It was an ordinary Sunday morning, yet one that led to a profound theological journey. As I sat in church today, the sermon’s outline, translated from Japanese to English, immediately captured my attention: “The Linen That Was Left Behind.” What a great title for a sermon, I thought.
With the help of Google Translate providing the rough draft (perhaps 60% of the meaning) and the Holy Spirit filling in the crucial theological blanks, I prepared my Bible, ready to study alongside the message being preached.
The Folded Cloth and Perfect Peace
The entire message centered on the simple but powerful detail recorded in John 20:6-7. Peter and John enter the empty tomb:
“Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself.” (John 20:6-7)
Why did the evangelist bother to record this detail?
The linen cloths were left behind because Christ had no more use for the wrappings of death. He was risen.
But the folded face cloth—that moment of quiet, deliberate action amidst the greatest miracle in history—spoke a volume of peace to my soul.
The folded cloth is a final, serene signature confirming that the job is finished. The debt is paid. The power of death is nullified. My trust must rest and find peace on that folded cloth, a testimony that Jesus took the time to fold it once His body came back to life.
The Great Commission: An Act of Sending, Not Striving
As I sat and read the commentary in my Bible app, seeking a deeper understanding, my eyes stopped on the familiar words just a few verses later, the foundation of the Great Commission:
“As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. When he had said this Jesus filled them with the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:21-22)
My Mind Comes Alive When I Read The Word Of God
From those fine words of Scripture, my mind came alive with the core truth: The Father sends, the Spirit leads with wisdom, all to witness about the Risen Lord Jesus Christ.
This passage highlights the Trinitarian reality of the Christian mission. It is a mission of grace from start to finish:
- The Father initiates (sends the Son).
- The Son commissions (sends the disciples).
- The Holy Spirit empowers (fills the disciples).
Where is there room for human merit in that plan? Salvation and the mission itself are entirely an act of divine sending and divine empowerment.
The Abuse of the Great Commission
Yet, the thoughts immediately turned to the abuse of the Great Commission I’ve seen and heard about—a distortion that has morphed into a “big business” and drifted into the hand of humanism.
These false gospels propagate an ideology of doing more, giving more, and building more, often under the guise of Christ’s name to build earthly empires. This is a subtle yet devastating shift from God’s sending to human striving.
The New Perspective on Paul: A Return to Merit?
This train of thought naturally led me to the theological distortion known as the New Perspective on Paul (NPP), which—in its teachings on Final Justification—injects an insidious form of striving back into the Gospel.
Those who try to inject this distortion into the Father’s plan create a profound problem for the simple, peaceful truth of the folded cloth.
The Problem on Judgment Day
The Reformed understanding of the Gospel—built upon the authority of the Risen Christ—teaches Justification by Faith Alone (Sola Fide). Our final verdict is based solely on the imputed righteousness of Christ, the perfection He achieved and finished on the Cross.
The NPP, particularly in the work of some of its proponents, argues that while initial acceptance is by faith, the final judgment is rendered “according to works.”
This raises the critical question: If one has to do this or that to show they have “done the right things by God” to secure a favorable verdict at the final judgment, then how does one really know they are actually doing the “right things”?
The Empty Tomb’s Final Word
The quiet resolution of the folded linen cloth is the answer.
The Father sends. The Father initiates. The Father gives His Son to us. Where is the merit in that for the human?
The Holy Spirit
Our good works, inspired and empowered by the Holy Spirit, are the evidence of true faith, not the basis for our acquittal.
If our good deeds become the basis for the final verdict, the peace of the folded cloth is lost. We are returned to an anxiety-driven life of performance, constantly wondering if we have done enough.
The Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ means His righteousness is sufficient. His work is finished.
We are commissioned to witness to this grace, not to strive for a final merit that He has already secured for us.
We rest securely, not in our own performance, but in the truth of the empty tomb and the finality of the folded linen cloth.
Soli Deo Gloria 🕊️
