What is the spear that pierced Jesus' side called?
Holy Lance
A Holy Lance is conserved in Vagharshapat (previously known as Echmiadzin), the religious capital of Armenia. It was previously held in the monastery of Geghard. The first source that mentions it is a text "Holy Relics of Our Lord Jesus Christ", in a thirteenth-century Armenian manuscript. According to this text, the spear which pierced Jesus was to have been brought to Armenia by the Apostle Thaddeus. The manuscript does not specify precisely where it was kept, but the Holy Lance gives a description that exactly matches the lance, the monastery gate, since the thirteenth century precisely, the name of Geghardavank (Monastery of the Holy Lance).
Eastern Orthodox Church
Other crosses associated with the Eastern Orthodox Church are the more traditional single-bar crosses, budded designs, the Greek cross, the Latin cross, the Jerusalem cross (cross pattée), Celtic crosses, and others. A common symbolism of the slanted foot stool is The foot-rest points up, toward Heaven, on Christ's right hand-side, and downward, to Hades, on Christ's left. "Between two thieves Thy Cross did prove to be a balance of
righteousness: wherefore one of them was dragged down to Hades by the
weight of his blasphemy "[the balance points downward]," whereas the other was lightened of his transgressions unto the comprehension of theology "[the balance points upward]." O Christ God, glory to Thee." Another Orthodox cross which is worn in gold is an outer budded cross with an inner Three Bar Cross. The inscription Jesus Christ in Greek: IC (Iesous) on the left side bar and XC (Xhristos) on the right side bar, with a sun on the top of the cross. There is also typically an inscription on the back in Church Slavonic: "спаси и сохрани", ""Spasi i Sokhrani"", ""Save and Protect"". This cross is known as the Saint Olga Cross.
Fisher King
The more recent writings have the lance presented in the Fisher King's castle with Christian theology. More specifically, it is supposed to be the lance that pierced Jesus Christ while on the cross. This is seen in Malory's "Le Morte d'Arthur". In Malory's version the Fisher King is healed with the blood from the lance, signifying it as a good, holy, Christian object. In "Corbenic" we see the precession at the Fisher King's feast, featuring heavily on the Holy Grail, which is a strong Christian artifact. It can be extrapolated that in the same precession, the accompanying lance is the lance that pierced Jesus Christ.
Stephaton
The soldier who offered Jesus the sponge is often paired with Longinus, the name later given to the unnamed soldier who pierced Christ's side with a spear during the Crucifixion. It is not known when or how the name "Stephaton" originated for this character, though it had become common well before the end of the first millennium.
Instrument of Jesus' crucifixion
Jehovah's Witnesses assert that the device used for Jesus' execution was a simple upright stake, and that the cross was adopted as a Christian symbol only under the 4th-century emperor Constantine the Great. The "New World Translation" of the Bible therefore uses the phrase "torture stake" to translate the Greek word σταυρός ("stauros") at Matthew 27:40, Mark 15:30 and Luke 23:26.
Instrument of Jesus' crucifixion
"The Greek-English Lexicon" of Liddell and Scott reports that the meaning of the word "σταυρός" in the early Homeric form of Greek, possibly of the eighth to sixth century BC, and also in the writings of the fifth-century BC writers Herodotus and Thucydides and the early-4th century BC Xenophon, is "an upright pale or stake" used to build a palisade or "a pile driven in to serve as a foundation" It reports that in the writings of the first-century BC Diodorus Siculus, first-century AD Plutarch and early second-century Lucian—as well as in , , —the word "σταυρός" is used to refer to a cross, either as the instrument of crucifixion or metaphorically of voluntary suffering; "its form was indicated by the Greek letter T". It also reports that Plutarch used the word with regard to a pale for impaling a corpse. Of the writers whom Liddell and Scott gives as using "σταυρός" to mean a cross, the "New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology" holds that in Diodorus Siculus the word probably means a stake for hanging. Plutarch (in "An vitiositas ad infelicitatem sufficiat") distinguishes crucifixion on a "stauros" from impalement on a "skolops."
Spear
In classical Greek mythology Zeus' bolts of lightning may be interpreted as a symbolic spear. Some would carry that interpretation to the spear that frequently is associated with Athena, interpreting her spear as a symbolic connection to some of Zeus' power beyond the Aegis once he rose to replacing other deities in the pantheon. Athena was depicted with a spear prior to that change in myths, however. Chiron's wedding-gift to Peleus when he married the nymph Thetis in classical Greek mythology, was an ashen spear as the nature of ashwood with its straight grain made it an ideal choice of wood for a spear.
Arma Christi
Arma Christi ("Weapons of Christ"), or the Instruments of the Passion, are the objects associated with Jesus' Passion in Christian symbolism and art. They are seen as arms in the sense of heraldry, and also as the weapons Christ used to achieve his conquest over Satan. There is a group, at a maximum of about 20 items, which are frequently used in Christian art, especially in the Late Middle Ages. Typically they surround either a cross or a figure of Christ of the Man of Sorrows type, either placed around the composition, or held by angels.
Shoulder wound of Jesus
Padre Pio venerated the Shoulder wound of Jesus and suffered it himself as a stigma.
The Great Commandment
Longinus sends word for his soldiers to meet him at the inn, and he has the soldiers arrest Joel and take him to prison in Jerusalem. In prison Joel misses the Passion of Jesus. Tamar is allowed to visit him. They are met by Longinus, who tells Joel that he had him arrested for his own protection from the village mob. He tells him of another wonder: he was a witness of Jesus' crucifixion, and he was the soldier who thrust the spear in His side to make sure He was dead. Longinus throws down the spear, and he, Joel, and Tamar return to the village to witness their Christian faith.
Crucifixion of Jesus
However, early Christian writers who speak of the shape of the particular gibbet on which Jesus died invariably describe it as having a cross-beam. For instance, the Epistle of Barnabas, which was certainly earlier than 135, and may have been of the 1st century AD, the time when the gospel accounts of the death of Jesus were written, likened it to the letter T (the Greek letter tau, which had the numeric value of 300), and to the position assumed by Moses in . Justin Martyr (100–165) explicitly says the cross of Christ was of two-beam shape: "That lamb which was commanded to be wholly roasted was a symbol of the suffering of the cross which Christ would undergo. For the lamb, which is roasted, is roasted and dressed up in the form of the cross. For one spit is transfixed right through from the lower parts up to the head, and one across the back, to which are attached the legs of the lamb." Irenaeus, who died around the end of the 2nd century, speaks of the cross as having "five extremities, two in length, two in breadth, and one in the middle, on which [last] the person rests who is fixed by the nails."
Crucifixion
The New Testament writings about the crucifixion of Jesus do not specify the shape of that cross, but the early writings that do speak of its shape liken it to the letter T. William Barclay notes that, because the letter T is shaped exactly like the "crux commissa" and because the Greek letter T represented the number 300, "wherever the fathers came across the number 300 in the Old Testament they took it to be a mystical prefiguring of the cross of Christ". The earliest example, possibly of the late first century, is the Epistle of Barnabas. Clement of Alexandria (c. 150 – c. 215) is another early writer who gives the same interpretation of the numeral used for 300. Justin Martyr (c. 100–165) sees the cross of Christ represented in the crossed spits used in roasting the Passover Lamb: "That lamb which was commanded to be wholly roasted was a symbol of the suffering of the cross which Christ would undergo. For the lamb, which is roasted, is roasted and dressed up in the form of the cross. For one spit is transfixed right through from the lower parts up to the head, and one across the back, to which are attached the legs of the lamb."
