Unfortunately, this is yet another example of "biblical" urban legends. Neither Dr. David Stern, a leading Messianic scholar, nor D. A. Carson, whose commentary on John is among the finest, even mention it. The late Dr. Alfred Edersheim, a luminary among Messianic scholars, said nothing about such a tradition, despite the wealth of Jewish historical and cultural details he offers in "The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah"
I have seen this in several Bible study sites, but have yet to see even one cite a source. As cool as it sounds, I am left to conclude that it is a complete fabrication, and I don't think Jesus the Risen Messiah would condone the use of lies in order to perpetuate the truth of His resurrection. |
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---Glenn on 7/16/08 |
That the napkin was found folded in the empty tomb (by Him or angels...who knows?)may be significant in any number of ways. I know of no scripture that tells us.
At the Passover Sedar meal, Jews fold a napkin around broken pieces of matzo. The broken unleavened bread, the blood on the door posts of the Israelites that spared them from death in Egypt, the deliverance from a pagan land....all foreshadow the Salvation afforded mankind by Christ's death on the cross and His resurrection. Is there some connection between the "napkins"? Maybe. But I don't think there's any way to know. |
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---Donna on 7/16/08 |
Be in the ground the same as Jonah in the great fish, 3 days. They came on the first day of the week, Sunday is the first as we know it, Saturday the "weekly sabbath". 3 days would then be wednesday sundown to Thursday, Thurs sundown to Friday, Friday sundown to Saturday sundown. He arose after sunset Saturday, "before dawn Sunday" (when the women came to the tomb) so folding was not done on sabbath.About Lazarus - Lazarus walked out of the tomb and wasn't bound, though he was still wrapped a bit. The Lord's command was to Hell (paradise) where souls went. to be loosed from the bonds of Hell. It is finished was the fulfillment of the Old Testament, the Law. |
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---George on 7/14/08 |
he did not fold it it was wiped of his brow when he was weak. the power flows just like the time a woman touched him without authority and the power flowed to he |
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---emiliano on 7/6/08 |
Who cares if the story is true . . . the real TRUTH is He Is Coming Back!!!!
Thank You, Jesus ~ the Gospel is True. |
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---Bev on 4/14/08 |
Not sure looking for Scriptural proof of the Jewish custom. The folded napkin is representation that Christ will return. |
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---Clarence on 3/23/08 |
Shawn: I believe it had nothing to do with Jews not doing any work on the Sabbath. Christ arose on the day *after* the Jewish Sabbath. |
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---Don on 3/21/08 |
"Question: would folding a napkin on the Sabbath have been considered work for a Jew? perhaps this was circumstantial evidence that no observing Jew had moved him?
---Shawn on 2/11/08"
This answer is interesting and I have not heard it before.
I believe the napkin was folded, in an orderly manner, in order to show that this was not hurried or messed up or snatched up operation. The peace of the ages settled over the resurrection. |
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---Mima on 2/19/08 |
According to David Bivin of Jerusalem Perspective the idea of the master servant napkin story is the fanciful inventions of the uneducated. Napkins were not used in Yeshua's days after a meal, you would do a aftermeals handwashing. Like I said before, it was not a napkin it was a tallit and had nothing to do with the message of "I'm coming back". |
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---Jeff on 2/19/08 |
If you want to read it further google "The napkin from the face of Jesus" and click on the link for the jerusalem perspective dot com. David Biven is a widely recognized and respected bible scholar and biblical historian. |
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---Jeff on 2/19/08 |
The Gospel of John (20:7) Understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. It means Jesus is coming back. In a google search just type in "The napkin from the face of Jesus", and you will get your answer. They will only allow 85 words here and the explaination is longer than that. |
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---Anne on 2/17/08 |
What if He just folded it without meaning to create a symbolic gesture. If so, It would tell us that Jesus would be neat & precise by nature. If John really saw the empty tomb, he would describe what he saw whether it has theological meaning or not. This mystery creates a picture of an event in history. Everything isn't symbolic. The napkin question probably raised a question with John too or he would't have recorded it. Perhaps he was hoping you might might try to figure it out.
