Eko's stick

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Eko's stick

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First Introduced

"Orientation"

Owned by

Eko

Found by

Locke, after The Swan imploded

Used by

Eko

Eko's stick as the marker for his grave

Eko's stick was a walking staff made and carried by Mr. Eko; it was nicknamed the "Jesus stick" by Charlie and called a prayer stick by Locke. Eko made his staff from a branch he broke off on the beach, carving into it various Bible scriptures (book, chapter, and sometimes verse), a small cross, and The Numbers. When asked by Claire what he was carving, Eko answered, "Things I need to remember."

Following the implosion of the Swan, Eko's stick fell out of a tree, almost hitting Locke, who was regaining consciousness when it fell.

After Eko's death, Locke retrieved the stick. Locke intended to to use the stick as a marker for Eko's grave. As he was pounding the stick into the ground, he noticed an inscription: "Lift up your eyes and look north John 3:05". ("I Do") Locke interprets "305" as a northward compass bearing, which leads John, Kate, and Sayid to the Flame station. ("Enter 77")

1 Inscriptions
2 Trivia
3 Biblical allusions
4 Other parallels
5 Unanswered Questions

Inscriptions

At least:

23RD PSALM
4:8:15:16:23:42
9 22 (September 22 is the plane crash date) added in "Live Together, Die Alone"
ACTS 4:12
COLOSIANS [sic]
HAB 1:3
HATETH (from Psalm 11:5)
JOHN 3:05
GEN 13:14 LIFT UP YOUR EYES AND LOOK NORTH
LUKE
PSALM 144 (or PSALM 14)
REVELATION 5:3
ROM 6:12
TITUS:3 [sic]
T:4

Trivia

Inscribing scripture on the stick was the idea of Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, not the writers.^{[source needed]}
The term "Jesus Stick" was first made famous during the colonial period, many evangelical ministers would be forced to carry a "Jesus Stick" for safety from barbaric cultures.
The bearing 305 was later revealed as a possible safe direction to leave the Island by Daniel Faraday. ("The Constant")

Biblical allusions

Psalm 23 - One of the most often quoted passage in Christianity. This chapter mentions God's rod and staff (Psalm 23:4 "...Your Rod and Staff, they comfort me.") It contains a possible allusion to The Monster (Psalm 23:4 "Even though I walk through the valley of the Shadow of death..."). The Psalmist says he will not be afraid because God is with him (Psalm 23:4 "...I will fear no evil for you are with me...") which is paralleled in Mr Eko's confrontation with The Monster.
Acts 4:12 - "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." This passage acts to refute all other religions by proclaiming that only Christ can provide salvation. The speaker of this passage is Peter, who has recently been placed in prison for preaching faith in Jesus.
Colossians - A disputed epistle of Paul. This book was probably not written by Paul, but it has been attributed to him by the author, most likely for the purpose of legitimizing its content. The epistle has been divided into four chapters in modern times. The main themes throughout the epistle are reconciliation with Christ and rules for Christian living. Life and Death imagery is found in Colossians (Col 2:13 - "When you were dead in your sins... God made you alive with Christ..."). There is also explicit reference to the show's theme of Parent issues (Col 3:21 - "Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.").
Hab 1:3 - This refers to the book of Habakkuk, the 8th of the 12 minor prophets. This book is essentially a dialogue between Habakkuk and God. Habakkuk is unique amongst the minor Prophets for challenging God. In the verse referenced by Mr. Eko, Hab 1:3, Habakkuk demands an answer for the Problem of Evil ([1]). Habakkuk asks God, "Why do you make me look at injustice?, Why do you tolerate wrong?..." and "Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds." God answers that in solution, He is going to raise up the Babylonians, presumably for war.
John 3:05 - It important to note the non-standardized reference used here. This is normally written as 'John 3:5.' The fact that Mr Eko has chosen to do otherwise is significant, as it gives the compass bearing of 305. Perhaps this is meant to symbolize a revelation, or a vision from Mr Eko. In the Bible, John 3:5 reads "Jesus answered, 'I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit'." This is Jesus' reply to Nicodemus, one of the Pharisees or Jewish religious leaders of the time, who is questioning Jesus' idea of re-birth. This piece of scripture describes baptism, such as that of Claire in Fire + Water. This passage emphasizes that Baptism must done be by the Holy Spirit as well as water. The Gospel of John was written for a Gentile (non-Jewish) audience.
Lift Up Your Eyes and Look North- Genesis 13:14. Interestingly, this is only a partial quote that misrepresents the Scripture. This adaption of the text strongly lends itself to the theory that Mr Eko is writing specifically to John Locke. The original scripture reads "The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, 'Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west.'" The omission of the other directions clearly serves the purpose of directing John Locke somewhere. The scripture itself is the beginning of God's covenant with Abraham. At the time of this passage, Abraham is in Canaan, whose boundaries are similar to modern-day Israel. God says that the Promised Land will belong to Abraham, and that Abraham's decendents will be as numerous as the dust (from which Adam and Eve were created) upon the earth.
Luke - The Gospel of Luke is believed to have been written as an orderly account to legitimize Jesus in relation to political history, particularly in order to provide effective evangelism to the Gentiles (non-Jews). One of the main themes in Luke is the re-orientation of salvation from the future to the present: One does not need to wait in order to claim spiritual gifts or healing; it is available now. Luke is the Gospel most often used in Liberation and Feminist theology. It focuses on the idea of Jesus (and thus, salvation) belonging to everyone. Perhaps significant is the fact that Luke is sometimes called, or believed to be (because of his writing style) "the Doctor" (Col 4:14) Medical personnel
Psalm 14 - Is about how those who are corrupt fear the righteous for God is on the side of the Righteous(Psa14:5). The Psalm is essentially about the corrupt nature of the world and also of Israel, it looks forward to salvation (rescue). Psalm 14 also includes a reference to Jacob; Psa14:7- "When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!"
Rev 5:3 - Revelation is part of a genre known as apocalypticism. It is rich with Symbolism and Metaphor and is otherwise known as "The Apocalypse of John" and deals with the Apocalypse and the coming of the Kingdom of God. The scripture Rev 5:3 reads "But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it." It is contained in a narrative of the author's religious visions. The scroll referred to cannot be opened by anyone apart from The Lamb (Jesus) who alone is worthy to do so. When Jesus reads the scroll it is found to contain a list of the saved; 144,000 in all. 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel including the tribe of Benjamin. This may be an allusions to the Shows theme of Lists.
Rom 6:12 - The Epistle to the Romans is one of the undisputed letters of Paul. It was written as indicated by its title to the Church in Rome. The particular verse referenced reads "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires" and is part of Paul's invocation to become dead to Sin and alive in Christ (Life and Death). Essentially Paul urges one to offer themselves to God and assures them of their salvation through Jesus' death.
Titus 3 - The letters to Titus are according to Wikipedia "principally occupied in describing the qualifications to be sought for in those whom they should appoint to offices in the church". Since Mr. Eko used to be a criminal and is now considers himself a priest, this may be significant. Titus 3 in particular is concerned with the previously sinful nature of the clergy before they came to know Christ, and were "Justified by grace" (Titus 3:7) and emphasises the Mercy of Jesus. Titus 3 praises the virtues of obedience and humility and discourages quarrels about the (Jewish) Law, instead advocating a 3-strikes-you're-out policy "Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him" until he repents (Titus 3:10) see; Games re- Baseball.

