The Story That Changed History

DC's Legends of Tomorrow is a comic book-based television show featuring superheroes who travel through time to correct aberrations to the timeline caused by supervillains.

The current season's story arc involves the Spear of Destiny, which is the spear that pierced the side of Jesus during His crucifixion. This spear allows its bearer to alter reality, so our heroes are trying to keep it out of the hands of the villains.

In the latest episode, "Fellowship of the Spear," after our heroes have taken possession of the spear, it's revealed that the spear was empowered by the blood of Jesus and can be undone by the blood of Jesus.

The legendary Spear of Destiny

So the answer is clear -- get some of Jesus' blood! But before they can time-jump to the crucifixion, the historian in their group warns them that there are some events in history that are so crucial to the timeline that any change whatsoever can have catastrophic results. He forbids them to travel to the crucifixion of Christ because tampering with the life and death of Jesus is simply too dangerous. They will have to find another source of Jesus' blood.

I was struck by the following thoughts as I watched that scene:

1) Disappointment (slight) that we wouldn't see the portrayal of the crucifixion. That, if done well, could have made for some engaging television.

2) Concern (some) that the source of Jesus' blood would be a descendant of Jesus from His marriage to Mary Magdalene. (Let me be clear on this point: there is no biblical or historical evidence that Jesus was ever married or had children. Nevertheless, the fantasy that Jesus had descendants is the basis for Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code," a novel that caused many of its readers to question the reliability of the Gospels. Thank you, Dan Brown, for nothing!) To my relief, the writers of this episode didn't go that route.

3) Wish (unfulfilled) that they would have included Jesus' resurrection, not only His life and death, in the pivotal nature of His impact on human history.

4) Surprise (pleasant and great) that the writers did, in fact, single out Jesus as the linchpin of the history of the world.

In the course of this series, the time travelers (both heroes and villains) have tinkered with events such as the Civil War, World Wars I & II, the Apollo 13 mission, and the Cold War. They have met historical figures such as George Washington, J.R.R. Tolkien, and George Lucas. However, no significant damage was done to the timeline on those occasions, even though the presence of time travelers caused some alterations.

But Jesus is off limits. I like that!

I'm not going to say that the writers were trying to make a theological point or offering any particular confession of faith. It might just be the opposite, that their plotline is about an ancient relic associated with Jesus, but they wanted to avoid Jesus Himself. So they manufactured a timeline-based excuse to cover their tracks.

Whatever the thought behind the scene, there was a recognition that Jesus is the turning point of history. Followers of Jesus know that to be true. It is so true, in fact, that even those who don't necessarily follow Jesus have to admit that His story, more than any other historic figure, has transformed history.

However, we who follow Jesus believe more than that. We believe that Jesus has transformed not only history, but eternity.