After seeing the passion tonight, I remembered a time I listened to the radio and heard a story that caught my attention…
As it goes, after the crucifixion, Jesus was stabbed in the side with a dagger (I have also heard sword, but for the sake of the story, I will use dagger)
The dagger that stabbed him in the side has been passed down through generations making families turn against each other as a curse. I have also heard that the dagger belonged to the Hitler family at one time.
Is any of this true? if not, where would this myth get its origin?
(You should not confuse the legendary Longinus with the real philosopher, Longinus, who lived at the end of the third century. I strongly suspect that the relic spear head is one of innumerable pious fakes that the Christian church has accumulated over the years, but the story can be found in the two links provided or by searching for “longinus” for more information.)
I tried to post this earlier but was denied by the “overnight” maintanance - lo and behold, when I return, tom has beaten me to it. Oh well, since I typed it up and so diligently saved it…
In the gospel of John, the story is told that Jesus was stabbed in the side with a spear to make sure that he was dead:
There are lots of legends relating to what happened to the spear after the crucifixion - here is one site, and another - but relics were very popular in the Middle Ages, and it is said that there were enough splinters of the “True Cross” in circulation to make up several crosses.
Bit of a hijack, but this legend is the basis for a great pulp-fiction series called Casca: The Eternal Mercenary by Barry Sadler of “Ballad of the Green Berets” fame. It’s sort of like Highlander.
tomndebb’s right–it’s the lance of Longinus, not a knife or sword. I hadn’t heard about the Hitler connection, but judging from tomndebb’s link and a few related sites, it seems that Ravenscroft’s book The Spear of Destiny is primarily responsible for propogating that particular myth.
Sounds a bit silly to me–part of a whole genre of pseudo-scholarship that attributes the Nazis’ evilness to their purported occult links.
Incidentally, the spear point from the lance is still held as a holy relic at St. Peter’s basilica in Rome (its location is marked by a glorious Bernini statue). I think the part that Ravenscroft and all are talking about is the lance handle itself.
The stab in the right abdomen is probably a common symbol used many times before, most notably in Prometheus’ story (vultures eating his liver for eternity).
The liver regenerates itself, is rich with blood, is a filter, shows disease quickly (swells, pain, cirrhosis), etc. It was a very useful symbol.
It’s use in Jesus’s crucifixion was probably as that with Prometheus’s fate: symbolizing eternal life and renewal.
The “Spear of Destiny” was part of the Habsburg Crown Jewels in Austria until it was taken by the Nazis. That much is true. There is a rumor that it is the spear used by Longinus. That cannot be verified and is highly unlikely.
Its been many years since bible study, but I was taught that this fulfilled a prophesy that the mesiah would have no broken bones or some such. That is why the point is made in John that the Romans didn’t break his legs, but instead peirced his side.
Oh well, since I typed it up and so diligently saved it…