He's Not Finished Yet

 Hope everyone woke up celebrating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus and realizing all He has done for us. I was just thinking about the tomb and how His followers found it empty except for his grave clothes lying where they had fallen but that handkerchief folded nearby.

..... Jesus was no longer contained in that sealed tomb, the stone was rolled away and the tomb was now empty! The grave clothes that had covered his body were laying where they had fallen, but yet, they saw the handkerchief used to cover His face was neatly folded and was laid near where He'd been laid!

So what was the significance in noting that the linen cloth used to cover His head had been found folded and lying by itself (John 20:7) "and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself." With all the disarray of the other grave cloths, why was this cloth folded together?

Jewish tradition holds that 'the folded napkin' was a message between the master and his servant! When the servant had furnished his master's table to specifications ordered, the servant would then wait out of sight until he saw his master crumple or fold his napkin. Now if the master was finished eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, mouth and beard with the napkin, then wad it up and toss it onto the table; a message to the servant to come ahead and clear the table since the master was done. BUT, if the master got up from the table and folded his napkin neatly and set it to the side of his plate, the servant dared not touch the table, because 'the folded napkin; meant "I'm Coming Back!" So even at Jesus' Resurrection, the sign of 'the folded napkin' had been given so they knew their master was not finished, but HE WAS COMING BACK!!!

Jesus was indeed coming back as He appeared to Mary Magdalene outside the tomb, and to his disciples on several occasions; and as noted in John 20, He declared that because they had seen Him, touched the holes in His hands and side, they had believed; but "Blessed are they who have not seen and yet have believed."(v.29). He continued to do many things with the disciples over the forty days following His Resurrection teaching them about the kingdom of God throughout John 21 and into the book of Acts 1 where we see Him preparing His followers for His ascension. He continues to teach them and to reassure them that He was not leaving them ALONE but was sending them another Comforter, Holy Spirit; but also remembering the sign of 'the folded handkerchief' with Jesus declaring He was coming back!

And so The Best continues even more and more!.... As you think on these things, enjoy the blessings He has given thus far, because the Best is yet to come, dear friends! Happy Resurrection Sunday! God loves you and so do I~~~