3 – Beyond a Shroud of Evidence

The basic foundation of American politics is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is where our rights and liberties come from for He is the Creator. To attempt to develop another foundation for politics is to pursue self-destruction.

I know that God and the Lord Jesus Christ really exist apart from any physical evidence, yet I have been fascinated by the Shroud of Turin, which is physical proofof the existence of God, Jesus Christ.

INTRODUCTION

Today we have recorded on the Shroud of Turin a record of the sign of the Son of Man for the entire world to see and to consider. The image on the Shroud of Turin is three dimensional, which means that the Shroud was lying on the body of Jesus.1

THE SHROUD OF TURIN, THE WITNESS OF JESUS

The Jews asked Jesus for a sign that they might believe that Jesus was the promised messiah. Jesus said no sign would be given except the sign of the prophet Jonah. As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a whale, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.2

The account of the burial is found in each Gospel.3 Matthew reads, “Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,4 this describes the Shroud of Turin accurately. “A clean linen cloth, “mans one linen cloth not cut into strips. Wrapped means, to wind or fold (a covering around something).5 The Shroud covered the body from the feet under the body to the head going over the head and extending back to the feet on top of the body.

In the context of this passage we read that evening was approaching. There was not a lot of time to ask Pilate for the body, remove the body from the cross, and get it buried.6 Many teach that the strips of linen were found wound around the arms, legs and body of Jesus. This concept is found in John 19:40 as translated in the New International Version (NIV) as: “Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial custom.” The Greek Text can, alternately, be translated “strips of linen”; while it is not mandatory. There are other ways other ways of translating the Greek text and still being true to the Greek.

We find the above mentioned passage translated as “linen cloths”7 in other translations of the Bible. This form would allow for the one large shroud and the smaller cloth over the face on top of the shroud. Thus, the biblical text in John does not rule out the Shroud of Turin as a fake, but accommodates it well. In the New King James Version (NKJV) the term “wrapped” is translated “wound”, which is the past tense of wind which can mean “a single turn of something wound.”8

While this study of these passages of scripture does not prove the Shroud of Turin is genuine, it does show that it is not ruled out by Scripture.

The Shroud of Turin is accurate in every detail concerning the crucifixion of Jesus. A male flogged with the flagrum, crucified, crowned with thorns, pierced in the wrists and side. In addition, pollen from 58 species of plants is on the Shroud, 28 of which are found only in the Jerusalem area. The back of the Shroud is covered with limestone residue of a type found only in the Jerusalem area.2 The Shroud is unique and impossible to be duplicated by anyone.

There is no known way to explain scientifically how the images came to appear on the Shroud. They seem to have been made by radiation coming from the dead body.2

The promise of God is that His Holy One (Jesus Christ, His Son) would not see corruption.9 The apostle Pete points out that this did not refer to King David of Israel, but to Jesus Christ10 and Peter further states “nor did His body see decay”.11

The blood type on the Shroud is AB and is fresh. In other words, the blood has never decayed after two thousand years.2 This is proof that the Shroud of Turin is indeed genuine.

The significance of the Shroud is that when Jesus was ministering the Jews asked or a sign to enable them to believe. Miracles were being done by Jesus all the time, yet the Jews (religious leaders especially) refused to believe and asked for some kind sign. Jesus told them that a wicked generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah. As Jonah was in the belly of the fish (whale) three days and three nights, so the Son of man must be in the earth three days and three nights.12

The Shroud is what is left of the sign given to an evil generation. It is an archaeological supernatural artifact left as a witness to the flogging, crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The Shroud exists for the benefit of unbelievers and will be a witness against them at the time of judgment. The judgmentis a coming event when each human being, who has ever lived, stands in the Court that Counts before the Supreme Judge, Himself, to answer for what we did with our lives, the choices that we made, and what we did with the gift of Salvation that was offered to us.

Remember, Jesus was not a victim. He was a willing participant in His crucifixion and death. He knew that He would have to be crucified13 and die even before He spoke creation into existence.14 After all, Jesus is the Creator of all of creation and He upholds the universe by the word of His power.15 Before Jesus was arrested by the soldiers in the Garden they asked Him if He was Jesus of Nazareth, His sheer power in and of His answer, “I am He” physically forced them back and caused them to fall to the ground before Him.16 Jesus, indeed is the creator of all things.17

The Shroud of Turin is proof of what God did to redeem mankind. So great is His individual and personal love for each one of us.

There are now less than 3 days until Ohio Voters can make A Good Choice on Tuesday, May 2nd in the Democratic Primary Election!

References:
1. National Geographic Magazine, “Jesus and the Shroud of Turin” Documentary ISBN 1-56855-394-3, Questar, Inc., P.O. Box 11745, Chicago, Il 60611-0345, Customer Service, 1-800-544-8822
2. Matthew 12:38-42
3. Matthew 27:57-60; Mark 15:42-47; Luke 23:50-56; and John 19:38-42
4. Mathew 27:59 NIV
5. Webster’s New World Dictionary.
6. Matthew 27:57
7. Bible translations: KJV (King James Version); NKJ (New King James); NIV (New International Version); and TEV (Today’s English Version)
8. Webster’s New Word College Dictionary, p. 1639, 1651
9. Psalms 16:10 (NKJ)
10. Acts 2:28-31
11. Acts 2:31 (NIV)
12. Matthew 12:38-41, 16:4; Luke 11:16, 29-32
13. 1 Peter 1:20
14. Genesis 1:2; Colossians 1:16, 17; John 1:1-3
15. Hebrews 1:3
16. John 18:6
17. Colossians 1:16