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Many believe that the Shroud of Turin is the burial cloth of Jesus. There are many historians, archaeologists, scientists, forensic pathologists, computer and digital specialists, professional photographers that beilieve this is the genuine thing! Biblical accounts of the crucifixtion also support the same belief. We will now examine the historical evidence.
It is no doubt a question of religious interest that spurs excitement and theological inquiry. But it is just as important to examine the historical Jesus and the implications involved.
There is no doubt the shroud is a 3 to 1 herringbone linen, as it was produced in the time of Christ around 2,000 years ago. Characteristic of the region of Syria, traces of cotton (gossypium herbaceum) have been found in the cloth. Pollen grains specific to the region have been identified and catalogued. Swiss botoanist Dr. Max Frei confirmed this in 1982 as well as many others in the field.
Crucifixion was regularly carried out as punishment during that time. Constantine I abolished the practice.
The crown of thorns, placed on the head of this condemned man, would indicate, it was a specific humiliation reserved for someone claiming to be King of the Jews. There are many puncture wounds along the scalp and forehead on this person. This man was also pierced in his side. Traditionally done to make sure the condemned was indeed dead.
It was customary among Jews of the period to cover the head of the deceased out of respect with a separate burial cloth before internment. This cloth called the Sudarium (Sudarium Christi) was removed before burial, for some unknown reason. But it still exists with a spearate blood stains, no image, of the same man! Blood stain patterns and blood clots coincide with the image as seen on the shroud. The sudarium has a separate history from the shroud. It is currently kept in the Cathedral of Oviedo, Spain since the middle of the eighth century. This is information to be studied separately at another time. but there is a connection.
The shroud, this ancient piece of cloth kept preserevd at the St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Turin, Italy, has a distinct front and back full body image. The cloth was wrapped in one piece around the head joing at the feet. Scourge marks are clearly visible over the chest, across the back. There are over 200 of them criss-crossing. Severe facial injuries from a beating can be identified. Puncture wounds in the wrists and feet indicate a crucifixion.
Over the eyes are two round, button shaped objects that, under close examination from digitally enhance microscopic investigation, reveals they are coins. There are four raised letters discernable UCAI (U of Tiberious and CAI of Caisaros - Tiberious Caisaros) Greek for Caesar Tiberius - Emperor of Rome.This falls within the time of Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea. Placing coins over a dead person's eyes was a common burial practice. This lepta was minted in Palestine. The inscription bears this clearly.
This crucified man's image was transfered to this cloth by some burst of energy. Robert Dinager of the Los Angeles scientific laboratory in New Mexico said:
"It seems as if the image possibly came from some short-term pulse of energy. You could say it was instantaneous. It would have had to be a pretty good amount of energy, but not too much, or it would have destroyed the cloth." At this crucial moment the miracle of the resurrection of Christ quickened the dead body to life and this burst of energy transfixed his image to the linen.
This image has definite three-dimensional properties, of which neither paintings nor standard photographic processes possess. The maximum intensities of the front and back images are equal. It is as if the body became weightless at the time of the imprint.
Recent evidence reveals a bouquet of flowers were place on the shroud which left pollen and grain remnants embedded in the cloth He was entombed with flowers is a traditional area around the head.
CRUCIFIXION
The Romans did not invent Crucifixion, they perfected it. It was their form of capital punishment, inflicting a slow, humiliating and horrible death on the condemned. This method of execution was reserved for slaves, foreigners, revolutionaries, and the most violent of criminals. By law, Roman Citizens could not be crucified. (St. Paul, because of his Roman Citizenship, was beheaded, not crucifed like St. Peter).
It was customary for the condemned to be flogged before being made to carry his own crossbeam (the platibulum). The flogging was carried out with relish and enthusiasim by the soldiers on duty. Jesus' body was covered with whipping marks. The image on the shroud shows distinct shapes of the Roman flagrum. This instrument consisted of a wooden handle where 2 or more straps with a small zinc or lead balls were attached. An early version of the cat o'nine tails! When used, the flagrum would rip into the skin with deep lacerations, leaving extremely painful wounds. Some prisoners never survived this whipping if their condition was fragile.
