The Folded Napkin!
The Easter Mummy
Introduction
A. Today being Easter we are going to talk about the resurrection of Jesus. Next week we will be starting a new sermon series, “Famous last words.” We will be looking at the seven last statements Jesus said as He was hanging on the cross and what they meant. We will also be looking at last statements made by famous people like movie actors, politicians, criminals, athletes and ministers. This is going to be an incredible sermon series.
Text Poll
On what day did Jesus die?
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
A. Jesus said in Matthew 12:40, "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
B. Jesus died at around 3:00pm (Luke 23:44) in the afternoon and was put in the grave just before 6PM.
C. We know He rose on the 1st day of the week according to Mark 16:9. “Jesus rose early on the first day of the week.” So that would be Sunday.
D. We know He died the day before the Sabbath according to Mark 15:42. “It was Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath.” So, we assume He died on Friday since the next day was a Sabbath. But if He was put in the grave on Friday night and rose Sunday morning, you only get two nights and two days. So what’s up with that?
E. The answer can be found in Lev 23:5-7. The day after the Passover was considered a High Holy Day, or a Holy Sabbath. “The LORD’s Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. On the fifteenth day of that month the LORD's Feast of Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.”
F. Also, in John 19:31-33 we read, “Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath for that Sabbath was a high day.”
G. CORRECT: He was put in grave late Thursday (Passover the 14th day of the month), just before the evening. The next day was Friday, and it was the High Holy Day or Holy Sabbath (the 15th day of the month) and then came Saturday, the regular Sabbath. That year it was a double Sabbath. That would mean Jesus was in the grave Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights for three nights, and He was in the grave Thursday, Friday, Saturday days for three days. He rose Sunday morning BEFORE 6AM.
H. Now all four of the gospels talk about Jesus' resurrection. They all cover a different aspect of it. While preparing for the sermon this year, I came across an obscure bible verse about the resurrection that I never noticed before. I was so intrigued by it that I spent hours and hours and hours researching it.
I. Have you ever talked to someone who gave you way too many details?” We call that “TMI,” too much information. But this is never the case with God, EVERY DETAIL MATTERS.
J. Today we are going to read an interesting and detailed description of what was seen in the tomb on Sunday morning that is told by John as he first arrived there. We are going to be reading in the Gospel of John 20:1-10.
What about the ‘folded handkerchief?’ Was Jesus OCD? John 20:1-10
A. Now in verse 7 we read an interesting detail about what the two disciples actually saw when they looked into the tomb. “The handkerchief or head piece was folded together.” Some translations read, “wrapped.” But the point is, it was not connected to the linen cloths that had been around Jesus body. It was off by itself. I never noticed this before. What was up with this???
B. Was Jesus struggling with OCD that morning? Was Jesus struggling with obsessive-compulsive disorder that morning? This is incredible! Just think about it. The most important event in history is happening. Jesus is rising from the dead. It was the event of deepest importance for every human being who ever lived. The Law and the Prophets were fulfilled in that moment, and the existence of the human race took on an utterly new meaning. All of heaven is standing and watching this take place. Thunder and lightning are flashing, the music is playing, the angels are singing, and everyone is waiting for Him to step out of the tomb.
C. But here is Jesus, “Hmm, wait, I better fold this napkin and make everything neat before I go out!” And there He is folding the napkin, “Hmm where should I put it. Okay I’ll put it right here, no, I put it over there. Yes, that is nice.” Then He dusts away a few cobwebs and then He walks out!
D. What is up with this?
Did Jesus fold the handkerchief to give a hidden message?
A. According to some Easter sermons, the folded head covering was a hidden message to the disciples. According to these sermons, among the Jews of Jesus’ day a master would let his servants know whether he was finished eating or coming back to the table by the way he left his napkin. If he tossed it aside, he was finished. If he folded it, he was not finished and would return. The hidden message in the story is that by laying His napkin aside and neatly folded Jesus was saying He would be coming back.
B. That sounds great, but here is a little piece of information that might help you. Whenever you here a story that sounds interesting and you are encouraged to pass it along, it would be good to check out the source first just to make sure it is true. There are so many things that get spread around, especially by Christians, that are just not true, and it makes Christians look bad.
C. So according to these sites and hundreds of other Biblical scholars here is the fact about this ‘hidden message of the folded napkin.’
1. Many Bible study sources and Jewish scholars have been checked and nothing has ever been found about this alleged Jewish custom of the folded napkins. No Bible scholars have ever referred to this custom or the illustration about the meaning of the folded napkin.
2. The other problem with this ‘hidden message’ theory is that none of Jesus disciples were the kind of people who even had servants, so they would not have any idea of what this custom would mean.
3. And then there is the real problem of the hidden message in that it was so hidden no one would ever get it until just a few years ago. The disciples would never make the connection between a bloody head wrapping that was folded up and ever think it was supposed to represent a table napkin, which by the way only the King James version uses the word ‘napkin’ All the other translations use “facecloth” or “burial-cloth” or something like that. There is nothing in common between a burial scene and the dinner table. And there would be no logical reason for associating these two different items with each other. “Oh, look, there's a folded burial cloth. That reminds me of eating lunch!” The “I’m coming back” theme is certainly true, but it does not depend upon folded cloths.
D. I am skeptical about any interpretation or ‘deeper meaning’ of Scripture which depends entirely upon knowledge that can only be gained outside of Scripture. My basic conviction is that God has given us all we need to understand the Bible, all the necessary information in the Bible itself, and the Holy Spirit who illuminates it. (1 Corinthians 2).
