He is risen! Today we celebrate that Jesus walked out of the empty tomb.

As we reflect today, I want us to think about one of the most overlooked details in the resurrection story. It’s what John saw when he reached the tomb: the burial cloth, folded neatly and set aside.

“The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen.” John 20:7, NIV

An Easter Reflection

For centuries, scholars have noted the deliberate phrasing here. When John entered the empty tomb, he didn’t just find absence. He found order.

In the first-century Jewish world, burial was done quickly but reverently. A body was wrapped in linen cloths and anointed with spices—up to 75 pounds of them, according to John 19:39. The head was typically covered separately with a soudarion—a face cloth. Think of it like a burial napkin placed with care.

And when John entered the empty tomb on Easter morning, he saw the linens, still lying there. The face cloth folded, set apart.

Jesus didn’t escape the tomb like Lazarus, still wrapped and needing help to be unbound. He left the grave the way He left the cross—with composure, clarity, and complete control.

I wonder how that small act was another way of Him showing us His intentionality, a way of showing us: I meant to do this, the work is finished, and victory is complete.

Put It Into Practice

Wherever this Easter finds you—busy or at rest, grieving or grateful—pause long enough to notice what Jesus left behind: Order. Stillness. Assurance.

Today, how can we live in light of this truth? What needs to be folded and left behind?
— Shame that doesn’t belong anymore?
— A fear that no longer fits the future?
— The pressure to keep earning what Jesus already secured?

I pray that you can confidently trust that Jesus has already done the heavy lifting—and you can walk in resurrection peace.

He is Risen, Indeed!