John 20:3 "Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. 4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. 5 And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. 6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, 7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself."Why was Jesus not OC? Because he didn't organize his linen, but he did his napkin. If he had been OC, he would have neatly folded them both, but he didn't. It was the napkin only! Because scripture makes a point of mentioning the specific place and condition of the napkin, it must have importance.
This napkin wasn't something to wipe the sweat off the brow or moisture from the lips. It had a specific purpose. It was a soudarion for covering the face of the corpse. Head-coverings had significance in the early church. Women wore them as a demonstration of submission.
1 Corinthians 11:6 "For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. 7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. 8 For the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man."Only women were to have their head covered; for men they were not to do that, because their head is in the image of God's. Women were to cover their head because men have dominion over the women - like it or not. They are to be submissive to the men, and the head-covering is a symbol of submission. Some sects still do that, and it is an honorable thing to do,
Jesus's head was covered even though men should not! Why? Because he is not the image of God, but God Himself! There was no reason that he should not have his head covered, but there is one good reason that his head was covered: Jesus's death was the ultimate servitude. He submitted to death for all mankind - men, women, Jew, and Gentile.
Why did Jesus take the time to fold, twist, or otherwise position the napkin? It was his way of symbolically saying: It is done!
Revelation 21:6 "And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely."Folding that napkin, that burial head-covering, so neatly; implied that it would never be needed again. Jesus's death on the cross was of his own volition, and was the most submissive thing he could do. Never again would he have to shed his blood for mankind again, because it indeed was done!
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