Why did Jesus fold the napkin?

I got this from a friend at work today.  It is definiately worth passing on..

 

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, 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 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!

Take Refuge!

In my study of the Old Testament, I started noticing God's instructions to Moses that once the Israleites reached the promised land, that they were to setup a number of "cities of refuge".  When they finally entered with Joshua, God detailed His plan for these cities.

Joshua 20:1-9

¹ Then the LORD said to Joshua: ² "Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, ³ so that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood.

 ⁴ "When he flees to one of these cities, he is to stand in the entrance of the city gate and state his case before the elders of that city. Then they are to admit him into their city and give him a place to live with them. ⁵ If the avenger of blood pursues him, they must not surrender the one accused, because he killed his neighbor unintentionally and without malice aforethought. ⁶ He is to stay in that city until he has stood trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest who is serving at that time. Then he may go back to his own home in the town from which he fled."

 ⁷ So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. ⁸ On the east side of the Jordan of Jericho they designated Bezer in the desert on the plateau in the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead in the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan in the tribe of Manasseh. ⁹ Any of the Israelites or any alien living among them who killed someone accidentally could flee to these designated cities and not be killed by the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly.

I was able to pull a map of ancient Israel off the internet and I have highlighted these 6 cities.  First, note that the cities are easily accessible to anyone living in Israel and was open to not only Israelites, but to any "alien living among them".  Second, notice the number of cities, 6.  Remember 6, is the number of man.  Third, in looking at the Hebrew meaning of the names of these cities, it starts to draw a picture of Jesus:

Kedesh - Sanctuary

Golan - Passage/Revolation

Ramoth - Exalted or high place

Bezer - Strong

Hebron - Society/friendship/fellowship

Shechem - Strong Shoulders

The Bible is full of references of God being our "Refuge"

2 Samuel 22:3 The God of my strength, in whom I will trust;My shield and the horn of my salvation, My stronghold and my refuge; My Savior, You save me from violence.

Psalms 46:1God is our refuge and strength,A very present help in trouble.

There are a LOT more, I'll let you find them.

The picture God started painting for us in these cities and their purpose point directly to Jesus in that:

1.  The refuge was easily accessible, very quickly to anyone, not just the Israelites.

2.  The refuge was a security to those who entered and those who entered would NOT be given up to those who pursued them (the "avenger of blood")

3.  God, from the beginning, had a very detailed and clearly understood plan for refuge to all.

4.  The number of cities I mentioned earlier was 6, the number of man.  God became man thru Jesus Christ and open the refuge to anyone, anytime, anywhere!

I praise God for really convicting me to spend more and more time in the Bible, He especially has pointed me to the Old Testament.  I really did NOT want to read the Old Testament, because I just did not want to go thru the begats and begots and then the laws and commandments (it is HARD reading).  But thru spending time there, a whole lot of things about Jesus are becoming so much clearer.  I knew there was prophecies in the OT about Jesus, but I am really seeing that the WHOLE Bible is really about Jesus and the plan of salvation for all of us.  I really now am starting to understand a lot of things in the New Testament from knowing what the Old Testament says.  

ALSO .. God has laid a co worker on my heart for some time now, he is muslim. I really did not know where to even start with him, but the other day (the day after I finally made it thru Deutoronomy by the way, which is the last book of the "Torah" in the Jewish faith)  God presented the opportunity to begin witnessing to this muslim friend.  Guess what I found out that I never knew?  THE MUSLIMS BELIEVE IN THE TORAH!!  This gives me at least a starting point of common knowledge.  I would not have had this common ground without God pushing me to read and understand (the best I can anyway) the Torah.  God is so good and leads us in ways that just amazes me.  Praise God!  This may be a hard and long process in witness, so please pray that God continues to present opportunites to talk and that I present the gospel the way God intends.

Carl