John 19:40

So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.

Throughout John, there appears the most exact and intimate knowledge of Jewish customs, proving that the author could have been none other than a Jew.

Linen cloths ... The word "cloths" does not mean "clothes," nor "a linen cloth," such as was mentioned by all three synoptics, according to Westcott. This is the type of "discrepancy" seized upon with such glee by skeptics, there being several other examples in the sacred Gospels. There ARE discrepancies, of a sort; but they are far more effective in establishing the truth and dependability of the Gospels than any VERBATIM narratives could have been. Even the points of apparent disagreement, when carefully studied, reveal deeper insights into the facts.

CONCERNING THE CLOTHS

As Westcott noted, "The exact word for CLOTHS is the diminutive form which is used in Greek medical writings for BANDAGES. This distinguishes these SWATHES in which the body was bound from the linen cloth mentioned by the other evangelists."[23]

Observe this total record of all four Gospels:

Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth (Matthew 27:59). Joseph bought a linen cloth, and taking him down, wound him in the linen cloth (Mark 15:46). Joseph took the body down and wrapped it in a linen cloth (Luke 23:53). Joseph and Nicodemus took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices (John 19:40).

Thus, Joseph in the lead, and joined by Nicodemus a little later, after the latter had bought the spices, received Pilate's permission to take the body. Did they wrap, wind, or bind the body with that linen cloth? They did all three. Did they keep that linen cloth in one piece while that was done? Certainly not. They first cut it into SWATHES, as John said, making medical bandages of the type one can still see on the body of the old Israel himself in the Cave of Macpelah! As John tells us, "as the custom of the Jews is to bury." If such is not what happened, the synoptics would merely have said, "They rolled him up in a sheet." On the contrary, they used three different verbs: wrapped, wound, and bound. Any fair interpretation requires the inference of what John here declared as fact, namely, that the linen cloth was first reduced to medical type bandages used in winding up the bodies of the dead. Those who seek a contradiction in God's word must seek it elsewhere.

But there is a great deal more to this. The astounding miracle of the grave clothes was about to be related, the validity and impact of which depended utterly upon an exact understanding of what the grave clothes were and how they were applied. That is WHY John gave more exact details than the synoptics who did not record that miracle.