E. Then there is another common thought about a hidden message that Jesus was trying to give with the folded napkin.
1. This story says that Jewish carpenters used to leave a folded towel as a sign to their clients that a project was completed. They would wipe their face and arms, and then leave the sweaty cloth folded atop the finished work to indicate to the client that the job was finished and their labor complete.
2. So, since Jesus was a carpenter’s son and perhaps familiar with the tradition, this might have been a subtle reminder to His disciples that “it is finished,” that the Messiah’s work in the salvation of lost man that had taken so many thousands of years to set up was indeed finished once and for all with His resurrection.
3. Again, this is so lacking any verification. There is no such custom ever known to be practiced by carpenters in Jesus' day or in any culture for that matter. And then there is the fact that the disciples would never have made the connection that this folded head wrap was a hidden message to them that God’s work was complete!
F. Then there is the idea that Jesus took the time to fold this cloth as He was getting ready to leave so that when the disciples came in, they would immediately realize that His body could not have been stolen, because thieves would never take the time to fold this cloth as they were quickly trying to leave. This is probably the most common understanding of the folded cloth but again I seriously doubt that the disciples would have been like Sherlock Holmes solving a mystery. I seriously doubt that they would have made the connection that a folded cloth meant that Jesus body could not have been stolen.
G. So, what is up with Jesus folding this head covering before He went out of the tomb? I believe it meant something else.
What did these two disciples see when they went into the tomb? John 20:1-10
A. First, we read that Mary went to the tomb first, but when she saw the stone rolled away, she did NOT go in. She just concluded that someone broke in and stole Jesus body. Verses 1-2.
B. In verse 5 we read that John saw (blepo) looked at the linen clothes. He took just a quick look, not with deep thought or understanding. He stooped and looked in, and he saw the linen clothes, but what made him stop short of going into the tomb for a closer look? I believe that John was momentarily shaken in what he saw. He probably could not believe his eyes.
C. In verse 6 we read that Peter pushes John out of the way and barges right in. We read that he “sees.” Peter beheld, “theroe” this is careful observation, to look with the intent of apprehending to stare at. We get this word theorize from “thereo,” close contemplation. He was staring there with his mouth and eyes wide open. What was he trying to figure out?
D. In verse 8 we read that John “saw and believed” The Greek word here is “horao.” This is not a casual glance; this is a slow careful observation. We have phrases today to explain this word. We would say, “It clicked” or “I see it now” or “Oh now I get it, it all made sense!”
E. What did they both see? The key is found in verse 7. “A handkerchief folded up.”
Now if you saw this (show them a folded-up cloth)
What would you believe?
Would you conclude that Jesus rose from the dead? No!
Folded or rolled up?
A. Verse 7 says “They saw the head covering folded, off by itself.” Some translations read ‘folded’ like the NIV and the NKJ version. Others translate the word as ‘rolled up” NAS, AS, Revised Standard. The KJ says, ‘wrapped together.”
B. The Greek word for ‘folded’ is ‘entylisso.’ It is probably better understood to mean twisted or entwined, rolled up, or wrapped together, rather than "neatly folded.” It was not folded up like a nice neat napkin.
Here is my suggestion what they saw. Hold up my empty mummy head! (I made this with paper mâché around a balloon)
A. Based upon this, I would like to make a suggestion. Given that the Master's body was wrapped in linen along with 70-100 pounds of myrrh and aloes, (John 19:39) I would suggest that the Gospel writer is trying to indicate that the head-cloth still retained its wrapped form, as if it was still wrapped about the head of the Master, forming a sort of empty chrysalis left behind when he rose from the slumber of death. It was folded or wrapped up like a mask or helmet that was empty.
B. What they saw though was an empty mummy shell and off to the side they saw and empty head casing. Jesus’ body must have passed right through it! Jesus’ body came out of a mummy case and there was no head casing, so the disciples could look right in and see it was empty. This shoots down anyone stealing the body. How could they get the body out without cutting the strips? No wonder they “believed” Jesus rose from the dead! What else could you conclude?
C. This is why John mentioned this minute detail about the head cloth. Up until he saw it, he and the other apostles refused to believe that Jesus could rise from the dead, but with just one glance at the cloth, “He saw and believed; for previously they did not know the scriptures, that He must rise from the dead.” He instantly saw that no other explanation was possible. The head cloth was still ‘folded” or ‘rolled up” in the place where Jesus head had been. “In its proper place by itself” Just as if it was still wound around Jesus’ head, but there was no head inside!
D. Jesus truly had risen from the dead. Later that day, Jesus appeared to the disciples who were locked up in the upper room. Jesus just passed right through the walls. He had risen with a glorified body.
What does this mean to us that Jesus rose from the dead?
A. It means that His sacrifice on the cross was accepted by God the Father as payment for our sins. He was accepted as a substitute because He was sinless and would never have died. He did not have the curse of sin in Him like every human since Adam and Eve. This is why His virgin birth was so important. He did not inherit the sin nature from Mary or from Joseph. He was born without sin and lived a sinless life.
B. Yet, Jesus willingly allowed Himself to be crucified for our sins. If Jesus was a sinner just like us, He would have had the curse of death in Him, and His death would not have meant anything. That would be like one convicted criminal saying he would serve time in jail for another convicted criminal.
C. But He was sinless, and He did not have the curse of death in Him. His resurrection proves that He was sinless, because death could not hold Him down. Even though He died for our sins, He rose again and overcame death. Without His resurrection we would have no assurance that His sacrifice was sufficient to pay for our sins.
D. We are assured of forgiveness of all of our sins. We can never be good enough to pay for our sins, but we can have all of our sins forgiven as we accept Jesus' sacrifice on the cross as payment for us.
