IN THE GOSPEL of John, the writer is inspired to share details about the burial cloths of Jesus:
“Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.’ Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed” (John 20:1–8).
With the biblical account in view, it is fascinating to consider 10 facts around the most studied artifact in history, an ancient linen cloth called the Shroud of Turin, which bears a detailed and anatomically precise image of a crucified man:
FACT #1: The image on the Shroud is a perfect “photographic negative,” meaning that when it is photographed, the negative shows a positive image. This is baffling because even skeptics acknowledge that the relic existed centuries before photography was invented.
FACT #2: A photograph of the Shroud produces a three-dimensional image when placed under a NASA image-analyzing computer. This means that distance-imaging information was somehow encoded when the image was formed. The photograph of the Shroud is the only known two-dimensional image on earth that displays this amazing property.
FACT #3: A recent study of high-resolution images of the Shroud revealed a phenomenon similar to action photography: superimposed views of one of the hands, a foot, and certain inanimate objects fixed to the corpse indicate that there was movement during the instant in which the image was formed.
FACT #4: The Shroud is sized according to the unit of measure used by first-century Jews, the cubit. It is exactly two cubits wide and eight cubits long. What’s more, while there are traces of cotton found in the Shroud, a by-product of various repairs made, there are no traces of wool, consistent with the biblical–Jewish law prohibiting the mixing of linen and wool (Deut. 22:11).
FACT #5: Blood stains on the Shroud are authentic human male blood, type AB. Type AB blood is the rarest of the four blood types, representing less than 4% of the population worldwide. However, a study of 68 ancient skeletons unearthed at Jerusalem from around 1,600 to 2,000 years ago, showed that more than 50% were type AB. If the Shroud is a medieval forgery as skeptics claim, it was an extremely astute forger who knew to use a common blood type for Jews living in Jerusalem around Jesus’ time, especially given that blood types were not even discovered until 1900.
FACT #6: The location of blood stains on the Shroud image correspond to what is known about the practice of Roman crucifixion. In Christian art from the Middle Ages, the era during which skeptics say the shroud was made, Jesus is depicted as having nails piercing his palms and feet. However, ancient skeletons of crucifixion victims show that the nails actually pierced the wrists and heels. The image on the Shroud has the nails piercing the wrists and heels, matching the actual Roman practice.
FACT #7: Traces of dirt and limestone on the Shroud match samples taken from tombs in Jerusalem. Furthermore, traces of pollen on the Shroud match flora specific to springtime in Jerusalem, the season and locale of Jesus’ burial.
FACT #8: Human DNA on the Shroud matches people groups from the region between Israel and Turkey, corresponding to the tradition that the Shroud was taken to Edessa (Southern Turkey) in the first century. Evidence that the Shroud was kept in Edessa is a writing by Syrian scholar Evagrius Scholasticus about an image of Christ “not made by hands,” which effected the miraculous defense of the City of Edessa against a siege by the Byzantine Empire in 544. The Edessa image, apparently the Shroud, became the model for all Byzantine and Orthodox icon images of Jesus that followed.
FACT #9: The Shroud corresponds to the biblical account of multiple cloths and a handkerchief found in Jesus’ tomb:
“And [Peter] went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself (John 20:6, 7).
Close examination of the Shroud shows that a three-inch wide, full-length strip sewn onto the side was part of the original cloth, which was cut off and later sewn back into its original position. Using life-sized models of the body and Shroud, researchers have shown how the once separate linen strip was used to fasten the Shroud to the deceased: it was first tied around the feet, then wrapped around the knees to keep the legs together, then around the torso, and finally around the head, where it was fastened beneath the chin.
Besides the three-inch strip, there exists a separate facecloth, or handkerchief, known as the Sudarium of Oviedo, which bears pre-mortem and post-mortem blood stains matching precisely the blood stains on the face area of the Shroud. Significantly, the facecloth does not have an image on it like the Shroud. This fits the biblical narrative of the handkerchief being “folded and put aside” (John 20:7) before the Shroud was placed over the body and the image presumably formed.
The Sudarium facecloth—a perfect forensic match to the Shroud—has a traceable history going back to at least 570 AD.
FACT #10: Exhaustive testing of the image on the Shroud shows no evidence of pigments, dyes, or any scorching or photographic process that would indicate an artistic forgery. Furthermore, the image is not the result of natural decay as no decay products are found on the Shroud. Based on the inimitable characteristics of the image, researchers believe it was formed by an extremely brief and intense burst of vertically collimated radiation emitted by the body wrapped in the Shroud. This radiation produced a static discharge from the top fibers facing the body, causing heating in a very thin surface layer on the fibers, which resulted in molecular damage to the cellulose in this thin layer. With the passage of time and possibly exposure to ultraviolet light, this thin damaged cellulose layer on the fibers gradually darkened to form the image of the crucified man on the Shroud.
With the above facts in view, I believe that the Shroud of Turin most likely bears the image of the One who . . .
Was born in a stable.
Healed the sick.
Fed the hungry.
Raised the dead.
Walked on water.
Calmed the storm.
Forgave sinners.
Cast out demons.
Died on a cross.
Rose from the dead.
And ascended to heaven.
Jesus is alive, and He is coming back soon! When He appears, we will become like Him. The same incomprehensible burst of light and energy that emitted from His beaten and bloodied corpse to produce the image on the Shroud will emit from those who have received Him as Lord. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, believers will be miraculously regenerated, and those who have died will be raised (1 John 3:2; 1 Cor. 15:52).
To receive Jesus as Lord, simply call on His name. Ask Him to be your Savior. Believe that He is the Son of God who died for your sins and was raised from the dead, and you too will be regenerated at His coming.
Do it today.
Time is short.
. . .
NOTES:
1. Shroud website:
http://www.shroud.com/
2. General forensic analysis of the Shroud:
https://whocanhebe.com/Forensic_Evidence.html
3. Video discussing the action-photography effect, indicating movement of the body during the creation of the shroud image:
4. Blood on the Shroud:
http://shroudofturin.weebly.com/blood-evidence.html
5. Blood-typing of ancient skeletons from Israel:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/888938/
6. Flawed radiocarbon testing: While a radiocarbon test in 1988 dated the Shroud to only around 1260–1390 AD, these test are disputed on the basis that they were contaminated by fibers from cloth used to repair the shroud when it was damaged by fire in the Middle Ages.
7. Image of Edessa:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_of_Edessa
8. Sudarium of Oviedo – History and Relationship to the Shroud:
https://www.shroud.com/guscin.htm
9. Image formation hypothesis:
https://0201.nccdn.net/1_2/000/000/174/1a8/how-the-image-was-formed-on-the-shroud.pdf
. . .
*Visit the author’s website:
www.theseasonofreturn.com
*YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVxcqsgEKvYtscqyYJpTxbQ
