Author's Note: All previous volumes of this series are here. The first 56 volumes are compiled into the book "Bible Study For Those Who Don't Read The Bible." "Part Two," featuring volumes 57-113, was published in December 2022.
News Flash: $1 Million Challenge to Replicate the Shroud of Turin – Contest Details.
Happy Easter! He is Risen! I love this day because it’s the optimal time to discuss what millions of Christians around the globe and I believe is evidence that supports His Resurrection—the Shroud of Turin.
If you are unfamiliar with the Shroud, it is a linen burial cloth measuring 14.3 feet long by 3.5 feet wide. It has been conserved in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin, Italy, since 1578 and venerated as the burial shroud of Jesus for preceding centuries.
Although blood-soaked, water-stained, burned, and patched, the Shroud displays a mysterious man who has been horrifically scourged, crowned with thorns, crucified, and pierced in his side. The wounds seen on the man’s front-to-back life-size image mirror the gospel accounts of Jesus Christ's Passion and death.
The Shroud’s myriad of mysteries have baffled modern science, starting with how the man’s anatomically perfect figure was formed and has never been replicated. The mysteries help explain why interest in the Shroud has reached an all-time high. A Shroud renaissance is evidenced by all the books, studies, exhibits, films, speakers, and this week, new research validating the linen cloth’s Middle Eastern origins.
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As readers can see from the “News Flash” and my bio at the end, I lead a ministry with a team of 14 Shroud experts called the National Shroud of Turin Exhibit. We intend to produce a permanent exhibit in Washington, D.C., titled “Shroud of Turin—World’s Greatest Mystery.” We believe the Hand of God is directing our progress and know the exhibit will open on His timetable.
Speaking of the team, to celebrate Easter, I invited Russ Breault, one of our most distinguished experts, to be my guest co-writer. Russ is a lifelong lecturer and researcher on the Shroud of Turin. His upcoming book, “SHROUD ENCOUNTER—Explore the World’s Greatest Unsolved Mystery,” will be published in June by Covenant Books. Check out ShroudEncounter.com
Russ appeared on the February 19 Shroud of Turin episode of the History Channel’s popular series “History’s Greatest Mysteries.” Also featured were Barrie Schwortz from Shroud.com and historian Dr. Cheryl White — both internationally known National Shroud of Turin Exhibit team members.
Russ has studied the Shroud of Turin for over 40 years and believes there is much to consider about the linen as a genuine artifact of the death, burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Let’s discuss “purpose” from the gospel narrative recorded in John 20:1-9.
Mary Magdalene informed John and Paul that the tomb’s blocking stone had been moved, and they ran to the tomb. John arrived first and waited for Peter, who entered the tomb, where “He saw the linen cloths lying there.” (Later, we will address the linen “cloths” or linen “strips” Bible translations.)
“Then the other disciple [John], who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed..” (John 20: 8-9). What does John believe? Resurrection is the only answer!
Furthermore, the Book of Acts 1:3 reads: “After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive” — but the FIRST proof was the linen burial cloth lying in the tomb.
Was the linen cloth’s purpose only to be seen by John and Peter, or was it meant for the entire world to contemplate? Given that God's heart wants all His children to come to faith, it seems impossible that the only tangible evidence documenting the miracle of Christ’s Resurrection would be limited to a privileged few.
It is biblically based to believe that Joseph of Arimathea’s burial shroud — gifted to Jesus upon His death — was the last cloth Jesus wore on earth. Therefore, this burial cloth was likely retained, preserved, protected, and passed down through the centuries as a silent witness to the world’s most significant historical event when understanding Jesus's impact on the world.
Easter gives us a chance to pause, reflect, and consider that if God the Father gave up His own Son to die on the cross and defeat the power of death three days later in a powerful Resurrection — there must be a purpose.
Did He die in our place, as Scripture says? Did He open the gates of heaven for all who believe? If your answer is “yes,” then it makes sense for an event of such great magnitude to be documented on His linen burial cloth — soiled with the bloodstains of death and etched with the image of His Resurrected life.
Moreover, would it help people believe in the Risen Christ from generation to generation? The Shroud may not be needed for those with faith, but was it left in the tomb and survived against all odds for people who struggle to believe? Is the Shroud for the growing number of “Doubting Thomas’s?” Does the Shroud serve as a bulwark against a secular world that assaults us daily with expressions of doubt and unbelief? Does the Shroud give us faith and hope in the love of Christ Jesus? On this day, one should ponder and pray about those questions.
Here is another question often raised by doubters: After its discovery in the tomb on Easter morning, why is the Shroud never mentioned again in the New Testament?
The gospels are strangely silent, but there is a plausible answer. When the gospels were written about 30 years after the Resurrection, Christian persecution was rampant, perpetrated by both Roman and Jewish authorities. Therefore, the writers knew their first-hand accounts would be widely circulated, and any mention of the Shroud—especially with Christ’s image—would set off a search-and-destroy mission.
Now, let’s address the description of linen “cloths” or linen “strips” that some naysayers cite to negate the Shroud's authenticity. First, strips of linen were often used to tie the burial cloth securely around the body. Second, John 20: 6-7 reads:
“He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen.” That “head cloth” is thought to be the Sudarium of Oviedo. See Vol. 13.
Back to the burial Shroud, fast-forward to AD 325, when Pope Sylvester established by decree that the altar table where the communion elements were served must be covered with a linen cloth “representing the clean shroud of Christ.” This eliminates any possibility that the body of Jesus was wrapped in mummy-like strips of linen.
The Shroud of Turin is endlessly fascinating. Most importantly, it is understandable that God Almighty would want to leave physical evidence of His greatest miracle so we would believe in Jesus, who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” He Is Risen! Happy Resurrection Sunday!
Myra Kahn Adams is a conservative political and religious writer with numerous national credits. Her book, "Bible Study For Those Who Don't Read The Bible," reprints the first 56 volumes of this popular study. "Part 2,” with the same title, reprints Vols. 57-113. Order it here.
Myra is also the Executive Director of SignFromGod.org and the National Shroud of Turin Exhibit. Both are educational donor-supported ministries dedicated to building a permanent Shroud of Turin exhibit in Washington, D.C., and promoting the $1 Million Challenge to replicate the Shroud. Contact: <MyraAdams01@gmail.com>
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