The marks on the body of the man on the shroud shows evidence that two people scourged him, one on the left and one on the right. Cicero called crucifixion "exteme and ultimate punishment of slaves," (sevitutis extremum summumque supplicium). and the "cruelest and most disgusting penalty," (crudelissimum taeterrimumque supplicuum).
The prisoner was made to carry his own cross. A military guard headed by a Cenurion lead the prisoners to the site of crucifixion, outside the city gates. One soldier carried a sign called the titulus, a board on which was written the man's name and crime. It was written in three languages, Greek, Latin and Hebrew. The sign was hung above the condemned. Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews (Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum. This guard would stay until the victim was declared dead.
After this vigorous flogging, the condemned was then lead to the place of execution. A 5" to 7" tappered iron nail was then hammered into the wrist between carpals and radius. The median nerve was affected causing the thumb to turn inward, as is the case with the man on the shroud. No thumb is visible. A small deatil that would have no doubt escaped a medival forger. There was another method, nailing the forarm by placing a square block of wood over the forearm and pounting a 7" nail through both to lock the arms in place. An excruciating method indeed.
The crucified man in this image suffered from a pulmonary edema. The many stains were one part blood and six parts fluid. The only position compatable with the formation of stains on both arms were if they were outstretched above the head and feet in such a positionas making breathing difficult. This position is in keeping with a crucifixion. This man was obviously wounded on the head, shoulders, face, back and then crucified.
The position of the nails through the feet were in keeping with the traditional metatarsal location - clearly visible on the image. Sometimes to hasten death, the Roman soldiers would break the legs below the knees, as they did with the two thieves besides Jesus. The body was not released to the family until the guard was sure the person was dead. By custom, one of the soldiers would pierce the body with a sword or lance. This fatal wound through the right side of the chest is also in evidence on the image. Jesus was definitely dead when he was taken down from the cross.
References: Mathew 26: 17- 27:61
Mark 14: 12- 15:47
Luke 22: 7- 23:56
John 13: 1- 19:42
Jesus died very quickly, after only three to six hours. This surprised even Pontius Pilate. One explanation is that Jesus suffered cardiac rupture. Another explanation, more than likely, was he was simply in a state of exhaustion from the severe beatings and scourging and crowning of thorns, resulting in massive blood loss and shock. The fact that he could not carry his cross-beam supports this hypothesis. His death was caused by multifactorial consequences of loss of blood, trauma, exhaustion, asphyxia and finally heart failure. The lance in the side ensured his death. All these wounds are clearly visible on the linen.
THE BURIAL
The burial is consistent with ancient Jewish customs. This included the use of cave-tombs, the attitude of the body with the hands placed over the loins. As mentioned earlier the separate cloth placed over the face (the Sudarium) was removed before interment. The Sindon (Shroud) surrounded the body. The chin-band held the mouth shut. The coins placed over the eye lids to keep them closed. These cave-tombs were carved out of the limestone hills in the countryside surrounding Jerusalem. Joseph of Arimathea was a wealthy relative of Jesus and could afford to bury him in one of these caves. He also purchased this fine linen to wrap the body. A twill, like the Shroud of Turin, was a rare and expensive textile.
Being a wealthy and influential man, Joseph of Aramethea had access to the governor. The grave was also an expensive site. The sheet and body were supported by the stone ledges of this arcosoltrough-grave. Traces of Calcium Carbonate (limestone dust) were noted. The body lay flat, undisturbed. Jesus was burried hastily as all victims of violent death, unwashed, unannointed, as was the tradition. The man in the Shroud remained only a short time in this sheet as evidenced by the fact there was no decomposition.
The corpse separated from this sheet leaving the blood clots on the sheet intself rather than remaining on the dead body. This blood-stained cloth was preserved.
Traces of aloes and myrrh were also found on the cloth, consistent with Jewish burial customs of antiquity.
The Iconographic argument is also worth mentioning again. The face on the Shroud is unmistakeable in its traditional image of Jesus. This is no accident. Christ has always been portraied with long shoulder-length hair, parted in the middle, and a beard. No one could have faked this image, even with all the technology we have today, it could not be produced in such a manner. Historically the Shroud follows specific patterns and its authenticity in the historical sense is beyond question.
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Next Chapter: The Scientific Evidence
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