Jesus' Burial Cloths 

Note: some of the times given are estimates.

Friday, April 7, 30 CE

5:00 PM Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus wrapped Jesus’ body with bandages saturated with myrrh and aloes. When the embalming was completed, they tied a napkin about the face, wrapped the body in a linen sheet, and placed it on a burial shelf.

Sunday, April 9, 30 CE

3:00 AM Mary Magdalene, with four women, head for the tomb of Jesus to improve his embalming.

3:15 AM The large round stone entrance to the tomb moves of its own accord. The soldiers run away in panic. The five women, on their way to the tomb, observe the frightened soldiers fleeing.

3:40 AM The five women witness that Jesus’ body was removed, and the very bandages in which it was wrapped were intact on the burial shelf and lying in an orderly arrangement.

3:50 AM Jesus appears and speaks to the five women. Jesus said, "Touch me not, Mary, for I am not as you knew me in the flesh. In this form will I tarry with you for a season before I ascend to the Father."

5:00 AM Apostles Peter and John run to see the tomb. Peter is amazed that the grave cloths rest in place as if the body of Jesus had just evaporated from within. Mary Magdalene returns, and she begins to cry outside the tomb.

5:30 AM Jesus appears and comforts Mary Magdalene.

6:40 AM Joseph of Arimathea and David Zebedee inspect the tomb, and they find everything just as the women described.

7:30 AM The high priest had the grave cloths removed by the captain of the temple guards, who wrapped them all up in the linen sheet and threw them over a nearby cliff.

Sunday, April 9 - Thursday, May 19, 30 CE

Jesus is seen in multiple locations, including inside barred chambers, by almost 1,000 witnesses over a forty-day period. He speaks to them and disappears. The first nine of these appearances are on Sunday, April 9.

At ten minutes past three o’clock in the morning on Sunday, April 9, 30 CE, the chief of archangels requested custody of Jesus' mortal body to prevent the natural decay process and instead accelerate its dissolution by invoking a process akin to accelerated time. This request was granted, allowing the celestial hosts to manage the physical remains discreetly, sparing the slow decay of Jesus' human form. The chief of archangels, assisted by many celestial beings, took charge of Jesus’ physical body, which remained a purely material entity.

The celestial team prepared to remove Jesus' body for a respectful and near-instantaneous dissolution process. They were tasked with rolling away the tomb’s stone, a task that caused the watching guards to flee in panic upon witnessing the stone move seemingly on its own. This act of moving the stone and the celestial dissolution of Jesus’ body meant that the tomb was found empty not due to physical resurrection but because of a unique and rapid disintegration process, returning the body to elemental dust almost instantaneously.

After Jesus' crucifixion, his body was wrapped in linen cloths by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, who prepared his body for burial according to Jewish custom. These grave cloths are notably mentioned in the context of Jesus' resurrection. When Peter entered the empty tomb on the morning of the resurrection, he saw the grave cloths lying by themselves. This observation is highlighted to suggest that Jesus' body was not stolen, as a thief would likely not have unwrapped the body and left the linens neatly arranged.

This detail about the grave cloths lying neatly underscores the miraculous nature of Jesus' resurrection. It indicates that his material body had undergone a transformation into a semi-spiritual state and that this transformation allowed him to exit the grave clothes without disturbing them as a normal physical exit would necessitate.

As far as the status of the grave cloths that were wrapped in a linen sheet and thrown over a nearby cliff, there is no evidence to suggest that these were later recovered or that a single cloth would have covered his whole body to include his face. As noted in the resurrection of Lazarus by Jesus, Lazarus' face was covered by a napkin that was separate from the grave cloths that bound his body. This was also the custom of Jewish burials where bodies were wrapped up as far as the shoulders, and then the head bound with a napkin that was tied by the four corners into a knot. Given these factors, one can draw their own conclusion about the Shroud of Turin.