Burial Shroud of Jesus (Shroud of Turin)

By | June 29, 2023
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By William Baker author of Proving God Proving Jesus (Amazon.com-search with my name to find) June 30, 2023

Photos of the Shroud can be downloaded at www.shroudphotos.com. The following points include information from the sources found in my book as well as The Turin Shroud by Mark Niyr and Test the Shroud by Mark Antonacci (which is a great reference on the Shroud).

SHROUD SIGNIFICANCE – INCREASING IMPORTANT IN A MORE SECULAR AGE

In John 20:5-7 it mentions John and Peter find the Shroud (the linens) and the Sudarium (the napkin or face cloth) in the empty tomb. The Bible, the Shroud of Turin and the Sudarium of Oviedo form a unique trinity of three related objects that serve as witnesses to the truth of each other (as stated in Matt. 18:16). Is Galatians 3:1 “…before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified…” a reference to the Shroud? The following list summarizes some of the Shroud’s unique characteristics. In my opinion, the Shroud is showing us Jesus at the moment of His resurrection with the promise of eternal life with Him. God provided evidence of the miracle that is of most importance to all mankind. God made the decision it was needed for those of weaker faith. However, God does not want science to tell us He is real. He is still looking for us to have faith and He is giving us enough evidence to know with certainty that the Bible is true!

IMAGE 

  • The Shroud shows the first photograph of Jesus. Discovered in 1898 by Secondo Pia.
  • The Shroud image contains unique 3D information encoded into the image.
  • The Shroud is the source of the first image of Jesus (Christ Pantocrator circa 550 A.D.) we all recognize.
  • The Shroud image is composed of many fibers that require a microscope to see but microscopes were not invented until the 1600s. Each thread is approximately .01 inches in diameter and comprised of approximately 70 to 120 fibers (Fanti up to 200) each smaller than a human hair.
  • The body image fibers are individually colored due to chemical reactions produced by an accelerated aging process as compared to the nonimage areas of the cloth. The cellulose in the linen producing the image yellowed/darkened (like old newspaper yellows) at a faster rate than the rest of the cloth. The image is becoming fainter as the nonimage linen darkens with age. The straw-yellow coloration of the body image is due to single-bonded atoms that were transformed into double-bonded atoms. Radiation can cause this kind of transformation to occur.
  • It is microscopically directionless – it contains no two-dimensional directionality unlike a painting.
  • The Shroud image includes areas of the body that did not touch the cloth.
  • The Shroud image contains scourge details only visible with ultraviolet light (which was not known until the 19th century).
  • The image displays characteristics that indicate it was radiated including images of skull, teeth, finger bones and backbone. Experts have concluded the source of the radiation can only be the body.
  • The non-body image area fluoresces under ultraviolet light while the body image does not due to it absorbing the radiating energy.

BLOOD

  • The Shroud contains human blood. The image was created after the bloodstains.
  • The Shroud displays venous and arterial blood in the correct locations while the difference between venous and arterial blood was not discovered until 1593 A.D.

WOUNDS TO BODY PARALLEL SCRIPTURE AND ARE ANATOMICALLY FLAWLESS

  • The Shroud shows a body that was crucified. Multiple medical professionals attest to the body being a real crucified man.
  • The abrasions across the shoulder blades show the crosspiece of the cross was carried.
  • There are over 100 scourge wounds and each is perfect (only one imperfect would have revealed a forgery) with blood serum halos surrounding each scourge mark and this is only visible with ultraviolet light.
  • The skull shows puncture wounds consistent with wearing a crown of thorns. Jesus is the only person in human history to receive this punishment. The crown is cap-like which is similar to the crowns worn by kings of the East.
  • There is a wound in the chest area from which blood and fluid (watery from two potential sources: the pleural space around the lungs due to scourging and the pericardial sac around the heart due to crucifixion) flowed. There are serum halos visible only with UV fluorescence photography. It is postmortem from a lance in accordance with scripture.
  • As per scripture there are no broken bones. The image displays rigor mortis but no sign of decomposition.

CLOTH

  • The weave of the linen cloth matches wool dating to 1st century Egypt. The Shroud seam stitching dates from 40 B.C.-73 A.D.

EVIDENCE OF BEING IN JERUSALEM

  • The Shroud contains pollen from the area of Jerusalem.
  • The Shroud contains flowers from the area of Jerusalem. The flower capparis aegyptia image on the Shroud exhibits blooming showing it was picked in the spring of the year within an hour of Jesus death.
  • Travertine aragonite is found on the feet matching the Garden Tomb and Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.

SUDARIUM

THE SHROUD IS GENUINE-LET IT SPEAK TO YOUR HEART-IT GIVES US A MORE INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS!

The crucified Jews were generally buried in mass graves. The exception is the man in the Shroud who perfectly matches scripture. All evidence points to the Shroud of Turin being genuine. Look at the evidence in total before making a decision on its genuineness. There is no evidence of paint creating the image and the 1988 radiocarbon dating is now regarded by many Shroud experts as inaccurate. Alternative dating methods show it can be dated to the 1st century. Also, if the Shroud’s radiation source includes neutron radiation it could have created C14 atoms that would make the Shroud appear younger than its age.

This article can be downloaded at www.provinggodprovingjesus.com.