For follow-up discussion and general commentary on the topic. Comments are sorted chronologically.
Marilyn saddler
Back in that time, a folded napkin meant the the person would be back, if for some reason they left during a meal. It was a symbol that he would be back.
Larry Truelove
I was recently in a men's Bible study and this question came up. The best explanation seemed to be that it was show Jesus' departure was not rushed. If the body had been removed by force or stealth, the face cloth would not have been neatly laying there folded.
Lynda Hickman
It is my understanding that when Jesus was crucified, He had been stripped nude, for the soldiers took His garments (John 19:23)
That was part of the despicable custom of the Romans to strip naked those to be crucified. For a Jewish man to be held up for all to see only added to the humiliation as the soldiers had already "plucked out" His beard (Isaiah 50:6)
So if our Savior was naked when He was removed from the cross, and was wrapped in linen cloth, it only stands to reason that if anyone had stolen Christ's body, they would have taken the wrappings as well. For to have left them behind would mean that they would have had to handle a corpse, and for a Jew, that was an abomination.
Numbers 19:11 & 13 say that anyone who touches a dead body was defiled, considered unclean for 7 days. And I don't know if even having a dead body wrapped in linen kept one from being "unclean." Of course we know that our Savior's body was not stolen, but He arose, just as He said He would.
The story of His body being stolen was concocted by the chief priests and the elders (Matthew 28:12-13)
In 1989, while working for a Jewish business man, when I asked him what he thought about Jesus, he told me that he believed Him to be a good man, a good teacher, but that he felt certain that He had not risen, that His body was stolen in the night by those who wanted to perpetuate the idea that He had risen from the dead.
I wish I had read what C. S. Lewis said in "Mere Christianity."
Agnes Mendenhall
Marilyn saddler, thank you Marilyn for your comment. I believe you are correct. I remember my brother, who is a pastor, stating that the Jesus would fold the cloth and lay it on the table, and that would later signify to the disciples, "He would be back."
Gretchen Dean
Nice to know. God always leaves subtle signs to help us along the way.