When Peter entered the tomb of the risen Jesus, he saw the linen graveclothes where Jesus had lain. Also, the cloth that had covered the Lord’s face, folded and laid separately. Who folded the facecloth? Angels? Or was it Jesus?
If it had been the former, folding it was a mark of respect. It had covered the face of Jesus for three days and nights and then had been infused with the glory on the Lord’s face as he came to life! Who would not wish they had been there to witness that event?
Many times I’ve flown into Australia at dawn after an overnight flight — at times from Asia and at other times from the UK. How good it was to be offered a hot refresher towel by an airline steward, and how much better my face felt after I rubbed that hot towel into my numb, half-asleep face!
Our face is our most important feature – the sales of cosmetics and facial cleansers is proof of that. In Bible times, to be permitted to see the face of a king was a great favour. Nehemiah was cup-bearer to King Artaxerxes, and when the king saw that his face was sad, Nehemiah was frightened. The face of the king’s servant should have reflected the favour that came from simply being in the king’s presence (Nehemiah 2:2).
The LORD’S promise that He would heal the land of Israel was dependent on His people seeking His face (2 Chronicles 7:14). The LORD’S face is His favour. When the evil Haman lost favour, the king’s servants put a bag over his head! (Esther 7:8) The disfavour on the king’s face was the last thing Haman saw in life before he was strung up on the gallows.
Israel’s sins caused God to “hide His face” from them (Isaiah 59:2). But we who believe in Jesus the Son see the face of God mirrored in the face of our glorious Saviour. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2)
“For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know even as I am known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12) “Face to face” means that our countenances will fully reflect the face of our glorious Lord! They mirror it now to a degree. But that will not always be so: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image, from glory to glory, by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)
If it was a grave offense to look depressed in the presence of an ancient king, how offensive then is it to God when we allow guilt, condemnation, inferiority, insecurity and inadequacy to prevent us from looking our Lord full in the face?
The early part of 2 Corinthians, chapter 3, deals with the diminishing glow on the face of Moses, after he had been in the presence of God for forty days. Not wishing the people to see the fading of that glory, Moses covered his face with a veil.
Personal veils can cover people, and entire nations can be veiled, in that they are unable to see the Gospel of Jesus Christ, much less understand it. But our faces are unveiled, and they shine with the unfading glory of the New Covenant made for us by God in Jesus Christ.
Our faces are enlightened by degrees, as the image of the living, risen and glorified Lord Jesus is reflected in our open, upturned faces! If you are not yet saved, it is time that you turned to the Lord so the veil can be removed!
(In one morning’s meeting, I brought out a veil that Lorraine had prepared, and asked those who felt unworthy or ashamed to come forward. When a number did, I placed the veil on their heads and then broke the burden of unworthiness off them, in the name of Jesus. After removing the veil from each one, I pronounced the Aaronic blessing over that person. “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.” (How great is this blessing when pronounced by a priest who serves “after the order of Melchizedek”?)
One burly young man later told me that if he had not sat down on the front row seat, he would have ended up “somewhere in the back of the church” – so greatly did the power of the Holy Spirit touch him. All glory to God and to His splendid Son, Jesus Christ! What a face refresher it is to behold the face of God in the face of the Lord Jesus!
Let’s get closer to Jesus — so close that we can look him fully in the face – and so mirror his glory to those around us who so desperately need him!