The Resurrection Laundry

The Resurrection Laundry
Text: John 20:5-7

John’s Gospel gives us a remarkable detail about resurrection morning that is easy to overlook if we are not careful. In John 20:5-7, the Holy Ghost pauses the movement of the narrative long enough for us to examine what remained inside the tomb. It is almost as if God wants us to think on these things. There was no body in the sepulcher, but there were linen graveclothes and a napkin lying in their place. This resurrection laundry pictures victory over death. They stand as silent witnesses to the truth that Jesus Christ was not stolen, did not merely revive, and did not leave the grave as He entered it. He rose in triumph, leaving death and all its garments behind Him.

The Long Look In
John first took a long look into the tomb.
When John arrived at the tomb, he stooped down and looked inside. What he saw must have puzzled him. The linen that had wrapped the body of Jesus were his graveclothes, and they were still there. If someone had stolen the body, they would not have taken the time to unwrap it and carefully leave the grave wrappings behind. As John Gill observed, the orderly condition of the linen clothes proved the body had not been taken by thieves. Charles Spurgeon likewise noted that the resurrection was not a hurried escape from a tomb but a deliberate and triumphant rising. Sometimes we look at circumstances that do not immediately make sense, but God is always working with purpose beyond what we can see.  

The contrast with Lazarus is striking. Lazarus came forth from the grave still bound in his graveclothes, needing others to loose him and let him go (John 11:44). But when Jesus Christ arose, He left every grave covering behind. Lazarus was restored to mortal life and would die again. Christ arose in resurrection power, never to die again. Romans 6:9 declares, “Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.” The lying linen clothes declare that the garments of death had no further claim on Him. He no longer needed the clothing of a dead man, because He was alive for evermore.
 
The Lying Linen Clothes
These graveclothes also picture something spiritually true for every believer. The angel declared, “He is not here, but is risen.”  Christ did not merely rise temporarily like Lazarus. He rose in everlasting resurrection power. Death no longer had dominion over him. Those grave wrappings belonged to a dead body, but Jesus lives forevermore.

Apart from Christ, man is dead in trespasses and sins. The lost man may dress himself in religion, morality, ceremony, or self-righteousness, but in God’s sight all his righteousnesses are as filthy rags. The graveclothes represent the old condition of a dead man, covered but not cleansed, wrapped but not redeemed. But the child of God has been quickened together with Christ. The believer is no longer dressed in the garments of spiritual death, but stands clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Because Christ arose, those who are in Him are made alive and are called to walk in newness of life.

The Lonely Napkin
Then there is the lonely napkin. John makes special note that it was not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. That napkin had once covered the face of death. It was associated with tears, sorrow, and grief, but in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the napkin was no longer needed. No veil. No death. No sorrow. No tears. In Christ, there is fellowship instead of loneliness, life over death, joy, hope, peace instead of grief, sorrow, and tears. "We sorrow not as others, who have no hope...." (1 Thess. 4:13).

The napkin speaks of the lost sinner. It pictures the veil that remains upon the heart and mind without Christ. It pictures the loneliness of being without God and without hope in the world. It pictures sorrow that cannot be finally relieved because, outside of Christ, there is no joy, hope, or peace for the soul.

What a blessing that the clothing and the napkin were found without the body of Jesus. If the body had remained and only the clothing was missing, there would be no gospel hope. But because the tomb was empty and the graveclothes were left behind, the believer can rejoice that Christ has conquered death, hell, and the grave. The resurrection laundry of John 20 is more than an interesting detail. It is a testimony that Jesus Christ is alive, and all who trust Him may leave behind the old garments of death and walk in the newness of life.