Easter Sun. 04/05/26 – Adams Village Baptist Church
Sermon Title: “The
Face Covering Was Separate!” - “The Path to the
Empty Tomb” Sermon Series (Part 7 of 7) - John
20:1-18, Romans14:9
(Welcome
Picture)
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Happy Easter/Resurrection Sunday brothers and sisters, friends in Christ! On
this day nearly two-thousand years ago, Jesus Christ our Lord got up and walked
out of the grave, out of the tomb. Jesus conquered death, and this reminds us
that through Him we have hope, salvation, eternity, are resurrection! Today, we
are called to live “resurrected” or transformed lives.
In this season of spring, new life is all around us,
flowers are growing, birds are chirping, and today, once again, we have an
empty tomb. So, what do we do with this my friends, my brothers, and sisters?
How does the empty tomb and this new life we are offered in Jesus Christ change
us? Does it change us? Even though the
empty tomb of Jesus Christ happened almost two-thousand years ago though, I
believe that today is still as important as ever. Many of us have celebrated
this day, Easter Sunday, many times. Is this day though, Easter or Resurrection
Sunday merely a ritual? Is it something that we do out of religious obligation,
or because it is our culture? Do we believe that as the Elevation Worship song
“Resurrecting” says in the chorus of this song:
“By
Your spirit I will rise, From the ashes of defeat, The resurrected King, is
resurrecting me, In Your name I come alive, To declare Your victory” (https://genius.com/Elevation-worship-resurrecting-lyrics).
This day, Easter Sunday or Resurrection Sunday, is much
more than just a historical event. It is much more than just the tomb being
empty. It is the idea that as Christ rose from the dead, we die to ourselves
and spiritually rise with Him. When we baptize people in our church, not only
is it an outward sign of an inward grace, but we symbolically die to ourselves.
We go into the waters of baptism, and we symbolically go into the tomb and the death
of Jesus Christ on Good Friday. When we come up out of the baptismal waters, we
then rise to new spiritual life with Jesus Christ. The baptism does not save
our souls, but it is symbolically our spiritual death to sin and shame. It is
symbolically shedding our tombs of sin and our shame and rising to new life in
Christ. We become new creations!
Today then, while it certainly centers around Jesus
overcoming sin and death, and what that means for our salvation, it is also
about us continuing to change to become more like Jesus.
In looking again at our gospel of John 20:1-18 reading for this morning again, let us walk through, once again, what the gospel of John said happened on the first Easter or Resurrection Sunday. Starting in John 20:1-18 the gospel says, once again:
The Resurrection of Jesus
20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed 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’ (Jn. 20:1-2, NRSV).
In this gospel of John narrative then, the
first person to realize that the tomb of Jesus Christ was empty, was Mary Magdalene.
After Mary Magdalene realized that the tomb was empty, she the ran back to tell
Simon Peter and John, that Jesus’ tomb was empty. The stone had been rolled
away, and Mary Magdalene initially though that some people had stolen the body
of Jesus.
(Peter in
the Empty Tomb of Jesus - Picture)
At this point, our gospel of John reading picks back in John
20:3 saying, once again:
3 Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb. 4 The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb (Jn. 20:3-6, NRSV).
So, the Apostle John
beats Peter to the empty tomb of Jesus, but does not go in. John sees the linen
wrappings that wrapped Jesus’ body lying where we was laid to rest on Good Friday.
Peter, however, went right into the tomb, and this is a description of this
event.
(Face/Head
Covering of Jesus in the Tomb - Picture)
This is also where
I got my sermon title for this morning. In the gospel of John 20:6b-7, is says
of Simon Peter, once again:
He saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7 and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself8 Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; (Jn. 20:6b-8, NRSV).
It is important to know that all four gospels, Matthew,
Mark, Luke, and John all have the resurrection Jesus discussed in them. Yet,
the only gospel that mentions Jesus’ head or face covering being in a place all
by itself is the gospel of John. For, I think in the first few years of
ministry anyway, I either did not think about this detail, or maybe I did not
even notice it. I mean think about it though, all four gospels discuss the
resurrection story of Jesus Christ, but John excitedly mentions that the covering
that was on Jesus’ head or face was rolled up or folded up in a place all by
itself. Such a specific detail to mention in John’s gospel. I mean imagine you
went over to a friend’s house for dinner, and you told me about it. You would
probably tell me what you had to eat, what you talked about etc. Imagine though
if you said, “oh and by the way my friend had five bananas on their kitchen counter.”
That is a really specific detail. Either you really like bananas or there is a
specific reason to tell me that your friend that you went over to their house
and had dinner had five bananas on their kitchen counter. Or this was just a random
thing you noted, or maybe you were telling me this to try to convey something
about your friend or something else. I say all of this, once again, because why
would John make such a point to mention the head or face covering of Jesus,
when Matthew, Mark, and Luke did not?
Before diving into this a little more though, as our gospel
of John reading says picking up, starting in John 20:9, Simon Peter and John
saw the empty tomb, but they still not understand that Jesus rose from the
dead.
9 for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples returned to their homes (Jn. 20:9-10, NRSV).
(Two Angels
at the Tomb of Jesus - Picture)
Jesus
Appears to Mary Magdalene
11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 12 and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 13 They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’ 14 When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ 16 Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”’ 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her (Jn. 20:11-18, NRSV).
Mary Magdalene, however,
stays outside of the tomb weeping or crying, and as she cried, she bent over
and looked into the tomb. As she did, she saw two angels in white, sitting
there where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at
the feet. These same two angels, at the foot and the head of Jesus saw Mary
Magdalene crying and asked why she was weeping. Mary Magdalene then told the
angels, that some people have taken her Lord, the body of the Jesus.
