Christ Blessing the Children,  from Mark 10:13.  Jesus finds out that people are bringing their children to him to lay hands upon and bless them.  The disciples have been turning the children away, thinking they are not worth Jesus’ time.  When Jesus discovers what is happening, he tells the disciples to let them through, for anyone who cannot receive the kingdom as would a  little child will never enter it.  In Cranach’s painting the children appear much older than their size would indicate.  The setting indicates this might be private event.  Painted 1545-50, by Lucas Cranach the Younger, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York 

The Raising of Lazarus  Upon hearing that Lazarus in Bethany was fatally ill, Jesus remains at Al Maghtas, a few miles away, for two more days.  Lazarus is dead when Jesus and the disciples arrive at Bethany and meet Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha.  The reason Jesus waited to go to Bethany, is so that God’s glory might be shown through bringing Lazarus back to life.  Giotto’s fresco shows Jesus calling Lazarus from the tomb.  Notice the expressions on the faces.  Jesus is stern, displaying the determination to show God’s power and glory through the resurrection.  To Lazarus’ left are the local Jews, eyes upcast and hands raised in disbelief.  At Jesus’ feet kneel two figures, possibly Mary and Martha, accepting Jesus as the Son of God.  Fresco, Giotto di Bondone, 130-4-6,Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, Italy, x https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=46567

Jesus, mosaic from Basilica San Vitale Ravenna, Italy.  Jesus is shown seated upon a globe representing the universe.  In his left hand, he holds a scroll with seven seals, from Revelations 5.  His toga appears to have letter Z, the first letter in the Greek word life.  On either side of him are arch angels, possibly Michael and Gabriel.  On his left Jesus is handing a martyr’s crown to St. Vitalis who is wearing boots, indicating he was a soldier, rather than sandals as are worn by Jesus and the angels.  St. Vitalis’ hands are covered with a cloth to receive the crown.  On Jesus’ right is Bishop Ecclesius who built the Basilica and is handing it to Jesus.

Jesus is framed in a mandorla representing a heavenly created light. Elijah stands on his left.  Moses on his right.  Below are the three apostles James on the left, John in the center, Peter on the right.  They have fallen on the ground their faces hidden in fear. 

This fresco of Jesus is in the church of the Annunciation of the Holy Virgin at the Žitomislić Monastery, Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

Built by a banker in hopes of penance for charging interest on loans, the Scrovegni Chapel (Padua, Italy) contains a series of frescos designed and painted by Giotto between 1303 and 1305.  The stories take place on two levels.   The first level is the history of salvation with stories featuring events from the life of Jesus and his mother Mary.  The second features Vices and Virtues.  Here we have the twelve-year-old Jesus explaining God’s intent to the Priest and Scribes of the Temple in Jerusalem.  Behind the listeners are Mary and Joseph reaching out to Jesus to take him home to Jerusalem.

The wedding at Cana by Paolo Veronese around 1563.  Currently in the Louvre, Paris, France this interpretation has a much larger audience in attendance for a wedding.  What John seems to describe as a family event with friends and neighbors, Veronese has set on a much larger scale.  Still, between the feasting and the musicians and attendees hanging from the columns we still have the servants in the lower right working with the water jars.  Jesus and Mary are identified by their halos.

We left the hill top village of Pienza, Italy and carefully navigated our way down a very steep trail.  About halfway down the hill side we came to a small chapel carved out of the rock, estimated to be about 1,500 years ago.  The family which currently owns the property is busy reclaiming several Etruscan cave sites and came upon this chapel.   They know it is a chapel because on the back wall was carved this Madonna and Child.  What it tells us is that 1,500 years ago, Jesus was very real and known throughout the Italy.

Christ Rising From The Dead

Žitomislić Monastery, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Church of the Annunciation