John 20:1-9; John 20:30,31
The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, and the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.
And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
J. C. RYLE (1816-1900): They took “the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury,” John 19:40. This is one of those explanatory remarks John sometimes makes in his Gospel, supplying strong internal evidence that he wrote for the Church of Christ in every land, Gentiles as well as Jews, and that he thought it wise to explain Jewish customs.
THOMAS COKE (1747-1814): After anointing the body, they covered it with a shroud or winding-sheet, then wrapped a napkin round its head and face; others say round the forehead only, because the Egyptian mummies are observed to have it so. Last of all, they swathed the shroud round the body, as tightly as possible, with proper bandages made of linen; which are the linen clothes mentioned here.
JAMES STRONG (1822-1894): The word translated “napkin” is of Latin origin—a sudarium, or sweat cloth, for wiping perspiration from the face, or binding the face of a corpse.
THE EDITOR: In ancient Rome, the word originally meant a linen handkerchief; that same Latin word is translated into English as handkerchief in Acts 19:12. The linen winding clothes were like long narrow bandages.
JOHN CALVIN (1509-1564): When the Evangelist says that a napkin was wrapped about his head, this refutes the falsehood of the Papists, who pretend that the whole body was sewed up in one linen garment, which they hold out to the populace, calling it “the holy winding-sheet.” I say nothing about their gross ignorance of the Latin language, which led them to suppose that the word napkin, denoting what was used for wiping sweat from the face, such as a handkerchief, signified a covering for the whole body…But this falsehood openly contradicts the evangelical history. To this is added a fabulous miracle, which they have contrived, that the likeness of Christ’s body continued to be visible in the linen cloth. I appeal to you, if such a miracle had been wrought, would nothing have been said about it by the Evangelist, who is so careful to relate events which were not of so great importance?
C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): But do you notice the grave-clothes, all folded neatly and laid in their places, the napkin folded up by itself? Why?
MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): The grave-clothes were found in very good order, which serves for an evidence that His body was not stolen away while men slept. Robbers of tombs have been known to take away the clothes and leave the body; but none ever took away the body and left the clothes, especially when it was “fine linen” and new, Mark 15:46. Any one would rather choose to carry a dead body in its clothes than naked. Or, if those that were supposed to have stolen it would have left the grave-clothes behind, yet it cannot be supposed they should find leisure to fold up the linen.
JOHN GILL (1697-1771): It was plainly the effect of thought, care, and composure; and clearly showed, that the body was not taken away in a hurry, or by thieves, since everything lay in such order.
THOMAS COKE: How came the winding-sheet and napkin to be folded up and disposed in so orderly a manner, in the sepulchre?
JOHN GILL: It was done either by our Lord Himself, or by the angels.
JOHN WESLEY (1703-1791): The angels who ministered to Him when He rose, undoubtedly folded up the napkin and linen clothes.
WILLIAM KELLY (1821-1906): He had raised Himself. For it was not only that God raised Him; but, “destroy this temple,” He had said, “and in three days I will raise it up,” John 2:20,21. None but one who was God could say this.
THE EDITOR: Only Jesus was in that tomb, when in the power of His resurrection body, He suddenly stood up out of those grave-clothes—passing out of them just as easily as He appeared in the midst of His disciples in a closed room later that same evening, John 20:19. Then Jesus folded that napkin together by itself.
EBENEZER J. THOMAS (1839-1923): This incident has been but poorly appreciated. The real point of the incident is its unusualness. Ordinarily, when a person disrobes he puts his clothes together; the napkin would have been with the other garments—but here it is found wrapped together, and the other linen clothes “lying,”—not folded for neatness as the other interpretation would require. The received explanation deprives the account of the element of wonderment and holy mystery which obviously attaches to it. Why does the Holy Spirit make so much of these otherwise trivial facts?
THE EDITOR: Indeed, those facts must have significant purpose. The phrasing of the text indicates that only the napkin was folded. Long narrow strips of linen winding cloth would never have been folded—they would have been wound up like bandage rolls. Jesus left those other grave-clothes lying just as they were, in the place where His dead body had been laid. But the napkin He folded and set apart to draw our attention to it. Why?
MATTHEW HENRY: The napkin by itself is of use for the mourning survivors to wipe away their tears.
EBENEZER J. THOMAS: But surely there must be some other explanation than this.
THE EDITOR: It was a sudarium—a cloth to wipe away sweat. What does the Bible say about sweat? Remember the curse announced in the Garden of Eden after Adam’s fall? The ground was cursed for Adam’s sake: “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou returneth unto the ground,” Genesis 3:17-19. Sweat speaks of a man’s work; see also Ezekiel 44:16-18. The incarnate Christ, the last Adam, was made like unto us, sin excepted, but was “returned unto the ground,” as a man by His burial “in a garden in a new sepulchre,” John 19:41; having “redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us,” Galatians 3:13. But even after three days, His body saw no corruption, and He rose from the dead in power, Acts 2:25-32. Now think of Christ’s bloody sweat in the Garden of Gethsemane, as all our iniquity was laid on Him, and He “was made to be sin for us, who knew no sin,” Luke 22:44, 2 Corinthians 5:21; consider His sweat and thirsty agony on the cross while the consuming fire of God’s wrath descended upon Him—the sacrificial offering for sin. Then, just before Christ died, John heard His last words: “It is finished,” John 19:28-30. Therefore, in His resurrection, Christ had no more need of a sweat cloth to wipe away perspiration from any further work of atonement, Hebrews 9:28; Hebrews 10:10; nor to cover the face of His dead body, for He “dieth no more,” Romans 6:9. That’s why Jesus folded up that napkin and laid it aside.
MATTHEW HENRY: Peter saw and wondered, Luke 24:12—but John saw and believed. A mind disposed to contemplation perhaps may sooner receive the evidence of divine truth than a mind disposed to action. But what was the reason they were so slow of heart to believe? The evangelist tells us—as yet they knew not the Scripture—that is, they did not consider, and apply, and duly improve, what they knew of the Scripture.
