40: The Gospels Gallery
Artist’s Statement
Over my 30-year professional art career, I’ve often explored Biblical themes. My love of animals and children initially had me painting a lot of Noah’s Ark images! As my style evolved, so did the breadth of the stories I explored. Finally, in 2015, I took on the entire Biblical narrative in my first large format art book, 40: The Biblical Story.
Fast forward, and I am sitting on the Mount of the Beatitudes, overlooking the Sea of Galilee as my friend (and trip leader) Josh compares how the book of Luke lays out the beatitudes differently than the book of Matthew. I suddenly realize why I am drawn to the Gospel of Luke—because it deeply explores themes of justice.
That trip helped spark my interest in exploring how the different Gospel writers were writing to different audiences and emphasizing different themes. Over many months, and with a lot of great input from people who know more than me, I developed ideas for a new set of 40 images.
I hope you will find some joy and inspiration in this collection. As with most of my work, I juxtapose kid-like drawings and text to help the viewer see things from a fresh perspective. I’ve also woven in some visual choices to draw out the different themes. For instance, you’ll find Old Testament clues in Matthew. In Mark, which is written with so much action, I’ve added elements of comic books for emphasis. The justice themes of Luke are underlined with all of the action taking place on the flat places—down from the hills where the powerful reside. Finally, John, with its focus on Christ’s divinity, is filled with beams of light from above. I hope these choices make “walking through the gallery” even more interesting.
Enjoy!
Joel
Sooper Wize Men — The Wize Men came a long ways looking for Jesus. They went to Hairud, the sooper rich important guy in charge, cuz they figyerd Jesus would be a powerful king. Hairud got all nervus about Jesus and wanted them to tell him where he was. When they found Jesus they saw he didn’t come from sum rich important famly. Cuz Jesus did things difrently (and wants us to) even when he was little. Then the Wize Men went home by anuther way. The seenic root probly.
REPENT! — Peeple went into the wilderness to see John the Baptist cuz he was so wild. He wore itchy camle clothes! He ate honey-covered bugs! Plus he yelled a lot. Stuff like, “REPENT!” - wich meens stop doing bad stuff, tern around and do the opozit (good suff). Wich they should of lerned in kindergarten! But people can be slow lerners sometimes.
Triple Dog Dare! — Jesus went into the wilderness and fasted for 40 days and 40 nites. Wich meens he didn’t eat! Then as if that wasn’t hard enuff, the devil came along. The devil kept daring Jesus to do stuff like tern stones into bred. Jesus kept saying things from this Bible back to the devil, so in the end the devil couldn’t talk Jesus into doing anything. Not even if he triple dog dared him.
BE-Atitoods — Jesus tawt the peeple what to BE like. Stuff like BE mersiful and BE peacemakers and BE meek. Wich is weerd to most peeple, cuz no one normly tells you to be meek unless you are a mouse. He also said BE salt and BE lite. Those make more sense cuz evryone loves salty snacks and nite lites. They call these sayings the BE-Atitoods. Cuz your atitood should BE like this probly.
Froot Trees and Bad Sheep Clothes — Jesus talked about how to tell if peeple are reely following God rite. Cuz they mite reely be wolfs in sheeps clothes! Wich you should be able to see. But peeple arn’t too observint. Peeple who follow God rite grow good froot trees. Otherwise they grow bad froot trees. The good ones are probly organic.
The Kingdum of Heaven is Awsum! — Jesus tried to point peeple to the Promissed Land Kingdum of Heaven by giving examples. Like the Kingdum is awsum and worth serching for like berried treshure. But maybe it’s hard to see at first like a itty bitty musterd seed. In the end, sum peeple go the rite way (and do the rite stuff) and are like weet or good fish. Others are like weeds or bad fish. Bad fish are like leftovers hiding in your fridgerator too long. PU!
Pair of Bulls — Jesus talked a lot to his desiples about farming. What he said were a Pair of Bulls, cuz sum farmers raise aminals. He told this story where this farmer hired difrent workers at difrent times of the day but evryone got paid the exact same. It has sumthing to do with how God is happy to have you come join in the work whenever you are redy. Don’t try the same thing with your mom when it’s time to clean your room tho.
Sheep Team vs. Goat Team — One day Jesus will come back and see if you did what you were sposed to do. You’d think that would be saying all the rite stuff and being sooper nice. But it terns out that your sposed to help peeple who are hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, or in prison and that’s like helping Jesus. Then you get to be on the Sheep Team. If not, your on the Goat Team. Wich has a way werse Coach.
