Issues, Etc

You may have heard about LCMS radio show, Issues Etc. that was taken off the air. Here's a Wall Street Journal Online opinion piece that is helpful in understanding what's happening.

WSJ

HOUSES OF WORSHIP

Radio Silence
By MOLLIE ZIEGLER HEMINGWAY
March 28, 2008; Page W11

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120667366412170875.html

The folded napkin

There is a story floating around the Internet on the folded napkin mentioned in John 20:7. The interpretation given in this e-story is that the folded napkin is a symbolic message from Jesus meaning that Jesus is coming back. I had never heard this story before, so I thought I'd check out what commentators say about John 20:7. The ones that I checked were unanimous in saying that since things were orderly in the tomb, this meant that there had not been a grave robbery.

None of them mentioned a symbolic meaning, "I'm coming back." Of course we believe that Christ will return but probably the folded napkin is not a coded message from Jesus. It seems that this story originated in 2007. No one knows where. Here are a couple of places that you can check this out.

JerusalemPerspective.com Exploring the Jewish background to the Life and Words of Jesus
http://forum.jerusalemperspective.com/viewtopic.php?t=377

Truth or Fiction.com The Folded Napkin in Jesus' Tomb
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/f/folded-napkin.htm