(LifeSiteNews) — Tucker Carlson interviewed a Bible scholar who highlights the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, proving Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.
In a recent interview with Carlson, Protestant Bible scholar and author Jeremiah Johnston explained in detail why the famous Shroud of Turin was Jesus Christ’s actual burial cloth and how it proves the resurrection.
Johnston said that the shroud, which has been extensively studied, shows “pre-mortem and post-mortem blood all over the shroud.”
“ This tells us that someone died a torturous death,” he continued. “He was flogged. We see scourges. There are hashes all over the front and back images.”
The blood type, AB, is the same type that has consistently been found in scientific analyses of Eucharistic miracles, such as Lanciano (eighth century), Buenos Aires (1996), Tixtla (2006), and others.
”Between rib five and six, (we see) a gash in the side,” Johnston told Carlson. “Jesus, we know from John’s gospel, he is penetrated through rib five and six by a spear and that spear, John says, blood and water come out.”
“That’s post-mortem blood. We know that that blood, it differs from the other pre-mortem blood on the shroud.”
He noted that the crucifixion wounds can clearly be seen on the palms, forearms, and feet of the image.
Since all the wounds and other characteristics of the shroud fit the description of Jesus’ passion in the gospels perfectly, mathematician Bruno Barberis stated that “ there is a one in 200 billion chance it’s anyone other than Jesus of Nazareth” depicted on the shroud.
Johnston said that the interest in the shroud spiked after it was first photographed in 1898 by Italian amateur photographer Secondo Pia. The photo revealed a positive image of a man and a face that strongly resembled the early depictions of Jesus, and that was not visible with the naked eye on the shroud itself. This photograph revealed for the first time that the shroud showed a perfect negative image of a man.
Even more remarkably, the image is only burned into the very top layer of the linen cloth, something that, as Johnston explained, is impossible to replicate as forgery even with today’s technology.
“The image is only two microns thick,” the Bible scholar said. “It does not absorb all the way through. So, if this was a hoax, if this was a work of art, if there was pigment, if there was dye, if there was paint, it would absorb fully.”
“But if we took a razor to the actual shroud, we could shave off the image because it’s that thin, and this is what the best scientists in the world cannot replicate.”
”That’s what’s fascinating about the shroud … there’s no paint, there’s no dye, there’s no ink. The image is actually something that chemically has happened, and we believe it happened at the moment of resurrection,” he concluded.
Johnston said that physicist Paulo de Lazo, who spent five years examining the shroud, concluded that it would take “34,000 billion watts of energy in on 40th of a billionth of a second” to create such an image in the linen cloth.
As additional proof that the shroud is authentic, researchers have found pollen on the artifact that can only be found in spring in the Jerusalem area, which would fit perfectly with the timing of Jesus’ passion.
Moreover, Johnston explained that there is “ Limestone and clay soil that is native only to Jerusalem, and it’s on three parts of the crucified man in the shroud.”
The limestone and clay can be found on the feet, the knees, and the tip of the nose of the man depicted in the shroud, fitting in with the fact that Jesus collapsed under the weight of his cross that he had to carry, his knees and face hitting the ground.
Johnston said that if we ever doubt God’s love for us, we only need to contemplate on his immense sufferings for our sins in his passion.
According to the scholar, the image shows “over 200 wounds” on the back and 172 on the front of the body, many likely inflicted by the scourging.
”There is not an area of Jesus’ body that has not been tortured, including the pelvic region,” Johnston stated.
He said that the image also makes it look as though his right eye was blinded, likely as a result of the scourging.
Johnston showed Carlson a re-creation of the crown of thorns, which, according to the 50 puncture marks found on the shroud, looked more like a helmet than a wreath.
WATCH: Jesus’ crown of thorns was more like a helmet than a ringlet | The Shroud of Turin suggests
