I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep.
~John 10:15-16

Image: Dupre, Julien, 1851-1910. The Good Shepherd, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=54256 [retrieved April 4, 2024]. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/2202377733/.

While they were talking about this, Jesus[a] himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost.
~Luke 24:36-37

Image: Anonymous. Jesus - the Holy Mural, The Way Jesus Christ Christian Church, New Orleans, LA; from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=58372 [retrieved April 4, 2024]. Original source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/volvob12b/48740737607.

After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
~John 21:1-3

Image: “Feed My Sheep” by the Rev. Nicolette Peñaranda, A Sanctified Art | sanctifiedart.org

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body.
~ Luke 24:1-3

“Easter Sunday,” He Qi, copyright 2021, All Rights Reserved.

So they took Jesus, and carrying the cross by himself he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. There they crucified him and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth,[e] the King of the Jews.”
~ John 19:16b-19

“Were You There"?” by Rev. Lisle Gwinn Garrity, A Sanctified Art | sanctifiedart.org

Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
~ John 13:1

Image: “The Golden Hour” by the Rev. Nicolette Peñaranda, A Sanctified Art | sanctifiedart.org

The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting,

“Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord—
    the King of Israel!”
~John 12:12-13

Image: “Then They Remembered” by Rev. Lisle Gwinn Garrity, A Sanctified Art | sanctifiedart.org.

Soon afterward [Jesus] went on through one town and village after another, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who ministered to them[a] out of their own resources.
~Luke 8:1-3

Image: Mary Magdalene by He Qi. Artist’s website: https://www.heqiart.com/store/p158/24_Mary-Magdalene_Limited_Edition.html.

Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if my brother or sister sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.
~Matthew 18:21-22

Image: Seventy-seven times by Lauren Wright Pittman, | A Sanctified Art | sanctifiedart.org

If I speak in the tongues of humans and of angels but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.
~ 1 Corinthians 13:1-2

Eyck, Hubert van, 1366-1426; Eyck, Jan van, 1390-1440. Altar of the Mystical Lamb - Angels Singing and Making Music, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=49624 [retrieved February 20, 2024]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hubert_van_Eyck_017.jpg.

From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and on the third day be raised.
~Matthew 16:21

Image: “Beseeching” by Hannah Garrity, courtesy of A Sanctified Art | sanctifiedart.org

Then he went home, and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.” And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.”
~ Mark 3:20-22

Beelzebub - portrayed with rabbit ears, a tiger's face, scaled body, clawed fingers and bird's legs. From Compendium rarissimum totius Artis Magicae sistematisatae per celeberrimos Artis hujus Magistros. Anno 1057. Noli me tangere. Date: c.1775. https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/obf_images/ee/3a/6c0d92055a36e42a9fcf1c866cd3.jpg. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.
~Matthew 16:15-17

Image: “Who do you say I am?” by Lauren Wright Pittman, | A Sanctified Art | sanctifiedart.org

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty, and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
~Isaiah 6:1-3

Image: Medieval Seraph, source unknown. Public Domain

Immediately {Jesus] made the disciples get into a boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land,[a] for the wind was against them.  And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea.
~Matthew 14:22-25

Image: “Lift-Off” by the Rev. Nicolette Penaranda, courtesy of A Sanctified Art | sanctifiedart.org

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”
~Matthew 4:1-11

Cover: Tissot, James, 1836-1902. Jesus Carried up to a Pinnacle of the Temple, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=54302 [retrieved February 14, 2024]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brooklyn_Museum_-_Jesus_Carried_up_to_a_Pinnacle_of_the_Temple_(J%C3%A9sus_port%C3%A9_sur_le_pinacle_du_Temple)_-_James_Tissot_-_overall.jpg.

Once while Jesus was standing beside the Lake of Gennesaret and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.
~Luke 5:1-3

Image: River of Grace by Lisle Wynn Garrity | A Sanctified Art | sanctifiedart.org

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and put a new and right[b] spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
    and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and sustain in me a willing spirit.
~Psalm 51:10-12

Design elements by the Rev. Lauren Wright Pittman | A Sanctified Art | sanctifiedart.org.

Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.
~ 2 Kings 2:1-2

Image: Koenig, Peter. Elijah and Elisha, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=58492 [retrieved February 1, 2024]. Original source: Peter Winfried (Canisius) Koenig, https://www.pwkoenig.co.uk/.

As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

That evening, at sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed by demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door.

~Mark 1:29-33

Image: Israeli Boy, source unknown.

Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.
~Mark 1:23-26

Image: Friesach, Konrad von. Jesus Casts Out the Unclean Spirit, the Cathedral of Gurk, Carinthia, Austria, ca. 1450. from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56402 [retrieved January 6, 2024]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fastentuch_Gurker_Dom_Daemonenaustreibung_30032007.jpg.

As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.”
~Mark 1:16-17

Image: Tissot, James, 1836-1902. Calling of Saint James and Saint John, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56290 [retrieved January 20, 2024]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brooklyn_Museum_-_The_Calling_of_Saint_James_and_Saint_John_(Vocation_de_Saint_Jacques_et_de_Saint_Jean)_-_James_Tissot_-_overall.jpg.

At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called, “Samuel! Samuel!” and he said, “Here I am!” and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down.
~1 Samuel 3:2-5

Image: Wesley, Frank, 1923-2002. The Call to Samuel, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=59172 [retrieved January 6, 2024]. Original source: Estate of Frank Wesley, http://www.frankwesleyart.com/main_page.htm.

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” ~ Mark 1:9-11

Image: Zelenka, Dave. Baptism of Christ (painting, 2005), from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56385 [retrieved January 6, 2024]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Baptism-of-Christ.jpg.

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.
~Isaiah 61:10-11

Image: copyright P. Raube

Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
~Luke 2:4-7

Image: Le Breton, Jacques ; Gaudin, Jean. Nativity, Stained-glass composition by J. Le Breton (glass studio of Gaudin, Paris), 1933, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=51556 [retrieved November 4, 2023]. Original source: Image donated by Jim Womack and Anne Richardson.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.
~John 1:1-4

Image: Fortt, Annette Gandy. Choir, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56020 [retrieved November 7, 2023]. Original source: annettefortt.com.

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to provide for those who mourn in Zion— to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.
~Isaiah 61:1-3

Image: copyright P. Raube

A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
~Isaiah 40:3-5

Image: copyright P. Raube

And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
or he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant.
~Luke 1:46-48

Wesley, Frank, 1923-2002. Red Magnificat, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=59177 [retrieved November 3, 2023]. Original source: Estate of Frank Wesley, http://www.frankwesleyart.com/main_page.htm.
Wesley was born in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh into a fifth generation Christian family of Hindu and Muslim descent. He belongs to the Lucknow school of painting. His paintings reflect this influence and that of the Chughtai school of painting that flourished in India at the turn of the century. Wesley made art based on both biblical and secular themes. He used water colours, oil paintings, miniatures and wooden carvings.