The Shroud of Turin: Evidence of a Resurrection?
The Shroud of Turin is a cloth bearing the negative image of a man.[1] Some people believe it is the burial cloth of Jesus of Nazareth. There’s also a face cloth known as the Sudarium of Oviedo, which matches the shroud.[2] Why would anyone think it is Jesus’ burial cloth? It may seem loopy, but there are at least some interesting things to consider.
So, what caused the image on the burial cloth? How did it get there? No one knows exactly, even after thousands and thousands of hours of scientific investigation. We do know no substances were manually applied; no paint, ink, dye, pigments, stains, or secretions of the body were used to make the image. “No one has satisfactorily explained how the image was produced.”[3] Even though the shroud is the single most studied artifact ever, no other artifact comes close.
The image on the Shroud of Turin is from discoloration. The discoloration is only 200 nanometers deep into the linen fibers. Strangely, many believe the “image was formed by a sort of electromagnetic source of energy.”[4] The best explanation is that light—ultraviolet light—emanating from inside the shroud caused the image on the shroud. It has been estimated that about 6 billion watts of energy is what would be needed to produce the image.
This is where it seems like science fiction. What could explain this? Are there other things about the shroud that are mysterious? Yes. There are type AB bloodstains on the cloth. And the bloodstains are consistent with a victim of crucifixion. There is also pollen from ancient Palestine on the cloth. And the cloth has recently been dated to the time of Jesus (amending a previous date).[5]
Amazingly, the information gleaned from the burial cloth is compatible with the accounts in the Bible. The image and the blood stains show wounds on the wrists, a wound on the feet, and a wound on the side, and the stains account for the effect of gravity (showing the body hung from a vertical position). But there are no stains from the decomposition of the body and no sign that the man’s legs were broken.
The image on the shroud shows it was wrapped around a person when the image was formed. The image on the shroud varies in proportion to the distance between the cloth and the body, thus communicating 3D information about the body wrapped in the shroud. That is, the intensity of the image is directly proportional to the distance between the body and the shroud. It is similar to a topographical map. The parts of the cloth that touch the body (like the forehead) are darker, and the farther away parts (like the eye sockets) are fainter.
This has enabled researchers to take the data and create an anatomically proportional three-dimensional human form. This data can even be used to make a sophisticated guess about the height and weight of the figure in the shroud. The estimate is between 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet, with a weight of 165 to 180 pounds.
National Geographic has called the shroud “one of the most perplexing enigmas of modern times.” Of course, it cannot be proved that this was Jesus’ burial cloth. But it forces questions upon us. What explains the Shroud of Turin? We don’t know for sure. But if Jesus actually did rise from the dead as the Bible reports, it would make sense that a burst of energy would be involved in His resurrection and that His burial cloth would be kept.
It currently seems like the Shroud of Turin is either awesome physical proof of Jesus’ resurrection, or a miraculous forgery. Because even with all our scientific understanding and technology, the shroud still cannot be replicated. So, how could it have been created a long time ago? No one knows.
The New Testament, however, does mention Jesus’ face cloth and burial cloth (John 20:7), and Acts says Jesus showed Himself to be alive from the dead through many convincing proofs (Acts 1:3). Was the shroud one of those convincing proofs?
Notes
[1] See “What Is the Shroud of Turin? Facts & History Everyone Should Know.”
[2] Barta, César & Alvarez, Rodrigo & Ordóñez, M. Almudena & Sánchez, A. & García, J.. (2015). “New coincidence between Shroud of Turin and Sudarium of Oviedo.” SHS Web of Conferences. 15. 00008. 10.1051/shsconf/20151500008.
[3] W.H. Gloer, “Shroud,” 496 in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Bromiley, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982).
[4] https://www.sci.news/physics/scientists-suggest-turin-shroud-authentic.html. W.H. Gloer, “Shroud,” 496.
[5] See “New test dates Shroud of Turin to era of Christ” and “Turin Shroud ‘is not a medieval forgery’.”