David |
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---David on 2/15/08 |
Good Question, but I believe it had something to do with the traditional preparation of the cloth for another's burial. See Matthew 28:5+ 6, Mark 16:6, Luke 24:4-6, All Say "He is not here, He is risen!" Only John goes into this specific detail, right? But as far as I can tell in the NKJV, it does not imply that Jesus folded them, BUT does it matter if he did? |
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---Tim on 2/12/08 |
question: would folding a napkin on the Sabbath have been considered work for a Jew? perhaps this was circumstantial evidence that no observing Jew had moved him? |
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---Shawn on 2/11/08 |
There is no special significance as to why Jesus rolled up the cloth, and it has nothing to do with eating, except only for that fact that he is always very neat. After Jesus raised himself up from the dead, he took the wool coth (gk: soudarion= sudor, sweat + erion, wool) that Joseph laid over his face, and rolled it up together next to him while he sat talking with his two angels. |
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---Eloy on 2/6/08 |
I'm not sure about Jeff's position on this whole matter, but it is evident from his response (read way down the blog) that he thinks the "he's coming back" idea and folding of the napkin is rubbish. But he does admit that folding of the Tallit was done special by each Jew, and the fact the cloth was folded meant that "He was alive" and that the body had not been stolen. That is to say: "He's coming back!!" |
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---Ray on 2/5/08 |
If the folded napkin meant He was coming back...it would have been "coming back to the tomb." I don't think he was wanting to go back to the tomb.
Jesus knew the jews would try to claim that the disciples had stolen his body away in the night and "claimed that He rose from the dead". If someone had done that...they would not have taken the time to fold the napkin. Jesus did that to show that He really had risen. |
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---Edna on 2/5/08 |
John:: Jesus was First as God but proved all things were possible as Man,which is why he said Follow Me. |
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---Emcee on 10/24/07 |
Jesus is one with the Father. Man's customs and traditions don't apply
concerning God's truth. He didn't care how something appeared, but the truth within:
(Mt 23:25) Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup...
(Mt 23:27) Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like whited sepulchres, which appear beautiful outward,...
(Mt 15:2) Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?...
Dig deeper folks... |
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---John on 10/24/07 |
If Jesus was so into Jewish customs and traditions, then why did He say the following:
(Mt 15:3) But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
(Mk 7:13) Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.
Dig deeper folks... |
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---John on 10/24/07 |
Listen up people, you need to study. But first, you need to get saved from the firey HELL. Yes, the Devil is a liar. Hell is real. So is Heaven. Praise God. |
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---catherine on 10/24/07 |
I know. Only because I just finished studying about it. The headband was folded and lying in a separate place from the rest of the grave clothes. It was now obvious that the body had not been stolen. Also, Christ had left His grave clothes behind Him there. He laid them aside because He arose to die no more.>>>John 20-7. |
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---catherine on 10/24/07 |
The neatly folded napkin was a sign of how orderly the resurrection was. Yet all so in a greater significance to the Jews(Jeff the Jew will know about this) Jewish tradition said that after four days the spirit left the body. Now I do not remember all the teaching about this, but there is great significance to the orderly folding of the napkin. |
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---Mima on 10/23/07 |
Jesus was fully God and fully man while He was on this earth. Eventhough Jesus was born a jew He was of no religion. He is the Son of God. Made Himself of no reputation. Noone taught God Jesus anything. On the contrary, Jesus came to show us what God is really like. Have a pleasant night everyone.++ |
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---catherine on 10/22/07 |
Jesus was an Orthrodox Jew & was strict about certain rituals known only to the customs of the times.While he claimed it was done on the cross yet His folded Napkin was a reminder that He would return as declared in triumph & majesty |
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---Emcee on 10/22/07 |
If the napkin meant Jesus was coming back because He wasn't finished, then why did
He say the following?
It is finished:
John 19:30
Dig deeper folks... |
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---John on 10/22/07 |
Jesus did this so that Bible believing Christians would not be tempted to believe in iconic symbols like the shroud of Turin only to have their faith dashed later. Jesus knows all things, past, present and future. If His head was covered with a separate piece of cloth, the shroud is a fake. |
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---tommy on 10/6/07 |
This is very interesting. I'm glad people here are asking honest, difficult questions. To Jeff: Can it really be said that the disciples wouldn't fold it nicely had they stolen the body? I don't believe that for a second, but just a counterpoint. He is risen and will return! |
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---Brian on 10/5/07 |
The Greek word translated as "napkin" in John is soodarion. It literally means "face cloth". In Jewish burial tradition the only cloth wrapped around the head of a dead person would be their prayer shawl or tallit (tah LEET). Since the prayer shawl is used during prayer it would have been treated more reverently than the linen wrappings that would have wrapped Jesus' body. That is likely why it was rolled up by itself apart from the linen wrappings by whomever rolled it up. |
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---Brady on 8/18/07 |
C'mon folks. This was a Jewish dinner table custom (to fold the napkin), however, it is a far stretch to say Jesus is saying, "I'll be back!" What did John understand it to mean? This is nothing out of the ordinary. The folded napkin under Jesus' head was COMMON PRACTICE WITH THE DEAD. It still being folded only meant one thing to John: Jesus was resurrected instead of the body being stolen. Had someone stole the body... that napkin would have been wadded up in the floor. |
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---David on 8/18/07 |
That's interesting,
I'm the one who posted
He's Coming Back.
