The Shroud of Turin is woven flax, made by a professional weaver, which was likely to have been owned by a wealthy man (like Joseph of Arimathea). The flax fibers are traceable to the Middle East. The stitching is similar to an artifact found at Masada, dated between 40 BC and AD 73. The cloth is dated to between 300 BC and 300 AD. Chemical tests prove there are blood stains on the Shroud (AB blood type). There are no paint pigments, ruling out the possibility of an artistic forgery. It bears the image of a grown male, 5’ 11” in height, with shoulder length hair and a beard—a victim of crucifixion in the Roman fashion.
A word to the skeptics… Whether the Shroud is or is not Jesus’ burial cloth, one thing is clear, science cannot explain how the impressions remain on the garment as with a photographic negative. Plus, when you read the resurrection account in John 20:3-7, John ran to the tomb and saw the “linen cloths” lying there; then Peter came in and also saw the “linen cloths” there (v. 5), along with the napkin, “not lying with the linen cloths but folded in a place by itself” (v. 7). Such detail. So who folded the cloths, the angels? Or, more likely, our Lord himself? In either case, the linen cloths meant something to John, as they should to us. The death of Jesus is historical, just as the resurrection is. And if you were John, I suspect you would have picked up the linen cloths. As would the guards or the enemies of Jesus, if they had arrived there first. Just be open to the possibility…