Instrument of Jesus' crucifixion
Like the Epistle of Barnabas, Justin saw the stretched-out hands of Moses in the battle against Amalek as foreshadowing the cross of Jesus: "If he gave up any part of this sign, which was an imitation of the cross (σταυρός), the people were beaten, as is recorded in the writings of Moses; but if he remained in this form, Amalek was proportionally defeated, and he who prevailed prevailed by the cross (σταυρός). For it was not because Moses so prayed that the people were stronger, but because, while one who bore the name of Jesus (Joshua) was in the forefront of the battle, he himself made the sign of the cross (σταυρός)."
Red Scapular of the Passion
One side of the scapular shows a crucifix, some of the Instruments of the Passion, and the words "Holy Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ Save Us." The other side depicts a small cross above the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary plus the words "Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, protect us." In the example shown above right, a red segment representing the Precious Blood is placed below the two hearts, although other examples omit that non-essential element and include others, such as angels.
Lamb (liturgy)
When the priest cuts the Lamb from the prosphoron, he uses a liturgical knife called a "spear", with a blade shaped like a spearpoint to recall the spear used at the crucifixion to pierce Jesus' side. As he cuts along the four edges of the seal, the priest says the words from , which St. Philip interprets as referring to the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross (). The priest repeats a phrase from the prophecy as he cuts along each of the four sides of the seal:
Instrument of Jesus' crucifixion
The 2nd-century Odes of Solomon, probably by a heterodox Christian, includes the following: "I extended my hands and hallowed my Lord, /For the expansion of my hands is His sign. /And my extension is the upright cross (σταυρός)."
Aaron's rod
the staff with which Jacob crossed the Jordan is identical with that which Judah gave to his daughter-in-law, Tamar (Genesis 32:10, 38:18). It is likewise the holy rod with which Moses worked (Exodus 4:20, 21), with which Aaron performed wonders before Pharaoh (Exodus 7:10), and with which, finally, David slew the giant Goliath (I Samuel 17:40). David left it to his descendants, and the Davidic kings used it as a scepter until the destruction of the Temple, when it miraculously disappeared. When the Messiah comes it will be given to him for a scepter in token of his authority over the heathen.
Protevangelium
In Romans 16:20, there is perhaps the clearest reference to the Protevangelium in the New Testament, "And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen." Here the seed of the woman is identified as "the God of peace" and yet the Church is identified as the feet that will bruise Satan's head. From the masculine singular Hebrew pronoun in Genesis 3:15, we see that the seed of the woman is a man, and yet in Romans 16:20 he is called the God of peace, which identifies him as the Lord Jesus Christ.
Bident
The spear of Achilles is said by a few sources to be bifurcated. Achilles had been instructed in its use by Peleus, who had in turn learned from the centaur Chiron. The implement may have associations with Thessaly. A black-figured amphora from Corneto (Etruscan Tarquinia) depicts a scene from the hunt for the Calydonian boar, part of a series of adventures that took place in the general area. Peleus is accompanied by Castor, who is attacking the boar with a two-pronged spear.
Sponge (material)
In the New Testament, a Roman soldier offers Jesus Christ a sponge soaked in vinegar on the tip of his spear (some versions say staff) for Jesus to drink during his crucifixion, as an act of mockery.
Longinus
Longinus is the name given in Christian mythology to the unnamed Roman soldier who pierced Jesus in his side with a lance and who in medieval and some modern Christian traditions is described as a convert to Christianity. The lance is called in Christianity the "Holy Lance" ("lancea") and his story is related in the Latin Vulgate Bible during the Crucifixion. This act is said to have created the last of the Five Holy Wounds of Christ.
Instrument of Jesus' crucifixion
In his First Apology, 55 Justin refers to various objects as shaped like the cross of Christ: "The sea is not traversed except that trophy which is called a sail abide safe in the ship … And the human form differs from that of the irrational animals in nothing else than in its being erect and having the hands extended, and having on the face extending from the forehead what is called the nose, through which there is respiration for the living creature; and this shows no other form than that of the cross (σταυρός)."
The apocryphal Acts of Peter, of the second half of the 2nd century, attaches symbolic significance to the upright and the crossbeam of the cross of Jesus: "What else is Christ, but the word, the sound of God? So that the word is the upright beam ("to orthon xulon") whereon I am crucified. And the sound is that which crosseth it ("to plagion"), the nature of man. And the nail which holdeth the cross-tree unto the upright in the midst thereof is the conversion and repentance of man."
Jesus in the Talmud
Sanhedrin 43a relates the trial and execution of a sorcerer named Jesus ("Yeshu" in Hebrew) and his five disciples. The sorcerer is stoned and hanged on the Eve of Passover.
Passion of Jesus
According to the Gospel of John, Pilate has Jesus brought out a second time, wearing the purple robe and the crown of thorns, in order to appeal his innocence before the crowd, saying "Ecce homo," ("Behold the man"). But, John represents, the priests urge the crowd to demand Jesus' death. Pilate resigns himself to the decision, washing his hands (according to Matthew) before the people as a sign that Jesus' blood will not be upon him. According to the Gospel of Matthew they replied, "His blood be on us and on our children!"
Casca (series)
At Golgotha, Casca stabbed Jesus with his spear, in an attempt to relieve Jesus of his pain and suffering. Jesus condemned Casca by saying, "Soldier, you are content with what you are. Then that you shall remain until we meet again. As I go now to My Father, you must one day come to Me." As Jesus died, blood from his wound trickled down Casca's spear and onto his hand, and Casca unknowingly tasted it after wiping sweat from his mouth, causing his body to convulse in pain. Casca did not initially understand what was happening to him until he was condemned to work in labor mines over a 30-year period. There he slowly discovered that he does not age and cannot be killed or seriously wounded. He learned that he is immortal, although he can feel all pain inflicted on his person. While his wounds heal completely, his body accumulates countless scars over the centuries.
Makhaira
The Koine of the New Testament uses the word "makhaira" to refer to a sword generically, not making any particular distinction between native blades and the gladius of the Roman soldier. This ambiguity appears to have contributed to the apocryphal "malchus", a supposedly short curved sword used by Peter to cut off the ear of a slave named Malchus during the arrest of Jesus. While such a weapon clearly is a "makhaira" by ancient definition, the imprecise nature of the word as used in the New Testament cannot provide any conclusive answer.
Holy Lance
The Holy Lance in Rome is preserved beneath the dome of Saint Peter's Basilica, although the Catholic Church makes no claim as to its authenticity. The first historical reference to the lance was made by the pilgrim Antoninus of Piacenza (AD 570) in his descriptions of the holy places of Jerusalem, writing that he saw in the Basilica of Mount Zion "the crown of thorns with which Our Lord was crowned and the lance with which He was struck in the side". A mention of the lance occurs in the so-called "Breviarius" at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The presence in Jerusalem of the relic is attested by Cassiodorus (c. 485–585) as well as by Gregory of Tours (c. 538–594), who had not actually been to Jerusalem.
