Passed Over

I created this piece back in high school as part of a series. In it I illustrated the Old and New Testament of the Bible in sequence. This piece was... more

by Allison Davis

Title

Passed Over

Artist

Allison Davis

Medium

Drawing - Pen And Acrylic Paint On Illustration Board

Description

I created this piece back in high school as part of a series. In it I illustrated the Old and New Testament of the Bible in sequence. This piece was entitled “Passed Over” connecting the story of the passover in Egypt to the prophecy of the Messiah stated in Isaiah.

The doorpost represents the last plague of Egypt in the story recorded in Exodus. In it, the angel of death smote the first born of every household, however those who had the lamb’s blood on their doorposts were passed over. “The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt,” (Exodus 12:13.) As stated in the scriptures, the blood was meant for a sign. A young lamb was taken without spot or blemish.

The lamb in the image represents the illustration depicted in Isaiah of the Messiah as our Passover lamb. According to the prophecy in Isaiah 53, he will be the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all,” (Isaiah 53:5-6). “He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so he did not open His mouth,” (Isaiah 53:7). For it was revealed in Hosea that the desire of God is to show mercy to his people, not sacrifice. “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings,” (Hosea 6:6).

The overlapping nails in the image are reminiscent of the nails through which Jesus of Nazareth was pierced over 2,000 years ago on a cross. In Deuteronomy it states “anyone who is nailed to a tree is under God’s curse.” (Deuteronomy 21:23). According to the Bible, it spoke of what was to come, that Jesus would be placed under God’s curse for our sins and receive the due penalty of God’s punishment on himself that we deserved. In the book of Numbers, due to the complaining of the Israelites against God in the wilderness, he sent serpents to strike their heels. Many Israelites died. When Moses prayed to the Lord for the people to take the snakes away, the Lord told him, “make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” (Numbers 21:8). In the same way, the Bible teaches that Jesus was nailed to a pole that anyone who might look on him will be saved. Each of us has gone astray but the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. So place your hope in Christ, and live.

Uploaded

August 1st, 2022