Free e-Book
In preparation for Easter, I put together a devotional book. If you don’t have something to go through, I encourage you to check it out.
Here’s the link to the free e-book, I hope you find it helpful: Psalms of Our Suffering Savior
Good News Amongst the Raging Waters
It is Saturday. It is the day we remember Jesus laying in a grave. It is quiet, it is solemn, it is lonely. It brings sadness.
Many Christians are feeling Easter from a different perspective. We are not celebrating with our brothers and sisters Easter morning like we usually would. Our voices joining together with the heavens, singing praises to Jesus in celebration of His resurrection. His resurrection bringing salvation to this world signaling the church of Jesus Christ to disperse and tell the world the Good News.
Yet, here we are. Confined to our homes, it may be quiet or chaotic in your home, but we are far from our friends, family, and routines. We are feeling our need for comfort, peace and our weaknesses are on full display. We want the truth. We want justice. We want our voices to be heard. Each day uncontrollably slides across the ice with no clear path forward. Each day we may be grasping, trying to hold onto something that will stop the spinning and put us on a good path. But how do we, the government, or the world know how to steer a day?
We are the water, not the hand that controls the flow of the water. God has a plan and a purpose as he guides the water. God had a plan and purpose for Jesus as He approached the cross. It didn’t look good and it hurt but Jesus followed the Father’s plan. That plan saved humanity and gives us the reason we sing and declare His name into this world.
The Resurrection and Our Hope No Matter What
What is the correct response to the coronavirus? Should we have fear or faith?
Well, the answer to that question depends on where you’re coming from and your understanding of this world…
The Bible teaches Christians that through Christ, no matter what we face, we can have faith. We can have hope.
Reflecting on the resurrection of Jesus helps us have faith. It helps us see that we have a solid, untouchable hope.
In Acts chapter 2, Peter refers to Psalm 16 which is a Psalm that king David wrote. Psalm 16:27 says, “For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption.” In Peter’s message he said: Friends, I can confidently tell you something about king David: He is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us today (Acts 2:29). David is dead and his body rotted.
The Ascension
As we saw in the previous post on the resurrection, Peter looked at Psalm 16 and showed how Jesus’ resurrection was foretold. In Acts 2 Peter goes on to show that Jesus is now at God’s right hand, as Psalm 110 foretold. Jesus Himself had quoted from Psalm 110 and stomped His critics (see e.g. Matt. 22:41-46). And when you look at 110:1 it’s not surprising that they were stomped.
So, we see that Jesus is at God’s right hand until… Until He makes His enemies His footstool. That means that Jesus is coming back—and the New Testament repeatedly says soon—to bring judgment, and pervasive peace through that judgment.[1]
Jesus’ death and resurrection shows that He is indeed the Lord and Messiah.[2] As the Lord and Messiah, He is coming back soon to vanquish every foe and establish His forever reign of peace. In His second coming, He will bring the Kingdom that was expected at His first coming. Read More…
On what day did Jesus die?
First, I encourage you to read Matthew’s account in the Gospel of Matthew. It will be helpful to read since it’s the longest (Matt. 27:24-62).
In Matthew’s account we see that Jesus dies (v. 45-56) and then Joseph of Arimathea asks Pilate for permission to bury Jesus’ body (Matt. 27:57-61). Joseph did this on the Preparation Day, that is, on Friday, the day before Saturday which is the Sabbath.[1] It was very important that Jesus’ body not stay on the cross on the Sabbath because then the land would be defiled (Jn. 19:31).[2] So, Jesus died on Friday because He was taken off the cross before the Sabbath.
The next day, that is on Saturday,[3] “the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, ‘Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while He was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise’” (v. 62). And then they asked for guards and so Pilate granted their request and gave them guards.
The Resurrection
Peter refers to this Davidic Psalm in Acts chapter 2. He said: “Fellow Israelites, I can confidently speak to you about the patriarch David: He is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us today” (Acts 2:29). In short, David’s dead and his body rotted. David did, however, as a prophet tell us that one of his descendants would sit on his throne (v. 30). So, David seeing that in advance “spoke concerning the resurrection of the Messiah: ‘His body was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did His body see decay’” (v. 31).
