Jesus’ 39 stripes

Acrylic, reproduction, orig. 80×120 cm     

The thought that came to my mind during the process of making this painting, was that Jesus took all infirmities on Himself. Diseases are the result of the Fall, which didn’t just separate God and human beings, but also caused infirmities. Jesus was -among other things- scourged before He was crucified. Isaiah 53 verse 5 (last bit) says: “with His stripes we are healed”. I wanted to express that Jesus broke the power of every infirmity by being scourged. By His glory and power He broke down the impact of them. We can receive healing because of what He went through. His 39 stripes (as was determined by the Romans) have become a cause for your and my healing. Each blow truly crossed out the infirmity in the broadest sense of the word. Regarding body, soul, and spirit (13 each, an impression I got from God). Physical illnesses like e.g. cancer and AIDS. Mental suffering, because of e.g. fear and depression. Last but not least: spiritual distress resulting in e.g. emptiness and darkness. Each word engraved in the wall of suffering is forever deleted. With His (39) stripes we can all be healed!      

P.s. 1. The infirmities in the painting are in the order of body, spirit, and soul.     

P.s. 2. Translation of the 39 Dutch infirmities into English (revealed to me by God): cancer, debt, depression, autism, loneliness, fear, asthma, feeling forsaken by God, blocked feelings, AIDS, bondage, compulsion, flu, fallacy, stress, allergy, rebellion, passiveness, inflammation, sin, rejection, epilepsy, spiritual desert, addiction, paralysis, dullness, shame, dementia, emptiness, pride, heart condition, darkness, grief, diabetes, miscommunication, manipulation, deformity, selfishness, and anger.    

P.s. 3. Summary of an interactive preaching I did on this topic