(Mary
Magdalene sees the Risen Christ - Picture)
At this point in John 20:14 Mary turns around and sees the
risen Christ, but for some reason she could not see that it was Jesus. Jesus,
who Mary Magdalene cannot see asks her why she is crying. Jesus asks her who
she is looking for. Mary thought that the person was gardener, and she said to
who she thought was the gardener, if he taken Jesus’s body from tomb, just tell
her where his body is. Mary Magdalene would then get and get His body and bring
it back.
Jesus then said, Mary!’ At this point, she turned around and
exclaimed ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means teacher) or Rabbi. Then she saw the risen
Christ. Jesus then tells her to not hold onto His body, because He had not yet ascended
back to heaven.
(I Have
Seen the Lord - Picture)
The gospel of John
reading for this morning then ends with John 20:18 saying:
18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her (Jn. 20:11-18, NRSV).
(Face/Head
Covering of Jesus in the Tomb - Picture)
So, with all that said, only the gospel of John narrative of
the resurrection of Jesus mentions the head or face covering of Jesus being separate.
Once again, why would John, and John alone, have mentioned such a small detail?
This morning as we are finishing our Lent Season sermon series, “The Path to the
Empty Tomb,” as today we have arrived on this Easter or Resurrection Sunday at
the empty tomb of Jesus. Beyond Jesus’ tomb being empty though, what can we
learn from Jesus’ head or face covering being in a place all by itself, as this
sermon is called, once again, “The Face Covering Was Separate!” Here are some
theories of why John’s gospel mentions that Jesus’ head or face covering was
separate:
The
separation of Jesus' face cloth (soudarion) from the other linen
wrappings in the tomb, as described in John 20:7, is primarily interpreted
as evidence of a miraculous, orderly resurrection rather than a robbery.
The folded or rolled-up cloth suggests Jesus removed it Himself and that the body
was not hastily stolen, which would have left the cloths in disarray.
Key
Interpretations of the Separated Cloth:
·
Evidence of Resurrection: The orderly state of
the grave clothes—with the head cloth placed separately—convinced the beloved
disciple that Jesus had risen rather than being removed by thieves.
·
Orderly Departure: Unlike a stolen body, which
would leave messy, torn, or stolen grave clothes, the folded cloth suggests a
calm, intentional action, reflecting the biblical theme of God as a God of
order.
·
Symbolic Meaning: Some traditions interpret the
separate, folded cloth as a signal that Jesus would return, similar to a
servant folding a napkin to indicate they are returning to a table. However,
others argue this is a modern urban myth and not a documented first-century
custom.
· Supernatural
Occurrence: Some interpretations suggest that the separation indicates
Jesus' resurrected body passed through the cloths, or that the face cloth was
removed last after He sat up, separating it from the main body shroud (https://www.google.com/search?q=why+was+jesus%27+face+covering+separated+from+his+clothes&rlz).
There
is a story around the symbolic meaning of Jesus’ face or head cloth being
separate. I do not know if there is a lot of historic evidence for it, but it
is a powerful story. This is how the story goes:
When Simon Peter arrived after
[John], he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth
that had covered [Jesus’] head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a
separate place.
Why would John have noted the
placement of the burial cloths in light of the astonishing fact of the absence
of Jesus’ body? And why would he have thought it important to include this
detail in his telling of the events of that first Easter Sunday morning?
In fact, it was an important
detail.
According to Father Chrystian
Shankar, the rolling up and placement of this cloth hearkened to a Jewish
custom of the time. It related to a common practice used by servants and
masters of this era.
A servant, after he had prepared
the dining table for his master, would stand to the side, out of sight of the
master, but attentive to the progression of the meal. He wouldn’t dare to
return to the table until the master had finished his meal.
When the master was finished, he
would rise, clean his fingers, mouth, and beard, and leave the “napkin”
crumpled in a ball on the table. The wrinkled, discarded napkin indicated “I
have finished.”
If, however, for whatever reason,
the master left the table with the intention of returning, then he would crease
the napkin into folds and leave it beside his dishes. This was a message for
the servant that he was not to disturb the table, given that the master had
indicated: “I am returning.”
This, then, is perhaps the reason
for John’s attention to the detail of Our Lord’s face cloth. Jesus had told
them with his words that the Son of Man would return. That morning, he repeated
the promise, with the seemingly inconsequential, but very symbolic, gesture of
leaving his face cloth rolled to the side, assuring us that he’d not left for
good. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me tell you, “I
am going away and I will come back to you.” (John 14:27-28) (https://aleteia.org/2017/11/20/why-did-jesus-leave-the-burial-cloth-rolled-up-and-in-a-separate-place/).
The Apostle Paul reminds us in Romans
14:9:
9 For to this end
Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the
living (Rom.
14:9, NRSV).
Today my brothers and sisters, my friends, as we end our
journey to the empty tomb of Jesus Christ our Lord this morning, may we see
this day are more than just a custom, a tradition, or a mild belief. May we believe
anew that Jesus rose from the dead, that He is Lord to all who call on His
name, and that He will return on day in glory.
Easter/Resurrection Sunday reminds us that God wins in the end. It reminds us that the evils and the corruption of this world, in the end, will be defeated by grace, mercy, truth, hope, and justice. For this empty tomb of Jesus Christ our Lord is not just an event, but it is something designed to that change us and enable us to change Adams the world around us. Happy Easter and amen!
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