Famed Illustrator Depicts Jesus’ Face I
n a career that spans three decades, Ray Downing has produced artwork for the scientific, medical, pharmaceutical, and broadcast industries. In 2010, Downing received an Emmy for Individual Achievement in Graphic
Design and Art Direction for a collection of illustrations and animations of President Abraham Lincoln that were featured in a History Channel special titled Stealing Lincoln’s Body. Downing based his digital Lincoln on historical photographs and two life masks. In the years that followed, Downing created a series of animations of Christ based on the Shroud of Turin. They were featured in two subsequent History Channel specials: The Real Face of Jesus? and Jesus: The Lost 40 Days. After receiving many requests from the public, Downing created two Jesus
portraits — Jesus in Death and Jesus Resurrected. This collection is an ongoing project and at present includes more than 15 beautiful images.
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at once — a brutal form of torture which could explain the extensive impact wounds across the body. Nevertheless, the humiliation ritual
against the Nazarene did not cease with the whipping.
“And after twisting together a crown of
thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down be- fore Him and mocked Him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’” (Matthew 27:29)
Author Mark Niyr’s The Turin Shroud:
Physical Evidence of Life After Death? notes of the Shroud that there were “more than 30 pierce blood trails on the top, middle, and back of the head and sides of the forehead that would suit a disparag- ing crown cap of thorns.” Thus, the Shroud shows not so much a
“crown” of thorns but a “cap” or “helmet” of them — no doubt made from thorny branches quickly meshed together by Ro- man executioners. Of the 36 plant species found on the
cloth, Israeli botanists identified traces of the thorny plant Cardusand Gundelia tournefortii. The pollen for this species was the most numerous found on the Shroud and most prevalent around the victim’s head. This thorny plant is found only in Is-
rael, the Sinai Peninsula, and Jordan, and blooms in March and April. “The stems of Gundelia tournefor-
tii coming from the right shoulder with thorn and flower clusters are visible on
enhanced photos of the Shroud,” the re- search site
TheTurin.com reports.
“Again and again they struck him on
the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.” (Mark 15: 19-20)
The Shroud image shows a man with
multiple head injuries, a swollen right eye to the point of being shut closed, and severe swelling to the right cheek. The area under both eyebrows also is swol- len, and numerous facial bruises are ob- served, as well as a deviated nose.
“After they had mocked him, they
took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to cru- cify him. As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross.” (Matthew 27:31-32) “Carrying his own cross, he went out
to the place of the Skull (which in Ara- maic is called Golgotha).” (John 19:17)
He was made to carry his own cross, or
the crossbeam, the patibulum. The Shroud image shows serious trau-
ma to the man’s upper back and shoulders. And the man appears to have fallen
more than once, with dirt present on his nose, knees, and feet. Interestingly, fragments of limestone (calcium car- bonate) of the rare travertine aragonite variety unique to Israel were found in
APRIL 2023 | NEWSMAX 55
In modern times, science has been used to both prove and disprove the authenticity of the Shroud.
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