Shroud of Turin Exhibit Brings Ancient Crucifixion Mystery to Kansas City

Fellowship Church of Greenwood Hosts it Through May 4

3 weeks ago

5 minutes read

The body lies still, arms crossed, bearing the marks of crucifixion. Though it’s only a cast, its presence inside Fellowship Church stops visitors in their tracks.

The Shroud of Turin, a 14-foot-long linen cloth bearing the mysterious image of a crucified man, has captivated believers and scientists since its first documented appearance in medieval France. For centuries, many have believed it to be the actual burial cloth of Jesus Christ.

This authorized reproduction is part of the “Who is the Man of the Shroud?” exhibit about the Shroud and the science delving into its secrets. The free event at Fellowship Church Greenwood, located in Greenwood, Mo., runs every day through May 4 with opening times in the afternoon running through 8 p.m. (See below for more details). Lead researcher and Bible scholar Dr. Jeremiah Johnston packed out all the Sunday services.

The exhibit is part of a traveling program by Christian Thinkers Society, an esteemed academic organization that Johnston founded, digging into both history and modern science, which reveal more and more each day.

It includes an anatomical cast of the image of the body and a life-size high-definition image of the Shroud of Turin, plus historical artifacts related to ancient crucifixion practices. The experience offers visitors a rare glimpse into one of history’s most studied and debated religious artifacts and the opportunity to see them up close and even touch them.

Chris Williams, lead pastor at Fellowship Church (which has a second campus in Raymore), says there’s been a lot of confusion and emotionalism tied to the authenticity of the Shroud. “As a pastor and our church, we are walking into this exhibit with our eyes open, thinking critically and applying scripture and the best research,” he told Metro Voice.

Williams has done his own research ahead of the exhibit opening, sharing that there have been 102 academic disciplines that have spent over 500,000 hours on scientific studies. All of these have been published in peer-reviewed journals to either support or disprove its authenticity. “The Shroud of Turin is one of the most scientifically studied archaeological artifacts in the world,” he says. “Yet, modern science cannot explain how the mysterious image on the Shroud was formed.”

For me, the most startling feature of the exhibit is not real flesh and blood but a cast figure that stops you in your tracks. The figure is on his back, knees bent upward, his head dropped forward toward the chest, hands crossed and showing visible signs of nail holes, with feet almost crossed – frozen in the position of someone who died by the horrendous practice of Roman crucifixion, according to forensic experts. They say the image is of a man for whom rigor mortis had set in while he was in an upright position. Each wound matches marks seen on the famous Shroud of Turin.

The Shroud

Alongside that body cast is the exhibit’s centerpiece: a 14-foot-long image of the Shroud itself. You can get up close to both and even touch the face of the cast, but the Shroud is best studied by visitors who are shown how to use their phones to zoom in on details that have baffled scientists for decades.

And science has plenty to say. Fresh research keeps turning up surprises. Recent X-ray tests suggest first-century dating. Tiny grains of pollen trapped in the fibers came from plants native to ancient Israel. Blood analysis reveals trauma matching Gospel accounts.

The cloth itself has quite a history. Middle Eastern flax created these ancient threads. DNA traces reveal paths through ancient Israel, Jordan, and Turkey, like breadcrumbs marking the shroud’s path through time.

The face seen on the Shroud. Photo: Dwight Widaman.

What really makes researchers scratch their heads is the face on the cloth. Researchers have yet to fully determine how the image was created in the first place. But they are sure about one fact: it was not dyed, painted, drawn, or burned into the fabric. It’s as if a “burst of radiant energy,” a millisecond in length, “seared a photographic negative into the fibers – something far beyond medieval forgeries.” That flash was so brief, in fact, that it only appears on the topmost fibers in the individual strands of thread. A high-energy flash any longer, and the image would have gone deeper into the threads. Any shorter and it would not have been visible at all. A flash like that is not visible to the naked eye. The biblical words “in an instant” come to mind.

While viewing the shroud, body cast, and artifacts on Tuesday, I talked with individuals from across the Kansas City area. Families with their children studied the “empty tomb” portion, teens and grandmothers used their phones to zoom in on the Shroud image, men still in their dusty work clothes touched the head of the body cast. One person told me she always thought the Shroud of Turin was a “Catholic thing,” but now, having reviewed the science and scripture made available in the exhibit, stated, “It’s for all of us. I had no idea.”

The exhibit lands in the Kansas City area as interest in the shroud builds toward St. Louis conference next year exploring the latest scientific findings. Experts will gather there to share discoveries about what many call archaeology’s greatest mystery. The conference will feature Shroud artifacts and multimedia presentations exploring the historical and scientific aspects of this ancient cloth.

At Fellowship Church in Greenwood, visitors find themselves face-to-face with that mystery. Between the cast figure, the large high-def image of the Shroud, and displays of ancient artifacts, it’s hard not to feel pulled back in time and drawn into the story of the Shroud.

The exhibit runs daily through May 4, one stop on a nationwide tour bringing new science and old questions to American audiences, ultimately ending in a Gospel message. In Greenwood, at least, those questions feel a lot more personal when you’re standing eye-level with what many call the actual image of Christ.

Pastor Williams shared that it’s not about an intriguing archaeological find–as fascinating as it is. “It’s about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Archaeology has always been the Bible’s best friend,” he said. “We believe this experience will encourage every believer, and we pray it will open the eyes of those who have yet to believe in the good news announcement that God came in the flesh, died, and rose again to give us life. Eternal life and access to the abundant life.”

In the end that’s the question everyone must answer: “What if Jesus really rose from the dead?”

Fellowship Church is located on 150 Highway at 1601 W. Main St., Greenwood, MO. Opening times of the exhibit are:

Kansas City is fortunate to have “Who is the Man of the Shroud?” It ends its national tour at California’s Harvest Church, pastored by Greg Laurie.

–Dwight Widaman | Metro Voice