May 4, 2010 John 20

KEY VERSE:

“as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen”

(John 20:7)

CENTRAL TRUTH:

Jesus is not finished.

NOT FINISHED

John saw the face cloth, he saw the napkin, and he believed.

The face cloth, the napkin, is an important detail. In a Bible inspired by God every word and detail is important. The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us the napkin was neatly folded and lying by itself.

As I already said, this napkin, when it is understood, is a message of hope and joy from Jesus.

So, what is so important about the napkin? What is Jesus telling us?

Jesus wants us to think of a meal, of a master being served his meal. [Don't forget, Jesus and His disciples had celebrated the Passover meal just a couple of days earlier.] You see the plates, the ladle, the cups, a cloth or napkin, the food.

The traditions of that time were very clear and very orderly. Every item was important and everything on the table had its proper place. The servant had to make sure the table was perfectly arranged. And, when the meal was served the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating. In fact, the servant would not dare touch the table until the master was finished.

When the master was finished eating, he would rise from the table, take that folded napkin and wipe his fingers and mouth and clean his beard. He then would throw the napkin on the table – no longer neatly folded. The servant would then know the master was finished and that he could clear the table.

In those days, a used and discarded napkin meant "I'm done. I'm finished eating." However, if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside the plate, the servant knew not to touch the table. The neatly folded napkin meant, "I'm not finished yet. I'm coming back."

John saw the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. "The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen" (Jn 20:7). Do you hear what the Master is saying? Do you hear the message of Jesus to His disciples? Jesus is saying, "I'm not finished yet!" **

(**Borrowed from the work of Reverend Adrian Direleman)

How awesome is that !!! How many more “nuggets” like this are there in the Bible ? So symbolic. So powerful. So simple and just read-over, dismissed as just words.

When I first read this explanation a couple of years ago, I thought it was the coolest thing. I think I got it in an email around Easter. It made me slow down in my reading and really think about the words that were written. I would quiz my theologian officemate about what “this” meant or what “that” meant. Most of the time it was a pretty literal interpretation. But every so often, you get a nugget like this that is awesome … worth sharing.