Christ Has Risen!
Easter 2023 | Part 1 of 2
Easter 2023 Part 1 | Easter 2023 Part 2
He Has Risen, Indeed!
With this ancient greeting, dear reader, I wish you a happy Easter, a blessed Resurrection Sunday. As we and the Christian world celebrate our Lord Jesus Christ’s victory over sin and death, millions of pastors and Bible teachers are preaching millions of messages on what the resurrection of the Son of God means for us, for all of humanity.
My post today is but a tiny drop in that immense ocean of messages, and I prayed for guidance. Lord, what would you like me to write for your readers?
Two topics came to mind: the folded face cloth in John 20:7, and the Lord’s accomplishments through the cross in Colossians chapter 2.
Okay, Lord, I guess I’ll write two posts, a Part 1 and a Part 2.
In this post, Part 1, you’ll read some thoughts about the folded face cloth. Next Sunday, which is Pascha for our Eastern Orthodox sisters and brothers in Christ, I’ll publish Part 2 and some thoughts about Colossians chapter 2.
The Folded Face Cloth
John 20:1-10 (ESV) - Pay attention to verse 7:
1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.
The face cloth was called the soudarion [ σουδάριον Koinē Greek ] or “sweat cloth”. Soudarion has also been translated as the head cloth or the kerchief (a head scarf). The sole purpose of this cloth was to cover the face of the deceased.
Preparing the Body for Burial
Only a few days after Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, when the crowds had waved palm branches and shouted “Hosannah, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” [ Zechariah 9:9 and Matthew 21:1-11 ], two of Jesus’ closest friends touched the cold, dead body and prepared it for burial according to their tradition.
Joseph of Arimathea had asked Pilate for the corpse. Nicodemus accompanied Joseph to the tomb. Nicodemus brought seventy-five pounds of a mixture of myrrh and aloes that the women among Jesus’ followers had prepared. Together, the men anointed the body with the spices and wrapped it in strips of linen. [ John 19:3-42, Luke 23:54-56 ]
Seventy-five pounds.
Imagine that weight.
Have you ever lifted a nine or 10-year-old child? How about a huge bag of pet food or livestock feed? Or, huge bags of flour, sugar, or beans? If you’re a gardener, I know you’ve lifted huge bags of soil.
Seventy-five pounds.
Biblical academics state in commentaries that the apostle John emphasized all of these details because he wanted readers to know that the body in the borrowed tomb was as well wrapped as was the body of Jesus’ close friend, Lazarus [ see John 11 ]. There are other connections to Lazarus as well.
Seventy-five pounds. Joseph and Nicodemus.
One of them touched the bruised, cold face while wrapping the soudarion, the face cloth, around the head. Or, perhaps they completed that task together?
I wonder.
And, I wonder how much of the seventy-five pounds of the burial spices they used with the linen strips to wrap Jesus’ head?
In a Place by Itself
John 20:7 (ESV)
7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself.
“…in a place by itself.”
Other translations have “wrapped up” instead of folded up.
Either way, what does this mean?
Obviously, it was important to Jesus’ followers for John to record the details in the gospel he wrote.
John 20:8 (ESV)
8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed;
The apostle John went into the tomb, and he saw the face cloth set apart from the other burial cloths.
He saw and believed.
Who folded (or wrapped) the cloth up and put it in a place by itself?
Some early Christians believed that the two angels inside the tomb folded the face cloth in obedience and service to our Lord. [ John 20:12 ]
Others believed that the risen Jesus Himself deliberately folded the cloth that had covered His head, and set it apart from the other burial cloths.
We have no clear evidence nor recorded statement regarding who set the face cloth apart, the two angels or Jesus, and that doesn’t matter.
Why?
The Face Cloth’s Message
No matter who moved the face cloth, Jesus gave His disciples a clear message, and that’s what matters:
“I’m back from the dead, I’m alive, and no one moved My body. No one stole My body. I am the resurrection and the life. Believe, dearly beloved friends.” (My paraphrase based on scripture.)
And, after Father God raised His Son from the dead [ Acts 2:24 ], Jesus didn’t rush out of the tomb, He didn’t hurry.
“The orderly arrangement of everything in the tomb marks the absence of haste and precipitation in the awakening and rising from the dead.”
Marvin Richardson Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament, vol. 2
(New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1887), 292.
Jesus Christ had won the great cosmic victory, conquering sin and death, “it is accomplished”. In His triumph over all the principalities and powers, His righteousness could now be imparted to humanity, to anyone who would believe, repent, and receive Him.
John 20:8-9 (ESV)
8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.
Jesus cared enough to leave behind a simple yet powerful sign that He deeply loved His heart broken and grieving friends. They were absolutely devastated after His crucifixion. And they were terrified of the authorities who feared His followers would try and steal the body.
“…folded up in a place by itself.”
Jesus’ body wasn’t stolen.
So many deep and conflicting emotions.
Jesus knew. He understood.
When His friend Lazarus died, Jesus wept [ John 11:35 ]. Lazarus, along with his sisters Mary and Martha, were among Jesus’ closest and best friends. When He arrived at Lazarus’ tomb, Jesus broke down, sobbing with intense grief.
Think about that.
The One who came to Earth, who humbled Himself to live among humanity, broke down and wept even though He knew He would bring life back into Lazarus’ body.
Oh, the compassion of our Savior!
And, I’m going to go out on a limb, here. It’s only my opinion, so here goes:
I’m imagining that as Peter and John stood in the tomb and gazed at the face cloth that was folded up and in a place by itself, they knew, they understood, and they remembered the words of Jesus the day He wept over the death of His friend Lazarus:
John 11:25-26 (ESV)
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ, Jesus is alive, and you can rejoice!
Even if there’s gut-twisting grief in your life right now.
Jesus knows.
He understands.
He is alive, He lives in you through His Spirit, you are never, ever alone; and He’s victorious over sin and death so you can, one day, be home with Him forever.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Dear Reader:
If you’re not (yet) a follower of Jesus Christ, He invites you this Easter season to become a member of His family. God loves you more than you could ever understand, and He longs for you to become His child. Select the button to find out more:
[ https://www.gotquestions.org/know-Jesus.html ]
Resources
https://www.gotquestions.org/folded-napkin.html
https://biblehub.com/greek/4676.htm
Debunking an internet urban legend about the Master returning and the table napkin:
https://www.jerusalemperspective.com/3878/
Logos Bible Study Tool
https://logos.com
I recommend using the free version (currently version 9). I use the web browser version on my laptop, and I have the mobile app on both my tablet (an iPad) and on my phone (an iPhone).
Conversation & Community
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