Magic sword
The Bible relates in the Book of Genesis how God, seeking to deter Adam and Eve from returning to the Garden of Eden, "placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubim and a flaming sword which turned every way". By some accounts, the Cherubim are replaced with the Archangel Michael, who wields a similar weapon.
King David was given the sword of the slain giant Goliath by the priest Ahimelech, to which was attached extra-biblical mythology and traditions.
In the Book of Revelation, Jesus is symbolically described wielding a double-edged sword that proceeds out from his mouth, in reference to the "sword of the spirit" which is the "word of truth".
Saint Stephen
Thus castigated, the account is that the crowd could contain their anger no longer. However, Stephen looked up and cried, "Look! I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God!" He said that the recently executed Jesus was standing by the side of God. According to Orthodox belief, the "Jews shouted and covered their ears, and rushed at him. They dragged him out of the city and stoned him, but the holy martyr prayed for his murderers." The people from the crowd, who threw the first stones, laid their coats down so as to be able to do this, at the feet of a "young man named Saul". However, according to the "Aramaic Bible in Plain English" and the "Weymouth New Testament" Acts 22:20, St. Paul, earlier known as Saul admits he was not only standing by, he was "holding" the garments of those stoning St. Stephen. This has significance. The possible reason for this may be that many of the members of the Sanhedrin were wealthy. (See Luke 18:9-14) Some, who may have been wearing expensive garments may have been hesitant to throw or place them on the ground. Saul's willingness to hold the garments of those stoning Stephen might signify that he considered it an honor to do so at the time. Having "held" the garments, rather than just watching over them, would have made Saul much more of an accomplice. This could have added greatly to St. Paul's sense of guilt later on and illuminate why he considered himself to be the worst sinner of all. "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst." 1 Timothy 1:15 (New International Version) Approving of, and assisting in, the killing of a disciple that Christ himself had chosen, was an unforgettable act, which St. Paul regretted for the rest of his life. "But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life." 1 Timothy 1:16 (New International Version)
Trial of Anders Behring Breivik
Breivik testified that the guns he used at Utøya were inscribed with rune names. His rifle had the name Gungnir, which is the name of Odin's spear, which returns to its owner upon use. His Glock pistol bore the name Mjölnir, the name of Thor the warrior god's hammer.
Jesus healing the bleeding woman
Matthew's and Luke's accounts specify the "fringe" of his cloak, using a Greek word which also appears in Mark 6. According to the "Catholic Encyclopedia" article on fringes in scripture, the Pharisees (one of the sects of Second Temple Judaism) who were the progenitors of modern Rabbinic Judaism, were in the habit of wearing extra-long fringes or tassels (Matthew 23:5), a reference to the formative "çîçîth (tzitzit)". Because of the Pharisees' authority, people regarded the fringe with a mystical quality.
Jesus
In John (18:1–11), Jesus does not pray to be spared his crucifixion, as the gospel portrays him as scarcely touched by such human weakness. The people who arrest him are Roman soldiers and Temple guards. Instead of being betrayed by a kiss, Jesus proclaims his identity, and when he does, the soldiers and officers fall to the ground. The gospel identifies Peter as the disciple who used the sword, and Jesus rebukes him for it.
Jesus College, Oxford
The arms of Maud Green, Lady Parr, mother of Catherine Parr (the last of the six wives of Henry VIII and stepmother to Elizabeth I), were of three stags on an azure background, and this became one of the elements of the arms of Catherine Parr on her marriage. Her sister, Anne Parr, married William, 1st Earl of Pembroke, whose grandson (the 3rd Earl, also called William) became the first Visitor of the college in 1622. Maud Green's arms are depicted in plasterwork from about 1592 at Powis Castle, owned by a kinsman of the earls. One writer has suggested that the college may have adopted the arms in order to be associated with one of the leading Welsh families of the day.
Instrument of Jesus' crucifixion
In language very similar to that of Minucius Felix, Tertullian, too, who distinguished between "stipes" (stake) and "crux" (cross), noted that it was the cross that people associated with Christianity. And he indicated that the shape of the cross is that of the letter T: "The Greek letter Tau and our own letter T is the very form of the cross, which (God) predicted would be the sign on our foreheads", and compared it to the shape of a bird with outstretched wings.
Divine Mercy
In the image, Jesus stands with one hand outstretched in blessing, the other clutching the side wounded by the spear, from which proceed beams of falling light, coloured red and white. An explanation of these colors was given to Saint Faustina by Jesus himself saying, "The two rays represent blood and water". These colors of the rays refer to the "blood and water'" of the Gospel of John () which are also mentioned in the optional prayer of the Chaplet. The words “Jesus I Trust in Thee” usually accompany the image ("Jezu Ufam Tobie" in Polish).
Instrument of Jesus' crucifixion
Dionysius of Halicarnassus, who lived at the time of the birth of Jesus, described how those condemned to crucifixion were led to the place of execution:
Dionysius here uses the Greek word "xylon" (ξύλον) for the horizontal crossbeam (the "patibulum") used in Roman crucifixions; he describes how the hands of the condemned man were tied to it ("χεῖρας ἀποτείναντες ἀμφοτέρας [...] προσδήσαντες") for him to be whipped while being led to the place of execution.
Crucifixion
In popular depictions of the crucifixion of Jesus (possibly because in translations of the wounds are described as being "in his hands"), Jesus is shown with nails in his hands. But in Greek the word "χείρ", usually translated as "hand", could refer to the entire portion of the arm below the elbow, and to denote the "hand" as distinct from the "arm" some other word could be added, as "ἄκρην οὔτασε χεῖρα" (he wounded the end of the χείρ, i.e., "he wounded her in the hand".
Instrument of Jesus' crucifixion
John Pearson, Bishop of Chester (c. 1660) wrote in his commentary on the Apostles' Creed that the Greek word "stauros" originally signified "a straight standing Stake, Pale, or Palisador", but that, "when other transverse or prominent parts were added in a perfect Cross, it retained still the Original Name", and he declared: "The Form then of the Cross on which our Saviour suffered was not a simple, but a compounded, Figure, according to the Custom of the "Romans", by whose Procurator he was condemned to die. In which there was not only a straight and erected piece of Wood fixed in the Earth, but also a transverse Beam fastned unto that towards the top thereof".
Instrument of Jesus' crucifixion
James B. Torrance in the article "Cross" in the "New Bible Dictionary" writes that the Greek word for "cross" (stauros; verb stauroō; Lat. crux, crucifigo, "I fasten to a cross") means primarily an upright stake or beam, but also allows the construction that Jesus and Simon of Cyrene carried a patibulum to Golgotha.
Relics associated with Jesus
The relics of the Passion presented at Notre-Dame church in Paris include a piece of the True Cross from Rome as delivered by Saint Helena, along with a Holy Nail and the Crown of Thorns. Saint John tells that, in the night between Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, Roman soldiers mocked Jesus by placing a thorny crown on his head (John 19:12). The crown is a circle of cane bundled together and held by gold threads. The thorns were attached to this braided circle, which measures 21 centimetres in diameter. The seventy thorns were reportedly divided up between the Byzantine emperors and the Kings of France.
