Posted on 04/21/2019 5:37:11 AM PDT by Kaslin
Warning: If you are not a believer in the divinity of Jesus Christ yet choose to continue reading, keep an open mind but prepare to be challenged.
Good Friday, the day annually associated with Christ’s crucifixion, is solemnly observed and followed by the jubilation of His resurrection on Easter Sunday. Let us be reminded that Jesus’s body was never found. If it were, Roman and Jewish authorities would have celebrated. And Christianity — which eventually grew into the world’s largest religion on the foundational event of Christ’s resurrection — never would have been birthed.
My belief in the resurrection is non-traditional. Having been born and raised Jewish, my parents told me that the “Jesus story” was a “fairy tale” and a “magic show” to make people feel good — and that we did not believe in Jesus because we were Jews. End of discussion, until I later learned that Jesus was Jewish, which I found confusing. But amazingly and thankfully, Jesus impacted me when I was 9 years old, about which I recently wrote.
My faith journey aside, on this Easter, I want to pose a question with miraculous answers: “What was found in Christ’s empty tomb?”
Over 2,000 years ago in Jerusalem, according to John’s Gospel, cloths were found in His empty tomb:
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 (John 20:6-7).
Today, millions of Christians believe that these two distinct sets of cloths still exist.
“The linen” is the Shroud of Turin and “the handkerchief” is the Sudarium of Oviedo, (called “the napkin” or “head cloth” in many Bible translations).
By tradition and for centuries, the two cloths have been linked, and then in the modern age by geometry, forensics and AB blood type.
But first, let’s define and describe both cloths.
The better known of the two is the Shroud of Turin, traced with a colorful, fascinating history and housed in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin, Italy, since 1578. This perplexing linen cloth measuring 14.5 feet by 3.5 feet is purported to be the burial shroud of Christ, and it is the most studied, analyzed, and revered relic in the world.
Chief among the many reasons why the Shroud continues to baffle modern science is that the linen displays a continuous front-to-back image of a crucified man. Moreover, the image clearly shows that his body endured about 125 scourges from a Roman flagrum (whip), and the blood marks around his head are consistent with those made by a crown of thorns. Incredibly, every visible mark on the body image could be a witness to Christ’s suffering and death as recorded in the four Gospels — with no broken bones, fulfilling an ancient prophecy cited in John (19:36).
The only comprehensive, extensive, scientific study ever performed on the Shroud was in 1978. In what was called the Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP), over 30 scientists famously concluded that the image on the cloth: “Is not the product of an artist.”
STURP also determined that the man’s image does not penetrate the cloth — but rests on top and is consistently only two microfibers deep. Such consistency is an “artistic” feat impossible to replicate with human hands.
And those Shroud mysteries adjoin a long list that defies explanation.
For example, in 1898 the new technology of photography revealed that the man’s image on the cloth is a photographic negative, which turns positive when reversed by the camera. Furthermore, the cloth contains “3D distance information” that was graphically, scientifically, and artistically explored in the dramatic and popular 2010 History Channel documentary "The Real Face of Jesus?"
TThe only comprehensive, extensive, scientific study ever performed on the Shroud was in 1978. In what was called the Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP), over 30 scientists famously concluded that the image on the cloth: “Is not the product of an artist.”
STURP also determined that the man’s image does not penetrate the cloth — but rests on top and is consistently only two microfibers deep. Such consistency is an “artistic” feat impossible to replicate with human hands.
And those Shroud mysteries adjoin a long list that defies explanation.
For example, in 1898 the new technology of photography revealed that the man’s image on the cloth is a photographic negative, which turns positive when reversed by the camera. Furthermore, the cloth contains “3D distance information” that was graphically, scientifically, and artistically explored in the dramatic and popular 2010 History Channel documentary "The Real Face of Jesus?"
Utilizing principles of geometry and forensics, chief researcher Juan Manuel Miñarro said the number of correlations between the two relics “far exceeds the minimum number of proofs or significant points required by most judicial systems around the world to identify a person, which is between eight and 12, while our study has demonstrated more than 20.”
Miñarro cited “points that demonstrate the compatibility between both cloths,” including the forehead as well as the nose, right cheekbone and chin, which “present different wounds.”
