BIBLE MEDITATION:
“And the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself.” John 20:7
ENCOURAGING WORD:
John 20:7 tells us that the napkin that 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 at the head of that stony coffin. Is that significant? Absolutely! 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. The servant would not dare touch that table until the master was finished. If the master was 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 he should clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, “I’m done.” But if the master got up from the table, folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table because the servant knew that the folded napkin meant, “I’m not finished yet.” In other words, “I’m coming back!” Before Jesus resurrected from the grave into heaven, He folded the napkin where His head was lying as a clear message to us that “He is coming back, He is not finished.” Notice how the Bible is very clear as to the napkin being folded in the empty tomb of Jesus Christ in John 20:7. If you think that is a coincidence, you are badly mistaken.
There are so many Jewish traditions that mirror actual events that took place in the days that Jesus Christ walked the shores of Galilee all the way through to His death. There is another very significant tradition with the Jews in regards to the Jewish wedding.
The Jewish wedding of those days mirrored the life and death of Jesus Christ and how it will be fulfilled in the latter days. When I first read and understood how the Jewish wedding was laid out, I was astounded as to the precise similarities of both the Jewish wedding and how it is played out from the last Supper all the way to the to the second coming of Jesus Christ and what we are to expect in the future.
Another event that took place was in Egypt on the night of the Passover. We read in Exodus 12:7 where it says, “Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.”
The reason for this is explained in Exodus 12: 12-13; “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.”
The blood that they are talking about is the blood of a spotless lamb as we read in Exodus 12:3; “Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household.”
To get the whole story, read all of Exodus 12. Because of the blood of the lamb that was put on the tops and doorframes of the houses, the death angel would pass over their home, and all life would be spared, thus is why it is called the Passover. If they did not have the blood on their doorframes, the first born of each household would die. How is this significant and how does it relate to us today? Let me start out with this verse from;
John 11: 25-26 where it reads, “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
What Jesus is saying here is, all who believe in Him, even though their physical body will die, their Spirit will live on forever. When a believer in Jesus Christ dies, he goes immediately to be with the Lord. In other words, death passes over those that believe because they are covered by the Blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ! The last breath you take here on earth will be followed up by the next breath you take in heaven. You really never stop breathing. If you die rejecting Jesus Christ and His propitiation for your sins, you die you go to Hades waiting for the judgment that will ultimately send you to your second death. Let me put it this way, I hope you understand, if you are born twice, you die once, if you are born once, you die twice. All of our physical bodies will die once, but those that are born again will not suffer the second death that is the final judgment for unbelievers.
1 Peter 1:3; tells us “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and become born-again into the Holy Spirit, it is then that you are given a new birth, one that will never die. You will not take part in the second death because you are covered by the Blood of Jesus Christ just as the Hebrew Israelites were protected by the blood of the lamb on Passover and as a result, were saved from death.
All I can do is pray that God reaches out to those of you who are looking to be saved by the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. I can only share the messages that the Holy Spirit puts on my heart, the rest is up to Him to reach the lost. What you can do on your end is reach out to the Holy Spirit in prayer and ask Him to come into your life. If you feel a tugging at your heart and want to be part of Gods Family, say this prayer in the privacy of your own home, “Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe you died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite you to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow you as my Lord and Savior.” If you say this prayer and mean it from the bottom of your heart, let me be the first one to welcome you to the family of God! The family that will live for all eternity.
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