Christ Carrying the Cross
The episode is mentioned, without much detail, in all the canonical Gospels: , , and . Only John specifically says Jesus carried his cross, and all but John include Simon of Cyrene, who was recruited by the soldiers from the crowd to carry or help carry the cross. Modern scholars, following descriptions of criminals carrying crossbars by Plautus and Plutarch, often take the Gospel description as meaning Jesus, then Simon, carried only a heavy patibulum, the crossbar, to a pole, stipes, which was permanently driven into the ground at Golgotha. However, in Christian imagery Jesus, and Simon, carry the complete cross—both patibulum and stipes.
Church of Ecce Homo
The Latin words "Ecce Homo" (i.e. "Behold the Man") are attributed to Pontius Pilate in the Gospel of John , when he presented a scourged Jesus Christ, bound and crowned with thorns, to a hostile crowd. The New Testament also says that Jesus was dressed in fake royal attire, to mock the claim that he was "King of the Jews."
Instrument of Jesus' crucifixion
In his book "Crucifixion in Antiquity", Gunnar Samuelsson declares that, while the New Testament terminology is in itself not conclusive one way or another for the meaning of the word, "[t]here is a good possibility that σταυρός, when used by the evangelists, already had been charged with a distinct denotation − from Calvary. When, e.g., Mark used the noun it could have meant 'cross' in the sense in which the Church later perceived it. [...] The Gospel accounts probably show that σταυρός "could" signify "cross" in the mentioned sense, but they do not show that it always did so." In his Q and A page he adds: "(The Gospels) do not describe the event in length [...] The non-detailed accounts of the Gospels do not, however, contradict the traditional understanding. So the traditional understanding of the death of Jesus is correct, but we could acknowledge that it is more based on the eyewitness accounts than the actual passion narratives."
The Promise (Passion play)
As Jesus is awaiting His trial, three people recognize Peter as one of Jesus' followers. Peter repeatedly denies even knowing Jesus, and a rooster crows. Peter is overcome by his guilt and asks God for forgiveness, dedicating his life to God ("Peter's Song"§). Jesus is put on trial before Herod and then Pontius Pilate, who initially refuses to condemn Him, since He had committed no crime. During these trials, Jesus is whipped, and a crown of thorns is placed on his head. An angry mob insists that Pilate "Let Him Be Crucified", and Pilate turns him over to the rioters and the Roman soldiers. The soldiers lead him along the "Via Dolorosa" to Calvary, a hill outside the city, to be crucified. The soldiers beat and mock Jesus as he carries his cross, while his followers mourn. Jesus is nailed to the cross, and the soldiers cast lots for his robe ("Cross of Calvary"). Jesus tells his mother, Mary, that the apostle John is now her son. He cries out to God, "Abba, Father, why have you forsaken me?" and then gasps, "it is finished."
History of weapons
As the barbarian hordes from Germania were still using clubs and maces the classical Greek civilization had mastered the art of making spears. The trident, a three pronged spear used for fishing, was a form of spear popular with the Greeks. This weapon was used in the east by the Indians who called it "Trishul" (three spears) and by gladiators in Rome known as retarii, or 'net-fighters', in keeping with the historical use of the trident in fishing. These net fighters would cast the net onto their enemies and once their enemies were trapped and helpless in the net, would then use the trident to kill them or inflict serious injuries. The trident is also associated with various gods: Poseidon and his Roman counterpart Neptune were both associated with and often depicted with a trident, and the Hindu god Shiva also wields the trident.
Galfridus Walpole
According to legend, Walpole's sword, used on HMS "Lion", was given to a young Horatio Nelson, who is reported to have been carrying it when he too lost his right arm, in the Battle of Santa Cruz on 15 July 1797. The Walpole sword, which has a silver-hilted hanger, was made by Nixon Cutlers of London, has London silver hallmarks for 1752, and a 60 cm curved blade. Due to its provenance, the sword is known as the Galfridus Walpole — Suckling Sword, having been given to Walpole's godson and great nephew Maurice Suckling whose sister Catherine Suckling was Nelson's mother. William Suckling, Maurice's brother, gave the sword to Nelson, who wore his uncle's valued gift in his early career. The sword appears to have been returned to the Suckling family.
Jesus
The soldiers then crucify Jesus and cast lots for his clothes. Above Jesus' head on the cross is Pilate's inscription, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." Soldiers and passersby mock him about it. Two convicted thieves are crucified along with Jesus. In Matthew and Mark, both thieves mock Jesus. In Luke, one of them rebukes Jesus, while the other defends him. Jesus tells the latter: "today you will be with me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43). In John, Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the beloved disciple were at the crucifixion. Jesus tells the beloved disciple to take care of his mother (John 19:26–27).
Passion of Jesus
The Synoptic Gospels state that on arrival at Golgotha, Jesus is offered wine laced with myrrh to lessen the pain, but he refuses it. Jesus is then crucified, according to Mark, at "the third hour" (9 a.m.) the morning after the Passover meal, but according to John he is handed over to be crucified at "the sixth hour" (noon) the day before the Passover meal, although many resolve this by saying that the Synoptics use Jewish time, and that John uses Roman time. Pilate has a plaque fixed to Jesus' cross inscribed, (according to John) in Hebrew, Greek and Latin - "Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudeorum", meaning "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews". Mark has the plaque say simply, "King of the Jews." The Gospels then state that the soldiers divide Jesus' clothes among themselves, except for one garment for which they cast lots. The Gospel of John claims that this fulfills a prophecy from . Some of the crowd who have been following taunt Jesus, saying "He trusts in God; let God deliver him now!", and suggest that Jesus might perform a miracle to release himself from the cross.
Sword of Saint Peter
The sword is mentioned for the first time in the published in 1609 "Vitae Episcoporum Posnaniensium" of Jan Długosz as being the original Roman sword (Gladius) used by Saint Peter in the Gospels, or a direct copy made for Pope Stephen VII. However, at that time Stephen was already dead, and the current pope was John XIII.
Early Cornish texts
mcen217.1 In their company was a soldier called Longis. He was blind. He could
mcen217.2 not see at all. he had been a man of rank. a spear with a sharp point
mcen217.3 was put into his hands by the Jews to pierce the heart of jesus, the
mcen217.4 holy one.
mcen217.5
mcen217.6
mcen217.7
mcen217.8
Crucifixion in the arts
Numerous movies have been produced which depict the crucifixion of Jesus. Some of these movies depict the crucifixion in its traditional sectarian form, while others intend to show a more historically accurate account. For example, "Ben-Hur" (1959), was probably the first movie to depict the nails being driven through Jesus' wrists, rather than his palms. Mel Gibson's controversial "The Passion of the Christ" (2004) depicted an extreme level of violence, but showed the nails being driven into Jesus' palms, as is traditional, with ropes supporting the wrists.
Fowey
Popular legend has it that Jesus visited Fowey as a child, along with Joseph of Arimathea who was a merchant visiting local tin mines in which he had a commercial interest. At the entrance to the River, on the eastern side below the cliffs to the south-west of St Saviour's Point, there is a cross to commemorate this supposed visit. This cross is marked on very early charts and was maintained by monks from Tywardreath. The cross is known locally as "Punches Cross", supposedly derived from the name of Pontius Pilate.
