Jesus at Matthew's Banquet
09/21/10 06:06 Filed in: Forgiveness
Within each one of us there exists a tremendous potential for good and evil. At times, we may appear almost Christ-like and at other times like the Devil himself. But, always, Jesus keeps calling us to follow Him. How we respond to His call will ultimately decide the answer to the question: what manner of man or woman is this?
“What manner of man is this?” The question about Jesus, which the Pharisees raised at Matthew's banquet, is one that has challenged every artist who has ever attempted to capture the Lord's likeness on canvas. None has been more successful than Leonardo DaVinci in his painting of The Last Supper. According to legend, the first figure that DaVinci painted was Jesus Himself. Hundreds of young men throughout Rome applied for the honor with the winner being a young baker chosen because his countenance revealed the compassion, strength and grace of Jesus.
The entire fresco took three years to complete as DaVinci painted first one apostle and then another. Finally, the great master came to the last figure, Judas Iscariot, the betrayer. He chose as his model a cut-throat murderer awaiting execution in a Roman dungeon. The man’s face, hardened by greed and despair, seemed to capture the essence of Judas’ spirit. Dragged from his prison cell by the guards, the man sat sullenly as DaVinci painted him.
Finally, the artist put down his paintbrush and said to the guards, “I have finished with him. You may take him away.”
But as the jailers took hold of the man, a tear rolled down his cheek. “Master,” he said to DaVinci, “after all this while, do you not recognize me?”
“Recognize you?”DaVinci asked.
“Three years ago,” the prisoner said, “I was the model for your figure of the Christ.”
There is no telling whether the legend is true. But there can be no doubt about the underlying truth of its message: within each one of us there exists a tremendous potential for good and evil. Levi, the tax collector, became Matthew, the evangelist. We are capable of great change; it's up to us to change for the better. Oscar Wilde put it this way: "Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future."
At the banquet celebrating Matthew's conversion, Jesus showed how quick He is to forgive and forget. When the Pharisees criticized His compassion, He simply responded by saying, “They that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what this meaneth, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Jesus invites all of us – saints and sinners alike – to join Him at the heavenly banquet. How we respond to His invitation will ultimately decide the answer to the question: what manner of man or woman is this?
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