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Gaef des leven, bermhertd, genade, medelyden, sterke
[Gift of life, mercy, grace, compassion, strength]
The majority, though not all, of the traditional Instruments of the Passion or Arma Christi (Weapons of Christ) are depicted on this late 19th century Five Wounds Flemish funereal holy card. From the top, clockwise: 1. The ladder used for the Deposition—removing the body of Jesus from the cross for burial—though no ladder is mentioned in any of the Gospels. 2. The sponge set on a reed with which gall and vinegar were offered to Jesus. “And straightway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinear, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.” (Matthew 27:48; also Mark 15:36 and John 19:29) 3. The Titulus Crucis, attached to the Cross. INRI represents the four initial letters of the Latin words, Jesus Nazasrenus Rex Judaeorum, meaning “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” According to John 19:19-20, after Jesus had been crucified, “Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews,” and goes on to say, “…and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin.” 4. The spear by which an unnamed soldier inflicted the final of the Five Wounds. In the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus, the soldier is identified as a Centurion named Logginus or Longinus, making the spear's Latin name Lancea Longini. 5. The rooster which crowed after Peter’s third denial of Jesus. (Mark 14:54, 66–72; Matthew 26:58, 69–75; Luke 22:54–62; John 18:15–18, 25–27) 6. The Crown of Thorns Roman soldiers placed on Jesus’ head. (Matthew 27:29; Mark 15: 17; John 19:2, 5) 7. The reed which was placed in Jesus' hand as a sceptre in mockery. (Matthew 27:29) 8. Flagellum (whip) used to sourge Jesus; cf. no. 21. According to tradition, Jesus was lashed 39 times, the maximum which could be administed without causing death. 9. The hand which slapped Jesus' face, e.g., Luke 23:63. 10.-11. The ewer and basin refers to the moment the crowd demanded that Pilate condemn Jesus to death. “When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person.…” (Matthew 27:24) 12. The purple robe Roman soldiers used to mock Jesus. (Luke 23:11) 13. The pincers used to remove the nails: assumed as no mention of this Instrutment is found in the Gospels. 14. The hammer used to drive the nails into Jesus' hands and feet; again assumed. 15. The dice which soldiers cast for Jesus’s robe. (Mark 15:24) 16. The nails that inflicted four (hands and feet) of the five wounds. Early crucifixes show four nails piercing each of the hands and feet of Jesus. On most crucifixes there are only three nails, both feet being pierced by one nail. The number three was preferred when the nails were depicted, perhaps with symbolic reference to the Trinity. 17. The lantern carried by the arresting soldiers at the time of the betrayal. (John 18:3) 18. The pillar where Jesus was whipped; though no mention in the Gospels. 19. Thirty pieces of silver (or a money bag), the price of Judas' betrayal. (Matthew 27:3–9) 20. A stave carried by a Roman soldier during the arrest of Jesus in Gesemethe. (Matthew 26: 47, 55) 21. A second Flagellum (whip), perhaps refering to Mark 15:15, 19, which recounts that Jesus was sourged first in front of Pilate and then by Roman soldiers in the Prætorium (courtyard). 22. The cross on which Jesus was crucified. The Latin cross has a longer upright than crossbar. The intersection of the two is usually such that the upper and the two horizontal arms are all of about equal length, the lower arm is conspicuously longer. Instrutments of the Passion not depicted on this holy card include the Holy Grail (the chalice) which was used by Jesus at the Last Supper, and which some traditions say Joseph of Arimathea used to catch his blood at the crucifixion; the sword used by Peter to cut off the ear of the High Priest's servant (sometimes a human ear is also represented); the chains which bound Jesus overnight in prison; the seamless robe; the vessel used to hold the gall and vinegar; the sun and moon, representing the eclipse which occurred during the crucifixion; the shroud used to wrap the body of Jesus before burial; and the vessel of myrrh used to anoint the body of Jesus,. Each of the Instruments has become an object of veneration and purportedly have been recovered as relics.
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