The Passion of the Christ
Judas Iscariot, another of Jesus' disciples, having received a bribe of 30 pieces of silver, leads a group of temple guards to the forest and betrays Jesus' identity. As the guards arrest Jesus, a fight erupts wherein Peter draws his dagger and slashes the ear of Malchus, one of the guards and a servant of the high priest Caiaphas. Jesus heals Malchus' injury while reprimanding Peter. As the disciples flee, the guards secure Jesus, and beat him during the journey to the Sanhedrin.
Red Scapular of the Passion
...clad in a long red robe and blue mantle. Oh! Love of Jesus Christ, how You filled my heart at that moment! Oh! How beautiful He was! It was no longer the painful expression, the sorrowful face worn with suffering that I had seen in Pilate's hall a few days before during Mass. It was beauty itself! In his right Hand He held a scapular upon which was a crucifix surrounded by those instruments of the Passion which caused His Sacred Humanity to suffer most. I read around the crucifix: "Holy Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, save us." At the other end of the red woollen braid was a picture of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, the one surrounded with thorns, the other pierced by a lance, and both surrounded by a cross.
Five Holy Wounds
While in the course of his Passion Jesus suffered various wounds, such as those from the crown of thorns and from the scourging at the pillar. Medieval popular piety focused upon the five wounds associated directly with Christ's crucifixion, i.e., the nail wounds on his hands and feet as well as the lance wound which pierced his side.
Jesus in the Talmud
There are several passages in the Talmud which are believed by some scholars to be references to Jesus. The name used in the Talmud is "Yeshu", the Aramaic form of the Hebrew name "Yeshua".
The identification of Yeshu as Jesus is problematic. For example, the Talmud mentions Yeshu ben Pandera/ben Stada's stepfather, Pappos ben Yehuda, speaking with Rabbi Akiva, who was executed at the climax of the Bar Kokhba revolt in 135 CE. Furthermore, Yeshu the Pharisee student is described as being a student of the second-century BCE nasi Joshua ben Perachiah, as well as being among the exiled Pharisees returning to Israel following their persecution by John Hyrcanus, an event which occurred in 74 BC. Additionally, Yeshu the sorcerer was executed by the royal government which lost legal authority in 63 BC. These events would place the lifetime of either Yeshu decades before or after the birth and death of Jesus. Still, there are numerous other passages pertaining to an individual named "Yeshu" that either don't provide a specific time period or else specify a time where it is reasonable to assume mentioning of Jesus would even be possible (take for example a notable passage, Gittin 57a mentioning the nobleman Onkelos conjuring the tormented spirit of "Yeshu" – Onkelos lived more than a century after Jesus, thus making it possible the Yeshu mentioned could indeed be Jesus, though the likelihood of this is still questionable) still opening the possibility that whichever Yeshu mentioned might be Jesus.
Spear (liturgy)
The Spear is one of the Sacred Vessels usually kept on the Table of Oblation (Prothesis), where the bread and wine are prepared for the Eucharist. Often when a Chalice and Diskos (Paten) are made, an Asterisk and a Spoon and Spear will be made to match them. The Spear is normally made of precious metal (or at least plated with silver and/or gold), has a point sharp enough to cut the bread, and will often have a cross at the end of the handle.
Crucifixion of Jesus
The crucifixion of Jesus occurred in 1st-century Judea, most likely between AD 30 and 33. Jesus' crucifixion is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, attested to by other ancient sources, and is established as a historical event confirmed by non-Christian sources, although there is no consensus among historians on the exact details.
Sword of Saint Peter
The Sword of Saint Peter () is allegedly the sword with which the Apostle Peter cut off the right ear of the high priest's servant at the time of Jesus' arrest in Gethsemane.
Five Holy Wounds
In Christian tradition, the Five Holy Wounds also known as the Five Sacred Wounds or the Five Precious Wounds are the five piercing wounds Jesus Christ suffered during the crucifixion. The wounds have been the focus of particular devotions, especially in the late Middle Ages, and have often been reflected in church music and art.
Live by the sword, die by the sword
The saying appears in similar form in the Latin Bible in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 26, verse 52. A follower of Jesus draws his sword and cuts off the ear of a servant of the high priest. Jesus then says to him: "" ("Return your sword to its place, for all who will take up the sword, will die by the sword.") The phrase in the Greek original version of the Gospel is .
Holy Sponge
The Holy Sponge is one of the Instruments of the Passion of Jesus Christ. It was dipped in vinegar (or in some translations sour wine), most likely posca, a favorite beverage of Roman soldiers, and offered to Christ to drink during the Crucifixion, according to Matthew 27:48; Mark 15:36; and John 19:29. An object that was identified as the Holy Sponge was later identified and venerated in Palestine, in the Upper Room of the Constantinian Basilica, where St. Sophronius spoke of it, c. 600 AD:
Kris
The kris (ngoko Javanese: ; krama inggil Javanese: ; ngoko: keris; krama; "dhuwung"; krama inggil: "wangkingan", lit. "to slice"; Minangkabau: "karih", Bugis and Makassarese: "sele", Balinese and Sasak: "keris", Jawi: کريس, Thai: กริช "krit", Tagalog: "kalis") is an asymmetrical dagger with distinctive blade-patterning achieved through alternating laminations of iron and nickelous iron ("pamor"). Kris is most strongly associated with the culture of Indonesia. The kris is famous for its distinctive wavy blade, although many have straight blades as well.
Circumcision of Jesus
The second chapter of the Gospel of Luke records the circumcision of Jesus: 
However, this account is extremely short, particularly compared to Paul the Apostle's much fuller description of his own circumcision in the third chapter of his Epistle to the Philippians. This led theologians Friedrich Schleiermacher and David Strauss to speculate that the author of the Gospel of Luke might have assumed the circumcision to be historical fact, or might have been relating it as recalled by someone else.
Holy Lance
In his opera "Parsifal", Richard Wagner identifies the Holy Spear with two items that appear in Wolfram von Eschenbach's medieval poem "Parzival", a bleeding spear in the Castle of the Grail and the spear that has wounded the Fisher King. The opera's plot concerns the consequences of the spear's loss by the Knights of the Grail and its recovery by Parsifal. Having decided that the blood on the Spear was that of the wounded Saviour – Jesus is never named in the opera – Wagner has the blood manifest itself in the Grail rather than on the spearhead.The Lance of Longinus appears in the 1995 anime "Neon Genesis Evangelion", where the seedships of an ancient progenitor species are equipped with a massive spears called the "Lance(s) of Longinus" by the humans.
Crown of thorns
According to three of the synoptic Gospels, a woven crown of thorns was placed on the head of Jesus during the events leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus. It was one of the instruments of the Passion, employed by Jesus' captors both to cause him pain and to mock his claim of authority. It is mentioned in the gospels of Matthew ('And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee and mocked him, saying Hail, King of the Jews!' 27:29 KJV), Mark (15:17), and John (19:2, 5) and is often alluded to by the early Church Fathers, such as Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and others.
