Proclaim and Praise Lent Devotional - Book - Page 51
Proclaim and Praise: A Lenten Journey for Abiding in Christ
DAY 19
One Portrait, Four Artists
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard,
which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at
and our hands have touched4this we proclaim concerning
the Word of life.
1 John 1:2
O
n an Oxford trip several summers ago, I visited the
summer house of Winston Churchill. It was very
evident that the rotund Winston Churchill had many
sides to his personality. In a picture hanging on the wall, the
stern, grim-faced Churchill sits with President Roosevelt.
Another portrait shows his more light-hearted side with his
family at tea, and there is another picture of him giving the
victory sign during World War II. It was the same Winston
Churchill, but each painting showed different sides of the man.
That is what you actually see when you read the Gospels.
Four biographers are writing about the same subject, yet they
highlight different aspects of Jesus. Matthew often draws
your attention to Jesus as the teacher. Mark portrays the
humanity of Jesus. Luke speaks of Jesus as the one who
cares for those who are marginalized, rejected, and
dehumanized. John9s writing is Christocentric in that every
passage points to Christ as the Messiah. Notice that, though
each writer emphasizes different aspects of Jesus9 character,
