Face Cloth Neatly Folded

1. What was Jesus wearing? Verse 6 Peter saw the grave clothes wrapped around Jesus were left in the tomb – this raises a very practical question “what was Jesus wearing when he spoke with Mary Magdalene when she thought He was the gardener?” I found no explanation in scripture, but apparently, He was clothed and decent to be seen.

2. There were grave clothes, but no body.

In Matthew 28 we are told the chief Priests spread the rumor that Jesus’ disciples stole His body. If they had done this, they most likely would have taken the body wrapped in grave clothes rather than leaving them behind. The disciples of Jesus had no reason to steal the body; they didn’t even believe He would be resurrected.

If grave robbers had stolen the body, then they would most likely have taken the grave clothes as well.

3. Grave clothes left in the tomb are symbols of victory of Jesus over death.

Jesus’ resurrected body didn’t need the remnants of the past such as the grave clothes, He was no longer dead! He had defeated death proving His power over Satan’s greatest weapon. The burial clothes were a symbol of His death and yet became a symbol of His resurrection.

It is not recorded in scripture, but I firmly believe Jesus didn’t smell of death and the grave either when He talked with people after the resurrection.

There is a beautiful teaching here for you and me here too. When you and I are saved, God removes the sin stains of our past from us and we are clothed in righteousness. Satan wants to hold us back and beat us down with the faults of our past mistakes, but Jesus wants us to live in the presence of His grace and mercy.

Illustration - A little boy had been very naughty and he knew his mother was upset with him. The family had a chalkboard in the kitchen for messages. The little boy wrote on the board “Mother, when you forgive me, erase this message”. He went to his room and thought long and hard about what he had done. About an hour later he went to the kitchen and to his delight his mother had erased his message and had even taken a cloth and washed the board completely clean. Jesus, like this mother, doesn’t want to rub your sins in; He wants to rub them out of your life.

4. The fact the grave clothes were folded and neat is a reminder our God does not do things in a random and inconsistent manner. God had a plan to resurrect Jesus and executed it flawlessly. God pays attention to every detail even folding the burial face cloth. God is also concerned with the details of your and my life as well. Now you and I need to accept that God does things in His own time – He does not rush, fret or hurry. Pray and then look for His detailed answers. They may be small answers, but will show He is listening and cares.

The grave clothes were not thrown on the floor as if in a haste or hurry. They were KJV wrapped or NIV folded. Some scholars believe the grave clothes were still in the shape of Jesus body such as a cocoon, but more likely Jesus was awakened from the dead and unwrapped Himself – He could have simply passed through the burial cloth.