Crucifixion of Jesus
Whereas most Christians believe the gibbet on which Jesus was executed was the traditional two-beamed cross, the Jehovah's Witnesses hold the view that a single upright stake was used. The Greek and Latin words used in the earliest Christian writings are ambiguous. The Koine Greek terms used in the New Testament are "stauros" () and "xylon" (). The latter means wood (a live tree, timber or an object constructed of wood); in earlier forms of Greek, the former term meant an upright stake or pole, but in Koine Greek it was used also to mean a cross. The Latin word "crux" was also applied to objects other than a cross.
Commemoration of the Passion of Christ
Whilst the feast in honour of the instruments of Christ's Passion—the Holy Cross, Lance, Nails, and Crown of Thorns—called "Arma Christi", originated during the Middle Ages, this commemoration is of more recent origin. It appears for the first time in the Breviary of Meissen (1517) as a "festum simplex" for 15 November. The same Breviary has a feast of the Holy Face for 15 January and of the Holy Name for 15 March.
Benjamín Mendoza y Amor Flores
On November 27, 1970, at approximately 9:30 in the morning, Mendoza, dressed as a priest, crucifix in hand, managed to approach the Pope Paul VI before striking him with two stabs in the neck with a kris (a type of short dagger), worn on both sides of the jugular vein, shortly after the Pope disembarked from his chartered DC-8 jet at the Manila International Airport. The weapon had inscribed on both sides the legend "bullets, superstitions, flags, kingdoms, garbage, armies and shit."
Holy Nail
Relics that are claimed to be the Holy Nails with which Christ was crucified are objects of veneration among some Christians, particularly Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox. In Christian symbolism and art they figure among the Instruments of the Passion or "Arma Christi", the objects associated with Jesus' Passion. Like the other Instruments the Holy Nails have become an object of veneration among many Christians and have been pictured in paintings and supposedly recovered.
Instrument of Jesus' crucifixion
The pseudepigraphic Epistle of Barnabas, which scholars suggest may have been before the end of the 1st century, and certainly earlier than 135, whether the writer was an orthodox Christian or not, described the shape people at the time attributed to the device on which Jesus died: the comparisons it draws with Old Testament figures would have had no validity for its readers if they pictured Jesus as dying on a simple stake. Referring to what he saw as Old Testament intimations of Jesus and his cross, he likened the cross to the letter T (the Greek letter tau, which had the numeric value of 300), thus describing it as having a crossbeam. He also wrote, with regard to : "The Spirit saith to the heart of Moses, that he should "make a type of the cross and of Him that was to suffer", that unless, saith He, they shall set their hope on Him, war shall be waged against them for ever. Moses therefore pileth arms one upon another in the midst of the encounter, and standing on higher ground than any "he stretched out his hands", and so Israel was again victorious."
List of magical objects in Dark Sun
Heartwood Spear : A six foot long spear coming to a natural point on both ends. It has a smooth surface and the wood is the color of deep burgundy. The Heartwood Spear was created by Nok, a halfling druid supposedly from a piece of the Last Tree and Nok's own life energy. It was crafted to prevent the sorcerer-king Kalak from completing the dragon metamorphosis. Rikus grievously injured Kalak with the spear but was unable to kill him. Once Kalak was dead the spear was returned to Nok. When Sadira refused to return Ktandeo’s Cane he transformed the spear into a giant oak tree to keep her from gaining possession of it. It currently resides as a shattered oak tree at the bottom of the Canyon of Guthay in the Tablelands.
Gospel of Nicodemus
The Gospel of Nicodemus names several minor New Testament figures who were not named in the canonical texts; for example, the soldier who speared Jesus on the cross is named as Longinus and the two criminals crucified beside Jesus are named as Dimas and Gestas.
Misericorde (weapon)
A misericorde ( or ) (from French word "miséricorde", "mercy") was a long, narrow knife, used from the High Middle Ages to deliver the death stroke (the mercy stroke, hence the name of the blade, derived from the Latin "misericordia", "act of mercy") to a seriously wounded knight. The blade was thin enough to strike through the gaps between armour plates.
Malchus
Malchus is the servant of the Jewish High Priest Caiaphas who participated in the arrest of Jesus as written in the four gospels. According to the Bible, one of the disciples, Simon Peter, being armed with a sword, cut off the servant's ear in an attempt to prevent the arrest of Jesus.
Jesus Christ Superstar
At Jesus's trial, Pilate interrogates Jesus into revealing the whereabouts of his kingdom, but was cut off by a bloodthirsty mob who demands that Jesus should be sentenced to death by crucifixion. In spite of the mob’s behavior, Pilate remembers the dream he had about the mob and the unjust execution of Jesus. Pilate tells the mob that, while Jesus should be imprisoned, he does not deserve to die. Pilate demands that the crowd give him a reason to condemn Jesus, and the mob answers that Jesus is a blasphemer and has defied the Roman Empire. However, after revealing Jesus as nothing more than a pathetic human being, Pilate calls the crowd hypocrites, as he knows they hate Roman rule. Even so, he decides to satisfy their bloodlust by having Jesus flogged, counting thirty-nine bloody strokes ("Trial Before Pilate, (Including The Thirty-Nine Lashes)"). Pilate, clearly disturbed by the whole ordeal, pleads with Jesus to defend himself, but Jesus says weakly that everything has been determined, by God, and Pilate cannot change it. More outraged by Jesus's words, the crowd still calls for Jesus's death, informing Pilate that he has his duty to keep the peace. Finally, he reluctantly agrees to crucify Jesus to keep the crowd from getting violent, saying to Jesus: "Don’t let me stop your great self-destruction! Die if you want to, you misguided martyr! I wash my hands of your demolition! Die if you want to, you – innocent puppet..."
Flagellation of Christ
Flagellation at the hands of the Romans is mentioned in three of the four canonical Gospels: John 19:1, Mark 15:15, and Matthew 27:26, and was the usual prelude to crucifixion under Roman law. None of three accounts are more detailed than John's "Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged" (NIV). Luke's comparable account, Luke 22:63-65 is of the High Priest's guards beating and mocking Jesus. In the Passion of Christ the episode precedes the Mocking of Christ and the Crowning with thorns, which the Gospels happened at the same time or immediately after. Unlike the flogging, these were not part of the normal Roman judicial process.
Passion of Jesus
John says that, as was the custom, the soldiers come and break the legs of the thieves, so that they will die faster, but that on coming to Jesus they find him already dead. A soldier pierces his side with a spear.
Miracles of Jesus
In the Healing of the man with a withered hand miracle, the Synoptics state that Jesus entered a synagogue on Sabbath, and found a man with a "withered" hand there, whom Jesus healed, having first challenged the people present to decide what was lawful for Sabbath—"to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill". The Gospel of Mark adds that this angered the Pharisees so much that they started to contemplate killing Jesus.
Instrument of Jesus' crucifixion
Lipsius himself, as also Gretser and Godwyn, held that Jesus was nailed not to a "crux simplex", but to a "crux immissa". However, W. E. Vine and E. W. Bullinger, as well as Henry Dana Ward, considered that the "cross" (Greek "stauros", in its original sense literally an upright pale or stake) had no crossbar, and that the traditional picture of Jesus on a cross with a crossbar was incorrect.
