On this Easter Sunday, many Christians all over the world celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ in great joy. This annual celebration is one of the greatest pillars of the Christian faith. Sharing in this joy, many Christians and non-Christians exchange goodwill messages—congratulatory messages and messages of prayers, hope and upliftment.
In its usual way, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) joined all persons of goodwill to extend its felicitation messages to Christians as they celebrate Easter. The NBA’s message delivered on Easter Sunday, 5 April 2026, as seen on all its verified social media handles and on its website, was accompanied by a photo depicting the tomb of Jesus and the linen cloth with which Jesus was wrapped in before his burial.
The Significant Detail NBA Missed
The vital detail missed by the NBA in its message was not in the text of its goodwill message to Christians. Rather, it was in the photo used to extend the message. Precisely, the NBA inadvertently used a photo depicting a clearly unfolded burial cloth found in the tomb of Jesus after he had resurrected, being the cloth in which Jesus was wrapped in before his burial.
On the contrary, following the resurrection of Jesus, the linen cloth—head cloth—with which He was buried was found neatly folded in the tomb. You may assume that NBA’s error in using a photo of an unfolded linen was negligible, but I will show below why it is not. The error is profound.
The Burial of Jesus
In the Gospel of St. Matthew 27:57-60 (Good News version), we were told that a man named Joseph of Arimathea had taken the body of Jesus, wrapped His body in a new linen sheet and then buried it in a tomb:
When it was evening, a rich man from Arimathea arrived; his name was Joseph, and he also was a disciple of Jesus. He went into the presence of Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate gave orders for the body to be given to Joseph. So Joseph took it, wrapped it in a new linen sheet, and placed it in his own tomb, which he had just recently dug out of solid rock. Then he rolled a large stone across the entrance to the tomb and went away.
The Resurrection of Jesus
After the death of Jesus, He resurrected from the dead. We were told in the Gospel of St. Matthew 28:1-7 that on the day of His resurrection, there was a sudden violent earthquake; an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled the stone away, and sat on it. The angel’s appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. It was this angel who broke the news of Jesus’ resurrection to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary and had asked them to go and inform the disciples of Jesus.
The Folded Burial Cloth
Having visited the tomb and not finding the body of Jesus, Mary Magdalene ran to Simon Peter and one other disciple and informed them about the development. We were told in the Gospel of St. John 20:6 that Peter went into the tomb and found it empty but saw the cloth of Jesus—head cloth—clearly folded or rolled up:
…And he [Peter] went straight into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there and the cloth which had been round Jesus’ head. It was not lying with the linen wrappings but was rolled up by itself.
The Significance of the Folding of the Burial Cloth
The folding of the linen cloth with which Jesus was buried formed part of the remarkable signs of his resurrection. The body of Jesus was not stolen or clandestinely taken away by a grave robber or anyone else. If this was the case, there might not have been any account of His burial cloth being found in the tomb in the first place. Second, if the burial cloth was to be removed, the person taking the body of Jesus would have removed it in such a hurry that the act of folding or rolling up the cloth and keeping it aside would have been reasonably considered to be needless.
Interestingly, Jesus’ burial cloth was neatly folded or rolled up, and then kept aside. The linen cloth was not handled in the manner as shown in the NBA’s Easter message photo. In a brilliant analysis found on San Francisco de Asís Catholic Parish website, the Writer explained that the burial cloth is corroborating evidence of Christ’s resurrection:
No thief would have taken the time to unwrap Jesus’ corpse and fold his burial clothes neatly in the tomb. In any case, the grave robbers of antiquity usually stole the expensive linens and left the body behind, not the other way around.
Also, the Writer noted that “the fact that the head covering was rolled up in a separate place suggests conscious, deliberate action.”
Conclusion
As Christians, we have been well-taught that the rolling up of the linen cloth was a symbol of calmness and order. This seemingly tiny but extremely significant detail, missed by the NBA, teaches us that the resurrection of Jesus occurred under divine control and orderliness.