Paul says it a little differently. He says King “David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption” (Acts 13:36). King David saw corruption. His body decomposed. So, David is not the “Holy One” that the Psalm refers to.
Paul goes on to say, “But He whom God raised up did not see corruption” (v. 37). Ding, ding, ding! Jesus is the Holy One! He is the long-awaited Messiah and forever King!
David knew that the LORD would place one of his descendants on the throne. How did he know this? Because…
The Death
The Righteous One was not delivered. The Righteous One was afflicted and slayed. The Righteous One was condemned, condemned to die the terrible death of a criminal and slave.
Jesus was slaughtered. But it was not a senseless slaughter.
As the centurion nearby Jesus acknowledged, something more was going on behind the scenes. The centurion would have observed many deaths and many crucifixions. And so, he is in a unique position to recognize the purity and power of Jesus. The centurion said, “Certainly this man was innocent and the Son of God! (Lk. 23:47/Matt. 27:54; Mk. 15:39)
The centurion responded in that way after he saw Jesus call out and say, “It is finished. Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” and breathe his last (Jn. 19:30/Lk. 23:46). The centurion must have been amazed by Jesus’ composure and everything else that had taken place surrounding Him. The centurion may have seen the way Jesus treated His enemies (Lk. 23:34), His promise to the criminal on the cross (v. 43), His prayer to God (v. 46), not to mention the ominous darkness (v. 44).[1]
Jesus’ death was not senseless, but according to Scripture. The Righteous One was slain in between two criminals. Jesus was, as Isaiah says, “numbered with the transgressors.” Yet in being cursed Jesus was carrying out a rescue plan that had long since been written (Rev. 13:8). “When He was hung on the cross, He took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree’” (Gal. 3:13).
The Committal
Jesus’ life was bathed in the language of the Psalms. Yet, when Jesus quotes Psalm 31 He doesn’t quote it exactly. Instead, He says, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Lk. 23:46).[1] And so, Jesus’ dying moment was one of trust in His Father. Jesus trusted as He taught us to pray (“Our Father in heaven…”—Matt. 6:9-15). Jesus trusted as He brought a way for us too to go to the Father (Jn. 14:6).
And so we see that Jesus who cries out in despair—trusts God.[2] And we see He laid His life down. Jesus committed Himself into the care of His Father[3] and said, “It is finished” (Jn. 19:30) and breathed His last. Jesus was in control of His life, and He laid it down. The fact that no one took His life from Him but that He laid it down[4] also implies that He is able to “take it up again” (Jn. 10:17).
It is because Jesus trusted God His Father in His life and in His death, and because He freely laid His life down, that we have access to the Father. Jesus makes a way for us by being the perfect sacrifice. Jesus always perfectly trusted God.
So, through Jesus we can have God as our Father. We can go to Him in prayer as Jesus taught us (Matt. 6:9-15). We don’t have to be anxious like unbelievers because we know that we have a heavenly Father who knows all that we need (v. 32). And we can be assured of our Father’s love and care for us because He loved us so much that He sent Jesus (Jn. 3:16).
The Insults
“But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
7All who see me mock me;
they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
8’He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him;
let him rescue him, for he delights in him!'”
—Ps. 22:6-8 (Matt. 27:35-44)
It is hard and painful to think of Jesus being mocked. And yet He was mocked and mocked ruthlessly. Jesus was mocked by the chief priests, the scribes, the elders (Matt. 27:41), by robbers (v. 44), and by soldiers (Lk. 23:36).
It didn’t stop there, though. The condemned would be crucified naked. The cross was an instrument of shame as well as pain. Much of the mocking that Jesus underwent occurred as He was vulnerable and stretched out on the cross.
The Righteous One becomes the Rejected One. The Great Exchange took place, the righteous for the unrighteous. Barabbas goes free and the beautiful Savior is bludgeoned. So in Barabbas’ deliverance, we see our own.[1]
