John Calvin Commentary John 20:7

"and the napkin, that was upon his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but rolled up in a place by itself." — John 20:7 (ASV)

And the napkin which was about his head. When the Evangelist says that a napkin was wrapped about his head, this refutes the falsehood of the Papists, who claim that the whole body was sewn up in one linen garment, which they present to the wretched populace, calling it “the holy winding-sheet.”

I say nothing about their gross ignorance of the Latin language, which led them to suppose that the word napkin — denoting what was used for wiping sweat from the face, such as a handkerchief — signified a covering for the whole body; nor do I say anything about their impudence in boasting that they have this very napkin in five or six different places.

But this gross falsehood is intolerable because it openly contradicts the evangelical history. To this is added a fictitious miracle, which they have contrived, to the effect that the likeness of Christ’s body remained visible on the linen cloth.

I appeal to you: if such a miracle had been performed, would the Evangelist — who is so careful to relate events of lesser importance — have said nothing about it? Let us be satisfied with this simple view of the matter: Christ, by laying aside the signs of death, intended to testify that he had clothed himself with a blessed and immortal life.