Spain’s Holy Grail: That Is Not The Cup Of A Carpenter

Is that the Holy Grail or a bad movie prop?

Despite the massive pilgrimage underway following the announcement by two Spanish historians that the legendary Holy Grail has been found, there are many who remain skeptical as to whether this bejeweled cup is in fact the cup from which Jesus drank the night before he died.

In fact, many point out the simple logic behind one of Hollywood’s most enduring movies about the Holy Grail itself, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. According to an article on The Daily Beast, the movie’s climactic final scene is an accurate representation as to why both Nazi Sympathizer Donovan (played by Julian Glover) chose so poorly and why this supposed Spanish Holy Grail does not make the cut:

“As any fan of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade knows, Jesus would have used a simple carpenter’s cup. Like all dramatic reenactments, Indiana Jones has some minor historical flaws, but it certainly got that right. Archeological excavations have yielded many examples of ancient Israelite cups and they are made of cheap durable fabrics. By contrast this cup is made of gold, onyx, precious stones, and the stone agate.”

And while the article states that only a portion of the chalice is supposedly linked to Jesus Christ and the jewels were added later on, the writer suggests that regardless, this particular cup is still too high class to be the original:

“We can imagine a wealthy late-antique Christian being duped into thinking this was the cup of Christ. But it seems unbelievable that Jesus — an itinerant carpenter who lacked a steady income — could have come into possession of such a thing. Jesus may be, as the book’s title implies, a religious ‘king,’ but he didn’t have the personal resources of a Roman emperor or Russian oligarch.”

Finally, another discrepancy surrounding this supposed Spanish Holy Grail is the timeline associated with the relic itself:

“The documents claiming that the cup came from Jerusalem were written in 1037 CE, more than a thousand years after the object that they verify. Before that the trail runs cold. More important, the 11th century was the height of the relic trade, a period in which every nobleman, monarch, and bishop was willing to pay top dollar for religious relics associated with Jesus. You don’t have to be an economist to know either that demand creates supply or that high value objects are particularly susceptible to forgery.”

So while Christians continue to flock to view the Spanish Holy Grail, many experts recommend they log onto Netflix first before they do.