Bible – Page 7 – dr richard stemp

Lent 27

At least one of the characters here looks up to our right – so they must be located to the left of the cross, under Jesus’s right hand: they are the good people, among the blessed, and the donor is somewhere in their company. We have seen at least three of them before. The manContinue reading “Lent 27”

Lent 26

More onlookers today, but rather than sitting (or kneeling) outside the action, they play a greater part in the narrative. Some of them are those most responsible for Christ’s fate, others are merely those who make it happen, and most of them have appeared before. In the foreground is a man who I hope isContinue reading “Lent 26”

Lent 24

I have often wondered about this group of exiles – I’m never entirely clear where they are supposed to be, or what they are doing there. They form no part of the narrative with which I am familiar, and so, from my point of view, they are open to interpretation. However, their identity is not.Continue reading “Lent 24”

Lent 22

This is the Via Crucis – ‘The Way of the Cross’. So we know now, now it is confirmed (as if we didn’t know before) what the outcome will be. Jesus is carrying his own cross, with two guards, mainly out of view, pulling him on, and another behind grabbing the same grey-blue robe weContinue reading “Lent 22”

Lent 19

Two men in their pants. It doesn’t look promising. They are clearly prisoners – both have their hands tied behind their backs, and the same rope is used for both – they are tied together. They have their backs to us: this, together with several other details, tells us to keep moving. The guard whoContinue reading “Lent 19”

Lent 18

We haven’t met this scrawny child before. We saw the boy in the improbable hat yesterday, having first seen him over a week ago (Lent 7), but this is the first time we have seen his companion, who is possibly his baby brother. As I said when we first met the elder boy, ‘one ofContinue reading “Lent 18”

Lent 16

We’ve seen enough of the painting now to start meeting people again, and to put them into context – the woman weeping, and the improbable hat of the child next to her (Lent 7) can be seen in the bottom right – and now we know why she is weeping. Whoever she is – andContinue reading “Lent 16”

Lent 15

Jesus has been arrested, interrogated, tried and condemned. His hands are tied, and he is being led away. How do we know this? Well, he is wearing the crown of thorns. This follows on from the verse I quoted from the Gospel of Mark yesterday, in which he was taken to Pilate first thing onContinue reading “Lent 15”

Lent 14

The lofty arches and deep, dark recesses of the arcade tell us that we have returned to the palace we have seen before – and indeed, the long, slim staff held by the man on the left of this detail creeps into the bottom of Lent 5. This is the very palace from which theContinue reading “Lent 14”

Lent 13

Thirteen has always been considered an unlucky number – unless you’re a baker, of course, in which case a baker’s dozen is a good thing – and quite lucky: thirteen buns for the price of twelve. I’m certainly looking forward to my hot cross buns when this Lenten blog is all over, not that I’llContinue reading “Lent 13”