Dream of the Rood
The poem is set up with the narrator having a dream. In this dream or vision he is speaking to the Cross on which Jesus was crucified. The poem itself is divided up into three separate sections: the first part (ll. 1–27), the second part (ll. 28–121) and the third part (ll. 122–156). In section one, the narrator has a vision of the Cross. Initially when the dreamer sees the Cross, he notes how it is covered with gems. He is aware of how wretched he is compared to how glorious the tree is. However, he comes to see that amidst the beautiful stones it is stained with blood. In section two, the Cross shares its account of Jesus' death. The Crucifixion story is told from the perspective of the Cross. It begins with the enemy coming to cut the tree down and carrying it away. The tree learns that it is not to be the bearer of a criminal, but instead Christ crucified. The Lord and the Cross become one, and they stand together as victors, refusing to fall, taking on insurmountable pain for the sake of mankind. It is not just Christ, but the Cross as well that is pierced with nails. Adelhied L. J. Thieme remarks, "The cross itself is portrayed as his lord's retainer whose most outstanding characteristic is that of unwavering loyalty". The Rood and Christ are one in the portrayal of the Passion—they are both pierced with nails, mocked and tortured. Then, just as with Christ, the Cross is resurrected, and adorned with gold and silver. It is honoured above all trees just as Jesus is honoured above all men. The Cross then charges the visionary to share all that he has seen with others. In section three, the author gives his reflections about this vision. The vision ends, and the man is left with his thoughts. He gives praise to God for what he has seen and is filled with hope for eternal life and his desire to once again be near the glorious Cross.
Prayer rope
According to Orthodox Serbs, the 33 knotted prayer rope should be worn on the left hand, and when praying, held with the thumb and forefinger of the right hand. The 33 knots symbolize the age of Jesus Christ when he was crucified.
Instrument of Jesus' crucifixion
In his 1871 study of the history of the cross, Episcopal preacher Henry Dana Ward accepted as the only form of the gibbet on which Jesus died "a pale, a strong stake, a wooden post".
Anglican theologian E. W. Bullinger, in "The Companion Bible" (which was completed and published in 1922, nine years after his 1913 death), was emphatic in his belief that "stauros" never meant two pieces of timber placed across one another at any angle, "but always of one piece alone ... There is nothing [of the word "stauros"] in the Greek of the N.T. even to imply two pieces of timber." Bullinger wrote that in the catacombs of Rome Christ was never represented there as "hanging on a cross" and that the cross was a pagan symbol of life (the ankh) in Egyptian churches that was borrowed by the Christians. He cited a letter from English Dean John William Burgon, who questioned whether a cross occurred on any Christian monument of the first four centuries and wrote: "The 'invention' of it in pre-Christian times, and the 'invention' of its use in later times, are truths of which we need to be reminded in the present day. The evidence is thus complete, that the Lord was put to death upon an upright stake, and not on two pieces of timber placed in any manner."
Calvary at Plougastel-Daoulas
On the lower crosspiece of the central cross are back to back statues (géminée) depicting Mary Cléophas, a piéta and Mary Magdalene on one side with Saint John, a statue of the risen Christ and Saint Peter on the other. On the upper crosspiece are two men on horseback, Saint Longinus and Stephaton, the two soldiers who were at the crucifixion. It was Longinus who pierced Jesus' side so he carries a lance whilst Stephaton carries a sponge as he was the soldier who gave Jesus a sponge soaked in vinegar. On the reverse side of the two horsemen is a depiction of Jesus tied with ropes ("Christ lié"). Jesus hangs from the central cross and is sculpted back to back with an Ecce Homo. The crucified Jesus is surrounded by four small angels who are collecting the blood running from his wounds. Note that Jesus was nailed to the cross but the two thieves were tied to their crosses with rope.
Saint Longinus (Bernini)
Longinus was the blind Roman soldier who speared Jesus in the side during the crucifixion. He was alleged to have converted to Christianity after the event, having realized Jesus was the son of God. When converting to Christianity, Longinus was cured of his blindness and regained his sight, experiencing not only a spiritual awakening but a physical one as well.
Christian cross
Jehovah's Witnesses do not use the symbol of the cross in their worship, which they believe constitutes idolatry. They believe that Jesus died on a single upright torture stake rather than a two-beam cross, arguing that the Greek term "stauros" indicated a single upright pole. Although early Watch Tower Society publications associated with the Bible Student movement taught that Christ was executed on a cross, it no longer appeared on Watch Tower Society publications after the name "Jehovah's witnesses" was adopted in 1931, and use of the cross was officially abandoned in 1936.
Instrument of Jesus' crucifixion
With regard to the "primary" or "original" meaning of the Greek word σταυρός, William Edwy Vine (1873–1949) wrote in his "Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words", published in 1940: ""stauros" denotes, primarily, 'an upright pale or stake'. On such malefactors were nailed for execution. Both the noun and the verb stauroo, 'to fasten to a stake or pale', are originally to be distinguished from the ecclesiastical form of a two beamed cross". He said the shape of the ecclesiastical form of a two-beamed cross "had its origin in ancient Chaldea, and was used as the symbol of the god Tammuz (being the shape of the mystic Tau, the initial of his name) in Chaldea and nearby lands, including Egypt". He added that third-century churches, which by then had departed from certain doctrines of the Christian faith, accepted pagans into the faith in order to increase their prestige and allowed them to retain their pagan signs and symbols. "Hence the Tau or T, in its most frequent form, with the cross-piece lowered, was adopted to stand for the 'cross' of Christ." This association of the cross symbol with Tammuz had already been made by Abram Herbert Lewis in his 1892 book "Paganism Surviving in Christianity".
Passion of Jesus
The narrative begins with Pilate washing his hands, as in Matthew, but the Jews and Herod refuse this. Joseph of Arimathea, before Jesus has been crucified, asks for his body, and Herod says he is going to take it down to comply with the Jewish custom of not leaving a dead body hung on a tree overnight. Herod then turns Jesus over to the people who drag him, give him a purple robe, crown him with thorns, and beat and flog him.
Stigmata
Reported cases of stigmata take various forms. Many show some or all of five Holy Wounds that were, according to the Bible, inflicted on Jesus during his crucifixion: wounds in the wrists and feet, from nails; and in the side, from a lance. Some stigmatics display wounds to the forehead similar to those caused by the Crown of Thorns. Stigmata as crown of thorns appearing in the 20th century, e.g. on Marie Rose Ferron, have been repeatedly photographed. Other reported forms include tears of blood or sweating blood, and wounds to the back as from scourging.
Instrument of Jesus' crucifixion
"The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology", dealing specifically with the crucifixion of Jesus, says it is most likely that the "stauros" had a transverse in the form of a crossbeam. "Secular sources do not permit any conclusion to be drawn as to the precise form of the cross, as to whether it was the "crux immissa" (†) or "crux commissa" (T). As it was not very common to affix a "titlos" (superscription, loanword from the Lat. "titulus"), it does not necessarily follow that the cross had the form of a "crux immissa"."
