Perhaps no religious artifact stirs as much fascination—or controversy—as the Shroud of Turin.
For years, skeptics and believers have debated whether this ancient cloth could truly be the burial shroud of Jesus Christ. But according to Dr. Jeremiah Johnston, the evidence is now “beyond all doubt.”
In a recent interview with Raj of CBN News, Dr. Johnston, an expert on the Shroud of Turin, shared groundbreaking details. “I believe that based on the evidence, 102 scientific disciplines have spent over 600,000 hours of scientific study on the Shroud of Turin. And the great majority of them have concluded the shroud is indeed 2,000 years old,” Johnston said.
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He emphasized that this conclusion isn’t based on feeling or speculation but on verifiable science. “Based on my biblical scholarship, I can assure you that no one was crucified the way Jesus of Nazareth was crucified on Apr. 3, A.D. 33. We know the exact date,” he added.
One of the most fascinating aspects of the shroud is the image itself—a front and back imprint of a 5’11” Jewish man bearing the unmistakable wounds of Roman crucifixion. “Unlike other burial shrouds, and we have many of them that we have discovered from the land of Israel…the unique thing about the Shroud of Turin, which is fascinating, is there is an image that is superficially embedded in the 14-foot-long burial cloth,” Johnston said. “There’s no pigment. There’s no dye.”
Scientists have been baffled by the nature of the image. Johnston noted, “Paul De Liso spent five years of his scientific life studying how much light energy would be required to leave a flash, if you will, a first-century selfie, if you will, of Jesus of Nazareth in the Shroud of Turin.” The results? “It took 34,000 trillion watts of energy…and this 34,000 trillion watts of energy traveled in 1/4th of a billionth of a second to leave the image on the shroud.”
Even with today’s best technology, scientists cannot explain or replicate the phenomenon. “They have confirmed there’s no pigment. There’s no dye. But they have also said we have no idea how this happened,” Johnston explained. “The best rocket scientists of our day…cannot explain how the image is embedded in the linen cloth.”
But what if it truly is the burial cloth of Jesus?
According to Johnston, the implications are profound. “We wouldn’t have a New Testament if there wasn’t evidence for the resurrection of Jesus,” he said. Citing the apostle Thomas’ need for proof in John 20, Johnston reminded believers that even the early followers of Christ needed evidence.
“He sharpens us when we doubt,” Johnston said. “Let’s not be overly pious…The original authors of the New Testament did. They needed evidence.”
Johnston believes the Shroud of Turin captures the very moment of resurrection and ties it to technological phenomena. “I really believe as we get closer to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, we are seeing this phenomena of a controlled revelation of Jesus Christ tied to technology,” he said.
As Johnston put it simply and powerfully, “We’re not talking about myths or fairy tales or fables. We’re talking about real people, real places, real events.”
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James Lasher is staff writer for Charisma Media.
