Friday, October 18, 2024

APOLOGETIC FOR THE SHROUD OF JESUS – part one

The so-called “Shroud of Turin” has gained much interest. It is unknown how it got to Turin and even if it is the burial cloth of Jesus. Scholars are still in search of the origin of the shroud that Jesus was allegedly covered with in the tomb.

I have always been interested in forensic evidence. As scripture says, “Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; (1 Cor 20:20, 22-23).

While everyone else is looking for the Holy Grail, I have found it. It is, in my opinion, the vessel, that is translated “cup” that held the Holy Spirit of God as Jesus. I am no longer in search of the Holy Grail, so now I consider the Holy Shroud of Christ.

The argument in the passage above is about the crucifixion. The Greeks would need reasonable evidence and the Jews some type of sign. In a sense, the burial shroud of Jesus tells the story of the crucifixion. Experts say that all the evidence of the crucifixion is on that shroud. First is the uncommon crown of thorns not usually put on corpses. Likewise, abrasions showing that the deceased’s picture on the shroud is evidence that He carried what could have been the cross. Likewise, it shows that it was a crucified man with nail marks in his hands and feet, and that the man had been pierced in the side.

The others crucified were not pierced. Apparently, it was uncommon, but Jesus died too quickly, and because certainty was required that the King was dead, as is usual for any king, they made sure that He was dead.

It is also known that Jesus was covered with a burial cloth. How much is uncertain. Perhaps I can shed some light on that shortly.

“When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth” (Mat 27:59). Mark gives more information. Joseph wrapped the body in fine linen, not some of the person, but all the body. Luke concurs with that assessment… “on Him” — on the body of Jesus.

Now we turn to Jewish burial customs: The Jews have always  required that burial customs be common for all. They standardized the funeral process: 

Step 1: Preparing the body for burial by cleansing.

Step 2: Wrapping the body in a shroud which has parts: “shirt, pants, head covering, belt, and for some, a long jacket.”

Step 3: Lastly, a “wrapping sheet.” (Star of David Memorial Chapels 2024) 

Therefore, the shroud, since it is essentially the burial clothing is not the Shroud of Turin. It should be called the “Covering of Turin” or better said, the “Covering of the Body of Christ.” It was not a face covering but the overlay — the wrapping sheet for the whole body.

However, there was a napkin of sorts that was folded neatly, according to the following: 

He (some other man) stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. Then comes Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and sees the linen clothes lie, and the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. (John 20:5-7) 

Jesus was “naked” at His death. Not fully naked, but mostly so. Nakedness was considered indecent as with the “nakedness” of King David who wore only his lower garments.  It is supposed that Jesus had on only his pants because He was whipped severely on the back. That would have torn any clothing that He had worn beneath his gown. If He had on a short, it would have been ripped badly.

Jesus had a crown of thorns on his head. It was His head covering. (John 19:5). The soldiers had cast lots for his “shroud” — the shirt, pants, belt, and long jacket.

His head-covering was the crown that they put onto Him. Then they put onto Him a purple robe of royalty (Mark 15:17.) and finally after “they had mocked Him, they took off the purple from Him, and put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him” (Mark 15:20). Lastly, after the death of Jesus, “They parted His garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take” (Mark 20:24).

Unless I’m missing something, the soldiers removed what was left of the blood-stained and torn clothing of Jesus, ostensibly as souvenirs.[1]  That action reveals to me that they respected Jesus because they wanted the King’s bloody personal clothing.

With that said, Jesus was dressed to some degree while on the Cross. When He died, they divided His clothing. There was no napkin for His face, so Joseph applied it later, or perhaps Joseph was persuaded that Jesus was God enough that like the thief, Pilate, and the centurion; he knew that Jesus would be raised from the dead as He had implied so many times.

In other words, Joseph may have folded the face covering all neat, clean, and folded. I’m just looking at the facts and drawing some conclusions from what I read.

Nowhere that I know of did Joseph put onto Jesus a traditional shroud of multiple pieces. Think of a suit that is on a modern corpse; that is a “shroud.” A face covering would not be required because Joseph was surely confident that Jesus is the Lord God just as He said He is.

By not putting on the face cloth reveals faith.

What was Moses not allowed? To see the Face of God… “You (Moses) cannot see My Face: for there shall no man see Me, and live” (Exod 33:20).

Jesus had just died so that we need not. Out of respect, Joseph of Arimathea, knowing the Torah very well, would never cover the Face of God again. However, a burial covering was tradition. That alone would cover the Face of God but because of that, the so-called “Shroud” should reveal the Face of Jesus, and it did!

Again, keep in mind that the burial cloth was not a shroud but a linen covering in the manner of the Shroud of Turin. In that Jesus was stripped of His clothing, then the covering became the “shroud,” so I will not argue the details.

The “linen” in which Jesus was wrapped was a clean loosely woven cloth from the Greek (Strong 2006). The cloth of the Shroud of Turin is loosely woven linen. So, far, so good; no need for a face cloth that went unused, and so far, the linen matches the scripture account. In addition, the stains on the Shroud match the injuries of Christ. The only hurdle is the age of the Shroud.

It was indeed cloth to be found in that era, and scientists have found a reason for the carbon-decay method to be inaccurate; contamination by human hands, mostly in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries to which it was dated.

I believe that is now settled, so I have no way of arguing that point myself. Science, however, wants it to be fake, so to call it real means that they are wrong.  Again, scientific pride stands in the way.

(To be continued)


Picture credit: Shroud. com

 



[1] In like manner, I contacted the office of President Donald Trump and requested his bloody suit in which he was shot for a souvenir of a man I respected.


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