Gethsemane

30″ x 40″, Oil on Canvas, SOLD.

The olive tree in the foreground is one of a number of ancient olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives which may even date back to the time of Christ. At the base of the gnarled trunk is a smudge of blood, dripping down the rough bark and pooling in a cleft near the roots. This depicts the first drops of Christ’s holy blood which he shed for our sins.

He sweat blood in the agony he felt at the thought of taking on the crushing weight of every evil deed ever to be done by man and at the thought of becoming an abomination in the sight of God his Father. I believe the terror he felt regarding the physical torture he was about to submit himself to, paled in comparison to the anguish he felt knowing he would be separated from his Father. He was about to take on the weight of every sin ever committed and every vile deed yet to be done, and bear that burden alone… in the absence of God, with all his human friends having betrayed or abandoned him.

This is the incredible sacrifice which Christ offered in exchange for our salvation. A gift of grace for anyone who would accept it. The spotless lamb, the suffering servant, the way the truth and the life.

Luke 22:39-48:
“39 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him… 41 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42 ‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.’ 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

45 When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 46 “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”

47 While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, 48 but Jesus asked him, ‘Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?'”

17/04/2014 | Categories: Christian Paintings, Landscapes | Tags: Blood, Christian, Garden, Gethsemane, Mount of Olives, oil on canvas, Olive tree, Painting | Leave a comment