Jesus, the Good Shepherd and the Sermon on the Mount

Many years ago, Ken and I had the opportunity to travel to Israel. We saw and did so much during our brief visit, but the highlight of our trip inspired me to paint one of the largest canvases I ever attempted.

One sunny afternoon, toward the end of our visit to the Holy Land, we drove high up on a hill overlooking the ruins of Capernaum. We got out and wandered through a field to a natural amphitheater tucked on the side of the hill. The tour buses had all moved on, and the quiet hillside was serene and beautiful. Ken turned to face the Sea of Galilee and began to recite the Sermon on the Mount (he had committed it all to memory, Matthew chapters 5-7)! During the almost 15 minutes that he spoke each verse by heart, the sound of his voice and the way it carried caught my imagination. I could easily envision throngs of people coming to sit on a hillside somewhere nearby to listen to the same riveting message from Jesus.

When we got home, I couldn’t wait to paint the scene as I imagined it, Jesus standing tall and the people leaning in to catch every word.

With a specific goal in mind, I selected a 24” by 48” canvas for my oil rendering. It was so large that at times my friends had to flip it on its side or upside down so I could reach the far edges. I wanted the painting to be big enough to give the viewer room to be drawn in. Borrowing from other scriptural images, I created a compositional line with a flock of sheep, making it appear as though they moved toward the center of the painting. I hoped they would invite the observer to walk the same path and reach the feet of Jesus, the Good Shepherd.

This painting took a long time to finish – I spent more than a year dabbing paint on every square inch (capturing the sun’s reflection on the water seemed to take forever). But it was important for me to convey the moment described in Matthew 5: “Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them, saying: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’”

I wanted to remind the viewer to sit often at the Savior’s feet, always gleaning fresh insights from his Sermon on the Mount.

I’d like to think that the painting will remind you to do the same.

– Joni Eareckson Tada