Are You in the Picture?

Jesus gave Himself - He suffered and died, shedding His own blood for our forgiveness, dying and then triumphing over death so that we might live in victory.   Here are the words of Hebrews 9:13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15 And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

The blood of Jesus is a powerful cleansing agent that can offer to us forgiveness and the promise of a new start as we confess our sins.  The reality of His shed blood offers us a clean conscience, a transformed heart, and the freedom of forgiveness.  And, He equips us, because He is risen from the dead, to live according to the power of the Spirit and experience a new and abundant life.

1st Corinthians 11 reminds us about the significance of the blood and body of Christ, represented by communion, or the Lord's Supper:
(23b) the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me." 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes.

Leonardo da Vinci's painting "The Last Supper" has been a source of quite a bit of speculation over the years, and now Yahoo! News has a report that British art expert Ross King has said that the noses, beards and hairstyles of two of the apostles standing to the right of Jesus in the portrait - Thomas and James the Lesser - match a portrait of da Vinci that was made several years after he created his masterpiece.

King told The Independent that while historians have long suspected that da Vinci placed images of himself in his works, no one has thoroughly researched "The Last Supper" for such evidence.

Leonardo da Vinci scholar Charles Nicholl supports King's hypothesis, telling the Independent,"Of all the apostles that [Leonardo] would wish to be identified with, I think Doubting Thomas would be top of his list because Leonardo was a great believer in asking questions rather than accepting what people tell you."

I don't know if that was the intent of the artist or not - King himself admits that there is no definitive record of Leonardo's physical appearance.  But, it could lead to some bigger questions for our own spiritual lives.   

In his last supper, the Passover meal that Jesus ate with His disciples, He pointed out that the elements represented the redemption story, of which He was the fulfillment.   Scripture highlights the cup and the bread, which Jesus said represented His blood and His body.   And, when we participate in the sacrament of communion, we remember that Jesus said to do that in remembrance of Him.

So, are you in the picture?   Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ?   As a disciple, our appreciation can be expanded and our relationship deepened as we take the cup and the bread.   If we have accepted Jesus as our Savior, then we enter into discipleship, and it's important that we are growing in our knowledge and experience of the blood of Jesus, bringing forgiveness of sins, and His body, which was broken, but brought back to life - reminding us that He triumphed over sin and death and gives us new life.   da Vinci may or may not have inserted his image into the picture, but we can know for certain that God has inserted us into the redemption story and invited us to appropriate the blood and body of Jesus to our own lives.