Gospel in Art: Alas for you lawyers who have taken away the key of knowledge!

Whistlejacket, by George Stubbs, 1762 © National Gallery, London

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 19 October 2023
Luke 11:47-54

Jesus said: 'Alas for you who build the tombs of the prophets, the men your ancestors killed! In this way you both witness what your ancestors did and approve it; they did the killing, you do the building.

'And that is why the Wisdom of God said, "I will send them prophets and apostles; some they will slaughter and persecute, so that this generation will have to answer for every prophet's blood that has been shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was murdered between the altar and the sanctuary." Yes, I tell you, this generation will have to answer for it all.

'Alas for you lawyers who have taken away the key of knowledge! You have not gone in yourselves, and have prevented others going in who wanted to.'

When he left the house, the scribes and the Pharisees began a furious attack on him and tried to force answers from him on innumerable questions, setting traps to catch him out in something he might say.

Reflection on the painting

Quite gruesome words in todays' Gospel reading: 'this generation will have to answer for every prophet's blood that has been shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah'. In this short passage 'blood' gets mentioned three times. Whilst our first reaction to the word 'blood' might be one of gore and fright, blood isn't that at all when we speak about the blood of Christ. His blood is life-giving! His blood is our salvation!

Jesus talks about the blood of the prophets though in order to criticise the 'experts' in Jewish religious law for taking away the key of knowledge. Their study should have given them access to God's truth and to the person of Jesus who was the full revelation of God's truth. However, they are the very ones rejecting Jesus now and are instructing others to follow suit. Jesus was always very critical of those who were an obstacle to other people coming to faith in him. As we grow in our relationship with Jesus, we should also make it easier for others to come to Christ and not be an obstacle by the way we speak or behave.

Today's reading made me think of horse-racing and how obstacles slow down the race for all involved. The fewer obstacles, the better and more smoothly the race can be run. So we should not be an obstacle to helping people get to Christ. The road towards him is already paved with enough obstacles: we don't need to add any!

Our painting by George Stubbs from 1762 depicts Whistlejacket, the Marquess of Rockingham's racehorse. The horse is painted life-size, rearing up against a plain background. I have stood many times in front of this painting in the National Gallery in London. It is stunning! Stubbs has painted the muscular details of the horse with breathtaking precision. The Fitzwilliam family, heirs of the childless Rockingham, retained the painting until 1997, when funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund allowed the National Gallery to acquire it for £11 million.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's Reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/luke-11-47-54-2023/