What is the Spear of Destiny?

In the midst of their distress, a priest of Marseilles, Peter Bartholomes, professed to have a revelation from St. Andrew, that the lance which pierced the side of the Saviour was to be found in the church of St. Peter! A search was set on foot, and after a day's work the head of a lance was found. Now despair was changed to enthusiasm, and all who could rushed out, carrying with them the holy lance.

When the hearts of all began to sink, and a general indifference to life prevailed, a cunning monk of the name of Bartholomew, presented himself at the door of the council chamber, and declared it had been revealed to him from heaven in a dream, that under the great altar of the church of St. Peter would be found the spear which pierced the Saviour on the cross. The ground was opened, but after digging to the depth of twelve feet they had not found the object of their search. In the evening, bare-footed and in the penitent's dress, Bartholomew himself descended into the pit; he soon came upon the head of a lance. The ring of steel was heard, it was the sacred weapon. At the first gleam of the holy spear the desponding Crusaders passed from despair to enthusiasm. A martial psalm was chanted by the priests and monks, "Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered." The gates of Antioch were thrown open, and the now fanatical warriors rushed forth, the holy spear being carried by the legate's chaplain. The charge was irresistible; the Saracens fled before the unexpected attack, leaving behind them an immense mass of spoil. Bohemond was proclaimed Prince of Antioch, under conditions that he would accompany them to Jerusalem.

But the possession of Antioch by the crusaders, did not long remain undisputed. The former garrison was not entirely subdued, and their warlike spirit revived when the fact became known that an army of 200,000 Turks, under Kerboga, Prince of Mosul, was marching to their relief. As the prospects of the Mahometans grew brighter, the prospects of the crusaders grew more hopeless; and once more they were threatened with destruction. But superstition came to their aid, and the sudden discovery of the spear which pierced the Saviour's side, the burial place of which had been revealed to a crafty monk named Bartholomaeus, produced a wonderful reaction in the hearts of the crusaders. We may remark that it was the monk who found the spear. He had been told in his dream that it was lying under the great altar of the church of St. Peter; and it was not till others had searched to a depth of twelve feet, that he volunteered his aid. The hour of his search was well chosen — the dusk of evening; the garment in which he made his descent was doubtless as well chosen a capacious cloak. There was room for many spear-heads beneath it. Bartholomaeus was successful; and a lance-head was brought up from the hole, and exhibited in triumph to the desponding army. The effect was electrical. With the animating cry,"Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered!" the gates of the city were flung open, and the army rushed out upon the unsuspecting foes. Victory was assured; and the Saracens were driven from the field like chaff before the wind. The result was decisive, and the immense spoils of the enemy fell into the hands of the crusaders. with every demonstration of joy they returned to the city; and having proclaimed one of their leaders, by name Bohemond, prince of Antioch, they gave themselves up to ten months of luxury and idleness; evidently quite unadmonished by their severe experiences in the past.

Doubts afterwards arose as to the holy lance, the discovery of which had led to their late victory � was it likely that a revelation should have been made to such a disreputable man as the priest Peter? Besides, the lance was declared to be of Saracen manufacture, and could not be ancient: Peter must be a deceiver! To settle the question he was required to undergo the ordeal of passing between two burning piles. If he came out unhurt he was innocent; if he was burnt, he was guilty. He was much scorched, but his admirers, seeing him come from the fires, took him to be unhurt, and they thronged around him to obtain pieces of his clothes as relics; but he fell, and, in tearing his clothes off his back, they brought away pieces of his flesh, which led to his death a few days after.

The passion for relics, which had been increasing every century, was greatly nourished by the crusades. Many saints before unknown, and relics innumerable, were then introduced to the Christians of the West. Passing over the vast quantity of old bones of reputed saints and other smaller relics, which were brought from the East, and became an important branch of traffic, we notice two or three of the most famous. And chief amongst these was the "holy vessel" — a green glass cup, said to be an emerald — brought from Caesarea, and venerated as having been used at the last supper. Another relic of great fame was the seamless coat of our Lord said to be found at Argenteuil in 1156; and also the holy coat, said to have been presented by the Empress Helena to the Archbishop of Treves.

We need only further add as a practical illustration of relic-worship, that in holy week every year the pope and cardinals go in procession to St. Peter's at Rome, for the purpose of adoring the three great relics. When performing the ceremony they kneel in the nave of the church, and the relics, which are exhibited from the balcony above the statue of St. Veronica, consist of a part of the wood of the true cross, one half of the spear that pierced the Saviour's side, and the holy countenance. This latter relic is a piece of cloth on which our Lord is said to have miraculously impressed His countenance, and which was brought to Italy for the cure of the Emperor Tiberias when afflicted with leprosy. The ceremony takes place in solemn silence. Outwardly no act of worship is more profound in the Roman Catholic church. Could folly, we may ask, or absurdity, or human weakness, or Satanic power, be carried to a greater height? For men of education, and, in many cases, men of cultivation and piety, to bow down in profoundest adoration before a piece of rotten wood, a broken spear, and a painted rag, can only be accounted for on the principle of the most solemn judicial blindness. Gross darkness has long settled down on both priest and people through their deliberate concealment of the word of God and quenching the light of the Holy Spirit. And this must always be the case, more or less, whether for Catholic or for Protestant, when God and His word are disregarded, as saith the prophet, "Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble on the dark mountains, and while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness." (Jer. 13:16)

It is an historic fact recorded by the Apostle John (19:34) that a soldier with a spear pierced the side of the dead Christ, and "forthwith came there out blood and water." From the solemn way in which the Apostle pauses to attest this fact as a personal eyewitness (John 19:35) we might naturally conclude that he attached some very special importance to it, even if no further reference to it were made.

It is an historic fact recorded by the apostle John (John 19:34) that a soldier with a spear pierced the side of the dead Christ, and "forthwith came there out blood and water." From the solemn way in which the Apostle pauses to attest this fact as a personal eye-witness (see verse 35) we might naturally conclude that he attached some very special importance to it, even if no further reference to it were made.

But, as if to make assurance doubly sure, a Roman soldier took his spear, and pierced the side of the dead Christ, and forthwith there came out blood and water.

"Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that He was dead already, they brake not His legs: but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced His side, and forthwith came there out blood and water." We may be sure that the soldiers would just as readily have broken the legs of the Lord as of the thieves, but they could not, the restraining hand of God was there, for the Scripture had said, "A bone of Him shall not be broken. And another Scripture says, They shall look upon Him whom they have pierced" and in fulfilment of this second word one of the soldiers stepped back a pace and thrust his spear into the Lord's side. It was the last stab of the world's hatred and it fulfilled the Scripture. It did more:

But one of them pierced His side, though they knew that He was dead. Was it a thoughtless act on the part of the individual who did it? Was it out of contempt for the King of the Jews? Who can now say what moved the man to use the spear? But we know that in that act provision was being made for the fulfilment in a coming day of the prophetic words of Zechariah (12:10). And John calls attention to this. The mark, too, of that spear-thrust remained after His resurrection (John 20:20, 27). Will it not be a mark for the remnant by which to recognise Him when He returns? Thus Scripture in the past was fulfilled, as Scripture regarding the future will receive its accomplishment.