He was placed in a tomb and came forth three days with Resurrection power, defeating Death, Hell, and the Grave!
Discovering
In John chapter 20, it declares Mary’s discovery of the empty tomb and then Peter and John.
Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early; she came upon Jesus’ tomb, found the stone rolled away, and told the disciples about it.
(her second time she looks inside the tomb and discovers something different)
In John, 20:1-3, 20:11-13
Peter and John examine the empty tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself.
In John 20:4-10
And the napkin, which was about his head, but folded – wrapped together G1794 in a place by itself.
Peter saw that there was no regular removal of the burial wrappings, which lay as if the body of Jesus had evaporated out of them.” but the head covering
You see the word folded used, and there is also KJV, which uses ‘wrapped together.’
The Greek G1794 word that John Chapter 20 used is entylissō, which means ‘to twist’ or ‘to entwine.’
Hebrew qavah, which is a twisting or binding
Literal # H6960 qāvâ is to wait to bind together, folded together, having hope with expectation.
Wait with hope
This is when I discovered Isaiah 30:18.
Isaiah 30:18: “And therefore will the Lord wait, (qāvâ )that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted that he might be merciful upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment, blessed are all that wait (qāvâ )for him.”
Isa 40:31 – But they that wait (qāvâ )upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31 This waiting; Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength.
This wait is “qavah,” qāvâ,which is a twisting or binding. It is the word used for making rope. It is not just sitting back, patiently twiddling your thumbs, but it is a process of binding yourself to God, and the more you bind yourself to God, the stronger you become like a rope.
I see the Napkin as closure
He folded or twisted together the napkin separate (sanctified) from his grave clothes to Indicate a moving to a higher level. In other words, it is like waiting in line and moving forward. He went ahead to prepare the way for us.
I believe He’s saying “I folded the napkin on purpose so you will wait expecting with hope because I’ve gone ahead of you”.
“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God and trust also in Me. There is more than enough room in My Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with Me where I am. And you know the way where I am going.” (Jn 14:1-4, NLT)
We yearn to see what is hidden and to know what the message conceals and reveals.
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 separate from the grave clothes.
This makes a better understanding of the word for holy, Kodesh. See Kodesh does not merely mean “holy.” It means “separate” or “set apart sanctified.
So, why did Jesus fold the napkin? In John 20:7, the KJV translates the Greek word σουδάριον (soudarion) as napkin. The word itself means a piece of cloth. Other translations render this as “cloth,” “face-cloth,” or “handkerchief.”
He saw the linen cloths lying there and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. (John 20:6-7)
Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin was about the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition.
When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he ensured it was precisely the way the master wanted it.
The food was set before the master 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. Now, if the master were 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. (it’s not good when you’re still eating and someone clears the table)
The servant would then know to clear the table. In those days, the wadded napkin meant, ‘I’m done.’
But if the master got up from the table and folded his napkin, whether it was or wasn’t folded, wrapped, twisted, or rolled after the meal. and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table because……….. The folded napkin meant, ‘I’m coming back!’
HE’S COMING BACK!
Mary’s discovery when she looked inside the tomb.
But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”
John 20:11-13
As she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb: Mary wanted to see what Peter and John saw, so she made her own discovery. Yet, between their examination and Mary’s, something was different in the tomb.
She saw two angels in white sitting. Mary didn’t notice the burial wrappings and their curious arrangement; now two angels were in the tomb. One at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”
Mary meets Jesus.
Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher).
John 20:14-16
Jesus didn’t reveal Himself to Mary by telling her who He was, but by telling her who she was to Him.
Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
John 20:17-18
Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.
My discovery dream (a drawer I had to open to look inside and discover what was in it)
Not so very long ago, I had a dream about an antique dresser that was very appealing to my eyes. The patina of paint color was an aqua blue, aged in all the right places. I so desired just to see what was in the drawer that piqued my curiosity, and I was filled with amassment and wonder. As I drew closer and closer, I could only imagine what precious relics were stored there for me to find. Each step I took drew me closer and closer (you may be asking me what is in the drawer?), then as my hand touched the drawer suddenly! I could hear a string plucked, one simple note resounding into an orchestral masterpiece with beautiful poetry of the story of the artifacts. Within the drawer were the three nails that pierced Jesus’s as they nailed him to the cross, a crown of thorns they twisted into his tender brow.
The very remnants of the Son of God’s life that held great purpose, the hands of each of us hammering those nails into the future of our existence, when they were pulled out and the purpose fulfilled.
He alone, placed in a tomb, came forth three days with Resurrection power defeating Death, Hell, and the Grave!
The very holes left that will never be covered or erased. It is a reminder open for all to see throughout eternity.
Jesus lived His life before all humanity, pinned by the Hand of God written in red through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. His story, His song
What’s yours? What’s in your drawer? Are they the relics of your past that still reflect your future for an awesome greater purpose that the enemy of your soul tried to use against you to stop you from going forward?
Yet even as you look into your drawer, you see what couldn’t destroy you, yes what the enemy intended for evil God turned for your good.
(Greek: typos) – the ‘print of the nails’ in Jesus’ hands and the pierced hole on his side (John 19:34)
We all have scars from our past that we have overcome and have victory over, so let us use those scars as a testimony to give Glory to the one who brought us through.
Jesus’ red letter words
- For this reason, the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” (John 10:17-18)
- Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)
- “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. (John 12:32-33)
- “You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe.” (John 14:28-29)
- “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)
The Resurrection means;
- The resurrection means that Jesus was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:4).
- The resurrection means that we have assurance of our own resurrection: For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4:14).
- The resurrection means that God has an eternal plan for these bodies of ours. “There was nothing in the teaching of Jesus approaching the Gnostic heresy that declared that the flesh is inherently evil. Plato could only get rid of sin by getting rid of the body. Jesus retains the body; and declares that God feeds the body as well as the soul, that the body is as sacred thing as the soul, since the soul makes it its sanctuary.” (Morgan)
- The resurrection means that Jesus has a continuing ministry: He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He ever lives to make intercession for them (Hebrews 7:25).
- The resurrection means that Christianity and its God are unique and completely different and unique among world religions.
- The resurrection proves that though it looked like Jesus died on the cross as a common criminal He actually died as a sinless man, out of love and self-sacrifice to bear the guilt of our sin. The death of Jesus on the cross was the payment, but the resurrection was the receipt, showing that the payment was perfect in the sight of God the Father.
The disciples meet the risen Jesus.
John 20:19 Jesus appears in their midst.
Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
John 20:20-23 The risen Jesus serves His disciples.
When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
John 20:24-25
Thomas doubts
Now Thomas, called the one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples, therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
John 20:26-27
One week later, Jesus speaks to doubting Thomas.
And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”
Jesus granted Thomas the evidence he demanded.
Jesus knew the demands and unbelief of Thomas.
When you want assurance, look to the wounds of Jesus. They are evidence of His love, of His sacrifice, of His victory, of His resurrection.
John 20:28-29
Thomas responds in faith.
And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Thomas because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”