In the culture of the Israelites, the shepherd's crook or rod would be a natural symbol of authority, as the tool used by the shepherd to correct and guide his flock (Psalm 23:4).

Moses' rod is, in fact, cited in Exodus 4:2 as carried by him while he tended his sheep; and later (Exodus 4:20) becomes his symbol of authority over the Israelites (Psalm 2:9, Psalm 89:32, Isaiah 10:24 and 11:4, Ezekiel 20:37). The rods of both Moses and Aaron were endowed with miraculous power during the Plagues of Egypt (Exodus 7:17, 8:5, 8:16-17, 9:23, and 10:13); God commanded Moses to raise his rod over the Red Sea when it was to be parted (Exodus 14:16) and in prayer over Israel in battle (Exodus 17:9); Moses at Meribah brings forth water from a stone using his rod (Exodus 17, Numbers 20:11).
Moses During the Exodus, Moses was instructed by God to fashion a pole upon which he was to position a serpent made of bronze; when looked upon, this Nehushtan, as it was called in Hebrew, would spare the lives of the Israelites stricken by venomous snake bites. The intent was that people would look upward and be reminded to pray to God, but eventually the meaning was forgotten and this symbol was apparently worshiped by the Hebrew people until the reign of Hezekiah as described in 2 Kings 18:4.
Aaron's rod After asking what she named her newborn son, Mr. Eko informed Claire that Aaron was the name of Moses' elder brother. Aaron was a spokesman of sorts for Moses, persuading the Israelites to follow his brother and performing miracles with his staff, which turned into a viper before Pharoah (Exodus 7:8-14) and unleashed the first three plagues.

Other parallels

The Caduceus which is wrapped in a snake with the wings of Hermes. Typically used for commerce and medicine. Is the referenced symbol on the Staff.
The staff of Asclepius also know as Ophiuchus (proper symbol for medicine).
The flail and shepherd's crook were used in judiciary flagellation, the flail is depicted along side the shepherd’s “crook” as symbols of office for the crowned Egyptian Pharaoh, likely representing the living God's authority to judge and punish his subjects.
A prelate's crosier