakness, but raised in power.

Resurrection Children

Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children Of God, being the children of the resurrection.

(Luke 20:36)

In this verse Christians are given a very good name. In the Bible we are a lot of things, including sinners, sheep without a shepherd, children of wrath, blind, lost, and many other things but the good news is none of that matters because when we met Christ we have became a new creation. We became, in fact “children of the resurrection”. When Jesus comes into our life we are different. All things become new.

Suddenly, because of what Jesus did on the Cross, everything is different. When we came to Jesus everything is different. Now that is something to really give thanks for. Our defining quality is no longer what we were or what things, bad or good, we did in the past. We are no longer under that pollution and corruption that Adam and Eve Passed on to us through the generations. That sin nature no longer rules our life. We are now defined by something different and way above this old sinful world. It is the resurrection. It is, in fact, who we are. We are the children of the resurrection.

What does this mean? It means we no longer have to look at our past failures, we only have to look at the resurrection of Jesus and know that all things are new, because we are new children. When this old world encircles us with its small-mindedness, hostility, and anger we can live in a inspirational and uplifting way, with our hopes, faith, and all our values fixed firmly above the things in this old crazy, sinful world, because we have our eyes fixed on Jesus.

This is all because of what Jesus did for us when He died on that cross at Calvary. He paid the price for you and me. Oh what a difference when Jesus passes by! So when you go to church this Easter Sunday remember that you are fruits of that resurrection, that happened so many years ago. That is something the world cannot take away.

Jesus Paid It All

As I read the Easter Story From The Bible I thought about the pain, the sadness, the hurt of knowing that my Savior was beat, spit on, His hair pulled out, falsely accused, made fun of, it grieved my soul and I wept. Then as I laid my Bible down and walked outside I saw the lilies blooming, then I was reminded He is Not there, He has risen! ! Near Easter every year I always remember, with great emotion, the Easter play,  by the youth, at my church. It was over twenty years ago and I still remember it as it was yesterday. I have told this in a past commentary but I feel that it needs to be repeated. I can still feel the presents of The Holy Spirit as I did that very day in that old country church!

Every year I always repeat the story about my oldest son having the part of Christ, in the Easter play at our church and as he carried the cross on his shoulders down the isle he was being beaten with a whip by his cousin who was playing the part of a roman soldier. {There was no real hard and hurtful blows to my son}  As I watched my son being beat with the whip in this play I thought to myself; This is my son and it is only a play, but how Our Heavenly Father  must have felt as he watched from Heaven as His only begotten Son was being whipped, beat, and then crucified. As I watched that play I cried uncontrollably and it was not just a few tears. I felt the Spirit of the Lord and to this day I’m always in remembrance of that day in my life and the most unforgettable play that brought me to uncontrollable tears. That was the day it hit me like a ton of bricks and I was greatly moved by the Holy Ghost. Some people might call it emotions, but I call it The Holy Ghost moving on me. It always feels so good when the Spirit quickens you. That play will stay with me for the rest of my life. This was the punishment that Jesus took for you and me. Oh what joy it will be on that day when my Jesus I will see. The One who died for me {and you}. I want to fall at His feet and tell Him how much that I love him.

By His strips we were healed, no kind of disease or sickness has no authority over The Lord’s child, He was wounded for our transgressions, {for all those past sins that was in our life He was beat and spit upon}, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him. { In other words He took our punishment and correction so we might be reconciled to God.} He was bruised for our iniquities, { The Hebrew meaning for bruised is: To crush and beat to pieces.} This my friend is what Jesus did for us. Don’t you love Him? That Old Rugged Cross made the difference.

It is the Holy Ghost Conviction that causes us all to come to Christ. We must remember that “He is not there {in that tomb}, He has risen. We as followers of Christ have something to look forward to, that is this, we are going to live forever with our Lord, to sit at His feet, and to serve Him for ever and ever. We will be in a place where there will be no more sickness, death, no sadness, no pain, no sorrow, just peace and joy in The Holy Ghost. We will be in a place where a day will be as a thousand years and a thousand years will be as a day. Oh what a day that will be!

We live in a time and age that the world grows spiritually darker every day. There are people losing their jobs, people going hungry, people losing their homes, bank accounts, and all their worldly processions. People are alarmingly turning their back on God and things does not lot good. Our nation’s leaders for the most part have turned their back on God. I believe with all my heart that Our Savior’s return is going to be soon. All the signs are there. We must put our faith in Jesus, The Cross, The Resurrection, and The promise that He will come again. The fact that He has gone to prepare a place for us and where He is we will be also. This is our hope and our faith. All other hope is sinking sand. As I close this commentary of mine for this Easter I want to leave you with a few lines of a old hymn of the church;

My Hope is built on nothing less,

than Jesus’ Blood and righteousness,

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

But wholly lean on Jesus Name

On Christ, The Solid Rock, I stand,

All other ground is sinking sand,

All other ground is sinking sand.

Consider The Lillies

This world's economy is not looking to good right now. We have bank failures, mortgage foreclosures, people losing jobs, companies going out of business, life savings being lost, the government going crazy with their pork projects, and troubles from within and without that makes things even harder for the person who is trying to live a normal life. People are asking their self these questions, Where will we turn? What will we do? Who is going to help us? How will I pay for this? What is going to happen to us? theses are truths that everyone must face and act upon. As Christians we must remember that we have a source of power that for centuries has never been tapped out nor can it be. That power source is never ending. That source had no beginning and has no ending. We must have a unwavering faith that says "I BELIEVE GOD". We must believe the Word of God and live by it. Faith can still move the mountains in you life. We must put God first and everything else will work out. Did not God provide for Noah and his family in the ark. They were safe in that ark. The storm raged around them, but they were safe, sheltered in the arms of God. Even though the storms of this life are raging about us we also can be in that ark of safety, sheltered in the arms of God. The problem with a lot of Christians in todays world is their belief has turned to doubt and the mustard seed of faith has gone. I believe God! I believe the same God that Rolled back the waters of the mighty Red Sea, The God that feed and protected the Hebrew Children for 40 years, The same God that fed Elijah by the brook and gave him water to drink, The same God who Saved the three Hebrew Children from the fiery furnace, The same God who delivered Daniel from the lion's den, The same God who fed the multitudes and the same God who turned the water into wine can also turn our problems into gladness. We must only believe. All things are possible to those who believe.