Tim |
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---Tim on 6/10/07 |
Who said Jesus folded the handkerchief? It was, according to Greek scholars, more like a sweat rag than a table napkin. But the Bible doesn't even say who folded it, much less why. |
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---Tim on 6/10/07 |
John 20
7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.
8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.
9 For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must arise again from the dead. |
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---HesComingBack on 5/17/07 |
7 kai to soudarion o hn epi thV kefalhV autou ou meta twn oqoniwn keimenon alla cwriV entetuligmenon eiV ena topon
20:7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.
...9 oudepw gar hdeisan thn grafhn oti dei auton ek nekrwn anasthnai
20:9 For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. |
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---HesComingBack on 5/17/07 |
The "napkin" as you call it is not a napkin but the prayer shawl known as the Tallit. Every jewish man has their own way of folding their tallit. By folding his tallit it showed that he was alive and his body was not stolen since only he folded it that way. This whole jewish tradition of master/servant napkin folding meaning he's coming back is bogus, I'm jewish and can tell you there's no such tradition. |
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---Jeff on 5/17/07 |
Rebecca_D I know I certainly learned something. I had no idea of this Jewish tradition. I love learning of Jewish traditions becasue it allows for deeper understanding of so many things in the Word of God. Thank you, once again, for a wonderful question. |
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---Ryan_Z on 5/11/07 |
I didn't know this either. Until I received an email from a friend. It helps to understand the tradions of the Jews to better understand Jesus. (I don't know why on my question it had Scriptures only, because I didn't put that there). Oh well, at least the meaning got acrossed and some learned from it. |
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---Rebecca_D on 5/10/07 |
Way to go Rebecca D. I could not for the life of me answer this thing, I find this one really interesting, I did learn from it. |
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---Cynthia_1 on 5/10/07 |
Whomever replied under Hescomingback. Your right. The Jews done this. If the servant seen that the napkin was waddled up on the table, it meant his Mastor was finished. If he seen it was still folded, even if he left the table, it meant that he was coming back. Christ folded the napkin that was on his face, to let people know "he's coming back". Isn't that wonderful? I could see Jesus gently folding that napkin, before he left the tomb. |
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---Rebecca_D on 5/10/07 |
RyanZ. I agree that the angels probably did it but Scritpture doesn't say they did. We just assume it was them. |
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---john on 5/10/07 |
#2 The indications we receive here are that angels were rejoicing and certain angels were given duties in God's plan. This is the Father's Son, and His resurrection ceremony is filled with splendor and awe. Angels unwrapped Jesus, unlike poor ol' Lazarus who was still bound after he was raised. Good question Rebecca_D! |
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---Ryan_Z on 5/9/07 |
It doesn't say in the Scripture that Christ folded the napkin or that it was linen does it? He could have but then the Father who raised him may have or the angels could have too. We are not told anything in the Scripture as to why it was folded. It was Jewish culture that anyone that left a table of food would make sure the napkin was folded if they were returning to finish their meal. Since Jesus is returning, I find it to be inline with that custom. This is just a possible reason. |
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---john on 5/10/07 |
The folded napkin had to do with 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. |
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---HesComingBack on 5/9/07 |
If the master was done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, clean his beard, 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. 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. The servant knew that the folded napkin meant, I'm not finished yet. The folded napkin meant, I'm coming back! |
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---HesComingBack on 5/9/07 |
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 at the head of that stony coffin.
Jesus is Coming Back. |
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---HesComingBack on 5/9/07 |
#1 Many beings in white appear frequently towards the end of the Christs prophetic visit.There was a man in white that was stripped by guards, there were two angels sitting at the head and feet of where The Christ laid. Mark accounts for a man in a white robe standing inside the tomb. |
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---Ryan_Z on 5/9/07 |
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