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| The Garden Tomb where the Linen Clothes Were Found |
THE BIBLE REQUIRES A MINIMUM OF TWO CREDIBLE WITNESSES.
These passages highlight the importance of multiple witnesses to confirm the truth of a statement or accusation, a principle that is rooted in Old Testament law and carried into New Testament teachings.
Deuteronomy 19:15 - One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.
Matthew 18:16 - Jesus instructs that if a person does not listen to a private correction, the matter should be taken to one or two others, so that "by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established."
John 8:17 - Jesus refers to the law, stating, "It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true."
2 Corinthians 13:1 - Paul writes to the Corinthians, stating, "By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established."
APPLYING THIS REQUIREMENT TO THE SHROUD
There are Two Credible Witnesses that Jesus was dead and placed in the tomb:
Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea are indeed considered credible witnesses to Jesus's death and burial. Both were respected and wealthy members of the Jewish Sanhedrin. Joseph of Arimathea was a secret disciple of Jesus, highlighting his crucial role in the burial of Jesus and the fulfillment of prophecy.
According to the Gospel of John, both men took significant steps to ensure Jesus' body was properly buried. Joseph of Arimathea, described as a secret disciple of Jesus, boldly asked Pilate for Jesus' body and provided a new tomb for the burial. Nicodemus, who had previously visited Jesus at night, brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes to prepare Jesus' body according to Jewish burial customs.
His burial involved handling His lifeless body. Their participation marked a public declaration of their faith, as they risked their positions and reputations by associating with Jesus' body at such a critical time during the Passover.
There are Two Credible Witnesses that Jesus "gave" us the Shroud:
John 20:3-9 - Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. 4 So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. 5 And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. 9 For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.
Peter and John are indeed witnesses to the discovery of Jesus' linen burial cloths and the face cloth in the empty tomb of Jesus. According to the Gospel of John, both disciples raced to the tomb after hearing from Mary Magdalene that it was empty. John arrived first and saw the linen cloths lying there but did not enter. When Peter arrived, he went into the tomb and observed the linen cloths and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, folded separately from the other cloths. The the burial cloths led John and Peter to believe in the resurrection of Jesus.
Matthew 12:39-41 -- But he replied to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves a sign. Yet no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah, because just as Jonah was in the stomach of the sea creature for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment and condemn the people living today, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. But look—something greater than Jonah is here!
John immediately understood that Jesus was resurrected when he saw the sign - the Sign of Jonah.
The discovery of the linen cloths is significant because it suggests that Jesus' body had not been stolen. Grave robbers would not have left the cloths so neatly arranged. Grave robbers would likely not have taken the time to remove the burial linens and directly handled the corpse. If someone had been stealing the body, it would have been more practical to take the body still wrapped in the linens.
Furthermore, the Scriptures do not suggest that Peter and/or John took the linens. If anything they seem to left them and gone home.
John 20.10 - Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.
WHY DOESN'T MARY SEE/SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THE BURIAL LINENS?
In the very next verses, Mary is at the tomb but there is no mention of the burial linens.
John 20:11-13 -- 11 But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 13 Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”
In the context of the verses directly beforehand, the bible suggests to me that the linen clothes are not in the tomb. If they were, it stands to reason that Mary would have remarked about them, just as John and Peter did.
In addition, had Mary seen the linens she would undoubtedly NOT have left them there. Afterall, she already had concerns that someone took the body.
Besides, Jesus knew that in Jewish law at that time Mary was not a credible witness because she was a woman. Jesus didn't need her to see and testify to the presence of the linens!
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| Linen Clothe with the Image of a Crucified Man |
FOUR WITNESSES TO ONE SIGN - THE BURIAL LINENS
Between Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, Paul and Peter we have four Witnesses to the burial shroud of Jesus. They are not being presented as Witnesses to the crucifixion or the resurrection in these verses, but rather just to the presence of the burial shroud. Altogether there are four "credible witnesses!"
All of this leads up to this question: What does the shroud reveal?
The answer is the shroud reveals every minute detail of his humiliation and crucifixion and His Resurrection. The Shroud is Jesus's personal testimony, written with his own blood, of His death, time in the tomb and His Resurrection.
According to Christian belief, Jesus provided a sign for all the world to see that He died and was resurrected.
Daniel 12:4 (NKJV) - "But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase"
The burial shroud is the only actual physical scientific evidence of the Good News today. It is the Sign of Jonah given by Jesus to all the world to see. And yet, it is a miracle preserved for the end of days. Only in our generation have scientists possessed the knowledge to be able to understand all the incredible proof that the burial shroud reveals. It is for our time!
Esther 4:14 (NKJV) - "For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"