Tau Cross
In the "Trial of the Court of the Vowels" of non-Christian Lucian (125 – after 180), the Greek letter Sigma (Σ) accuses the letter Tau (Τ) of having provided tyrants with the model for the wooden instrument with which to crucify people and demands that Tau be executed on his own shape: "It was his body that tyrants took for a model, his shape that they imitated, when they set up the erections on which men are crucified. Σταυρός the vile engine is called, and it derives its vile name from him. Now, with all these crimes upon him, does he not deserve death, nay, many deaths? For my part I know none bad enough but that supplied by his own shape—that shape which he gave to the gibbet named σταυρός after him by men"
The Greek word σταυρός, which in the New Testament refers to the structure on which Jesus died, appears as early as AD 200 in two papyri, Papyrus 66 and Papyrus 75 in a form that includes the use of a cross-like combination of the letters tau and rho. This tau-rho symbol, the staurogram, appears also in Papyrus 45 (dated 250), again in relation to the crucifixion of Jesus. In 2006 Larry Hurtado noted that the Early Christians probably saw in the staurogram a depiction of Jesus on the cross, with the cross represented (as elsewhere) by the tau and the head by the loop of the rho, as had already been suggested by Robin Jensen, Kurt Aland and Erika Dinkler. In 2008 David L. Balch agreed, adding more papyri containing the staurogram (Papyrus 46, Papyrus 80 and Papyrus 91) and stating: "The staurogram constitutes a Christian artistic emphasis on the cross within the earliest textual tradition", and "in one of the earliest Christian artifacts we have, text and art are combined to emphasize 'Christus crucifixus'". In 2015, Dieter T. Roth found the staurogram in further papyri and in parts of the aforementioned papyri that had escaped the notice of earlier scholars.
Arrest of Jesus
At that point, Judas gave Jesus a kiss, as a pre-arranged sign to those that had accompanied Judas as to who Jesus was. Having been identified, the officers arrested Jesus, although one of Jesus' disciples thought to stop them with a sword, but cut off the ear of one of the arresting officers. The Gospel of John specifies that it had been Simon Peter who had cut off the ear of Malchus, the servant of Caiaphas, the high priest. Luke adds that Jesus healed the wound. John, Matthew, and Luke state that Jesus criticized the violent act, insisting that they do not resist Jesus' arrest. In Matthew, Jesus made the well known statement "all who live by the sword, shall die by the sword".
Passion of Jesus
Mark and Matthew record that Jesus is returned his own clothes, prior to being led out for execution. According to the Gospel accounts he is forced, like other victims of crucifixion, to drag his own cross to Golgotha, the location of the execution. The three Synoptic Gospels refer to a man called Simon of Cyrene who is made to carry the cross (, , ), while in the Gospel of John () Jesus is made to carry his own cross. The Gospel of Mark gives the names of Simon's children, "Alexander" and "Rufus." However, the Gospel of Luke refers to Simon carrying the cross "after" Jesus, in that it states: "they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus". Luke adds that Jesus' female followers follow, mourning his fate, but that he responds by quoting Hosea 10:8.
Longinus
The name is probably Latinized from the Greek "lonche" (λόγχη), the word used for the lance mentioned in John 19:34. It first appears lettered on an illumination of the Crucifixion beside the figure of the soldier holding a spear, written, perhaps contemporaneously, in horizontal Greek letters, , in the Syriac gospel manuscript illuminated by a certain Rabulas in the year 586, in the Laurentian Library, Florence. The spear used is known as the Holy Lance, and more recently, especially in occult circles, as the "Spear of Destiny", which was revered at Jerusalem by the sixth century, although neither the centurion nor the name "Longinus" were invoked in any surviving report. As the "Lance of Longinus", the spear figures in the legends of the Holy Grail.
Passion of Jesus
After the third "prophecy", the Gospel of Mark states that the brothers James and John ask Jesus to be his left and right hand men, but Jesus asks if they can drink from the "cup" he must drink from. They say that they can do this. Jesus confirms this, but says that the places at his right and left hand are reserved for others. Many Christian see this as being a reference to the two criminals at Jesus' crucifixion, thus relating to "the Passion". The "cup" is sometimes interpreted as the symbol of his death, in the light of Jesus' prayer at Gethsemane "Let this cup be taken from me!"
Edwin of Northumbria
In an article titled "How Coifi Pierced Christ’s Side", Julia Barrow examines Bede’s Latinate text and pays particular attention to the passage concerning Coifi’s attack upon the temple. Barrow notes that Bede's use of "lancea" was "not the word medieval writers normally used for spear", while “"hasta" was the usual choice." Barrow goes on to claim that "lancea" was likely used by Bede as a reference to the details of the crucifixion of Christ provided in the vulgate book of John, thus Coifi’s desecration of the shrine is to be understood "as an inversion of the piercing of the temple of Christ’s body." All of these details support an understanding that Bede had great "warmth and admiration" for Edwin.
Spear (liturgy)
The Spear symbolizes the lance of Longinus that was used at the time of Christ's death on the Cross to pierce his side, from which flowed blood and water (). This event is traditionally interpreted as prefiguring the Sacred Mysteries (Sacraments) of the Eucharist and Baptism.
The Golden Arrow prayer
Sister Mary stated that Jesus told her that the two sins which offend him the most grievously are blasphemy and the profanation of Sunday. He called this prayer the "Golden Arrow", saying that those who would recite it would pierce Him delightfully, and also heal those other wounds inflicted on Him by the malice of sinners. Sr. Mary of St. Peter saw, "streaming from the Sacred Heart of Jesus, delightfully wounded by this 'Golden Arrow,' torrents of graces for the conversion of sinners.
This prayer appears in the book “The Golden Arrow”, the autobiography of Sr. Marie of St Peter. In her book she wrote that in her visions Jesus told her that an act of sacrilege or blasphemy is like a "poisoned arrow", hence the name “Golden Arrow” for this reparatory prayer.
Spear
Muslim warriors used a spear that was called an "az-zaġāyah". Berbers pronounced it "zaġāya", but the English term, derived from the Old French via Berber, is "assegai". It is a pole weapon used for throwing or hurling, usually a light spear or javelin made of hard wood and pointed with a forged iron tip.The "az-zaġāyah" played an important role during the Islamic conquest as well as during later periods, well into the 20th century. A longer pole "az-zaġāyah" was being used as a hunting weapon from horseback. The "az-zaġāyah" was widely used. It existed in various forms in areas stretching from Southern Africa to the Indian subcontinent, although these places already had their own variants of the spear. This javelin was the weapon of choice during the "Fulani jihad" as well as during the Mahdist War in Sudan. It is still being used by Sikh "Nihang" in the Punjab as well as certain wandering Sufi ascetics "(Derwishes)".
Passion of Jesus
In Christianity, the Passion (from Late Latin: "passionem" "suffering, enduring") is the short final period in the life of Jesus covering his entrance visit to Jerusalem and leading to his crucifixion on Mount Calvary, defining the climactic event central to Christian doctrine of salvation history.
Seamless robe of Jesus
According to the Gospel of John, the soldiers who crucified Jesus did not divide his tunic after crucifying him, but cast lots to determine who would keep it because it was woven in one piece, without seam. A distinction is made in the New Testament Greek between the 
"himatia" (literally “over-garments”) and the seamless robe, which is "chiton", (literally "tunic" or "coat").