Henceforth, if you want to believe that the Sudarium and the Shroud validate each other, there is ample evidence to support such a conclusion.
Of course, no discussion of the Shroud is complete without mentioning the controversial 1988 carbon -14 test dating the cloth to between 1260 and 1390 and concluding that the Shroud was a "medieval forgery."
However, over the ensuing decades, the test’s conclusion has been debunked by numerous scientists because the piece tested may have been subjected to a medieval reweave or repair as determined by chemical analysis in 2005.
Nonetheless, the radiocarbon dating provides a convenient excuse for atheists and naysayers to ignore the Shroud’s myriad of unexplained mysteries verified by STURP’s findings. Also, linking the Shroud to the Sudarium, which has a documented historical trail to the sixth century, means that the carbon date is off by at least eight centuries!
Finally, if you are without faith this Easter and your approach to religion is “show me,” challenge yourself by learning the facts about these two cloths and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Think about the age-old question surrounding the Shroud of Turin with its image of a crucified man — “Is it the greatest hoax ever perpetrated or a deliberate and purposeful sign from God?”
Choosing to accept that “sign,” or any divine sign opens you to experience the forgiveness and love of the risen Lord Jesus Christ, and that is no fairy tale or magic show.
John 20: 11-16
11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”
14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic,“Rabboni!” (Teacher)
A folded head cloth was found... meaning... I am returning...
He has risen... He has risen indeed... and He will return to judge both the living and the dead.
Amen... our Redeemer lives.
Amen!!
Amen, my brother, and I agree with you about the shroud and the napkin.
In a world of such evil the only thing standing is your faith
That passage still brings tears to these old eyes.
A word study of the Greek caused me to conclude long ago that the shroud cloth was not ‘unwrapped’ but was seen just lying as if a body were still in it, the body gone the cloth just collapsed.
That the ROMANS actually wrote about him in their historical writings.
BTW, the cup used at the last supper is on display in a church in Spain. It is simple cup made from a type of stone and not some fancy engraved silver or gold chalice.
Wonderful passage, hits me in the heart every time.
The shroud and napkin, or the clothes that were left don’t matter. What matters is Christ rose, he defeated death and he lives. We serve a living God! These weird fascinations with material things doesn’t matter one iota.
But think about it ... GOD may have left us a photo negative thousands of years before human photography was discovered!!
My belief regarding the Shroud of Turin is...if it’s real, it’s another miracle. If it’s a fake, it doesn’t lessen my faith in the least because I wasn’t saved over a cloth. The shroud is a sideshow. Have faith in the resurrection.
I disagree with the statement that the Jews and the Romans “couldn’t find the body”. The body was right there appearing to hundreds, showing off His wounds so that even someone like Thomas could see and believe. What the Jews and Romans refused to admit was that Jesus was/is alive and revealed His victory over death.
He is risen indeed! He is the Savior! He is the Messiah! Hosanna! Hosanna in the Highest!
My faith in the Risen Lord does not depend on relics. There are better proofs out there. Whether the shroud is real or not simply does not matter. What matters is how each and every one of us deals with the fact of the Resurrection. Fall on your knees rejoicing and know Him as Lord and Savior or do nothing. That is the choice of every man
> “Over 2,000 years ago in Jerusalem, according to John’s Gospel, cloths were found in His empty tomb”
God bless Myra but I think she meant to write “About 2,000 years ago ...”.
He is risen, indeed!!
Muslims have “blind faith” too. It’s ALL they have.
I have studied about the shroud for years. Watched every video, read everything I’ve come across, pro and con.
There is ZERO doubt that the shroud is REAL! Is it Jesus’, who can say, but the evidence is OVERWHELMING that it is.
There is nothing wrong, and it doesn’t diminish one’s faith, to be amazed over miraculous things, Quite the opposite I would say.
“What was found in Christ’s empty tomb”?
If it was empty, nothing was found
MHGinTN wrote:
“
A word study of the Greek caused me to conclude long ago that the shroud cloth was not ‘unwrapped’ but was seen just lying as if a body were still in it, the body gone the cloth just collapsed.”
Further forensic evidence that He is risen!
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