vineri, 12 iulie 2013

El se intoarce!

Why Did Jesus Fold the Napkin?
This is one I can honestly say I have never seen circulating so; if this touches you, you may want to forward it. Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection? I never noticed this....

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. Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, 'They have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, and I don't know where they have put him!' Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see.. The other disciple outran Peter and got there first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go in.
Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and lying to the side.
Was that important? Absolutely!

Is it really significant? Yes!
In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition.
When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it..
The table was furnished perfectly, 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.
The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, 'I'm done'.
But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table,
because........... The folded napkin meant,
'I'm coming back!'

He is Coming Back!
De ce Isus a impaturit panza cu care a fost inmormantat dupa invierea Lui? Niciodata nu am observat lucrul acesta
Evanghelia lui Ioan (20:7) ne spune ca prosopul care a fost pus peste fata lui Isus nu a fost aruncat la o parte ca si celelalte haine. Biblia ne spune intr-un verset intreg ca prosopul a fost impaturit cu atentie si separat de celelalte haine. Duminica dimineata devreme, cand inca era intuneric, Maria Magdalena a venit la mormant si a gasit piatra de la intrare data la o parte. A fugit si l-a gasit pe Simon pentru si pe celalalt discipol, pe cel pe care Isus il iubea. Ea a zis: "Au luat pe Domnul din mormant si nu stiu unde l-au pus!. Pentru si celalalt ucenic au alergat la mormant sa vada. Celalalt ucenic l-a intrecut pe Petru si a ajuns acolo primul. S-a oprit, s-a uitat inautru si a vazut panza, dar nu a intrat.

Ca sa intelegi semnificatia prosopului impaturit, trebuie sa stii putin din traditia evreiasca de atunci. Prosopul impaturit avea de-a face cu Stapanul si Servitorul si fiecare baiat evreu stia acest lucru.
Cand un servitor punea cina pentru stapanul lui, el trebuia sa aiba grija sa fie totul exact cum stapanul voia.
Masa era aranjata la perfectie, iar apoi servitorul trebuia sa astepte, fara sa fie vazut, pana cand maestrul termina de mancat si fara sa indrazneasca sa atinga acea masa. Acum, daca stapanul termina de mancat, el se ridica de la masa, isi stergea degetele, gura, isi curata barba si arunca prospul pe masa. Dupa acest lucru stia servitorul ca putea sa curete masa. In acele zile, prosopul impaturit insemna "am terminat." Dar daca stapanul se ridica de la masa, impaturea prosopul si il lasa langa farfuria lui, atunci servitorul nu trebuia sa se atinga de masa pentru ca ... semnificatia prosopului impaturit insemna "Ma intorc!"

El se intoarce!
(Radu Profiri - multumesc pentru traducere.)