Over-Acheever — Jesus got to work. He sed, “Repent! Here comes God’s Kingdum!” Then he picked up sum desiples who used to be fishermen and sed, “Let’s go!” Then they ran into a guy with an evil spirit and Jesus sed, “Get out of there!” Then he did sum heeling and sum preaching and more heeling and he was just getting started. Jesus was sort of an over-acheever.
Good Frends — So many peeple followed Jesus around that these guys couldn’t get in to see Jesus with their paralized frend. So they dug a hole in the roof and lowered him down. Jesus was so impressed he heeled the guy AND forgave his sins. Cuz Jesus knew how to get things dun! Corse, the next thing he had to get dun was get a new roof.
Sinner Dinner — Jesus asked this tax colecter named Levi to be a desiple and then invited himself to dinner. The relijus peeple complained how Jesus ate with sinners and tax colecters. Jesus was like, “This is my mishun.” He was talking about being with sinners. Not about having dinner. Dinner was just bonus.
Snack Time — One Sabith day, Jesus and his desiples walked thru sum grain feelds picking grain to eat cuz they wer hungry. Jewish peeple (wich is what the desiples wer) weren’t sposed to do stuff on the Sabith and the relijus peeple got mad at them. Jesus sed, “The Sabith was made for peeple.” Wich was his way of saying, “THIS ‘peeple’ is hungry.” Cuz even Jesus needed snack time.
Calm Down — Jesus and his desiples wer crossing a lake and Jesus was so worn out he took a nap. The waves wer so big the desiples got scared and woke Jesus up. Jesus told the wind and waves to calm down and they did. That reely freeked the desiples out. Jesus was like, “you gotta calm down too”. Or sumthing like that.
I Heart My Dog — This woman from another place (Seerofaneeshea?) came and asked Jesus to get a demon out of her dawter. Jesus told her he had to take care of these other children ferst. But she didn’t give up. Plus she must of had a dog too cuz she threw in that she needed sum dog food. So Jesus heeled her dawter. Jesus was a dog luver too.
Mishun Cerv Ball — For a wile it seemed like Jesus’ job was to teech peeple about God and then show them how awsum God is by heeling the sick ones. Like one day he heeled this blind guy. It took 2 tries, but hey – Jesus was only human too you know. But then he started telling his desiples that the cross was gonna happen (wich upset them cuz how can it not?). But hey – Jesus was only God too you know.
Camles Arn't That Skinny — This rich guy asked Jesus what God wants him to do. Jesus told him the 10 commandments, wich the guy alredy did so he was happy. Then Jesus told him to sell all his stuff. The guy was sad cuz he reely liked his stuff. It terns out it’s eezier for camles to go throo the eye of a needle then for sum peeple to give up their stuff for Jesus. That guy probly put his camle on a super big diet after that.
Having Babees — Zekeriuh was doing important preest stuff when an angle told him that even tho his wife Elizabeth was old she was gonna have a baby! He was so blown away he couldn’t speek. Then an angle went and told this ordinary girl Mary that she was gonna have a baby and the dad was God! Elizabeth and Mary got together and Elizabeth’s baby jumped around the woom and Mary sang. Sort of a baby dance party.
Harold Angles — Jesus was borned in a place where aminals live and laid in sum hay. Wich is wild cuz him being the son of God and all. Wile this was going on, angles told a bunch of sheperds about it. Sheperds wer not important peeple back then. But that’s not how God saw it. So God gave them an angle kwire concert! The angles wer all named Harold.
Practice What You Preech — When Jesus switched jobs from being a carpenter to being a preecher he went to his home church. He read a Bible scroll that said he was gonna be good news for the poor, and help blind peeple, opressed peeple, prizners, and pretty much evryone who needs help. They all got mad at him, but the thing is – Jesus went rite out and kicked out demons and heeled sick peeple and even heeled a leper by touching him. Cuz probly the Bible scroll also sed “practice what you preech.”
Bad Beech House — Jesus had lots to say about what’s good and what’s bad. Good = being poor, hungry, weepy, loving your emenies, taking logs out of your eye. Bad = rich, full, being judgy, just being nice to peeple who love you. If you lissen to Jesus then you are like a house on a big rock. If not, you are like a house on sand. And not the sooper nice beech house kind.
Who is My Naybor? — Jesus told this guy your sposed to #1 love God, and #2 love your nayber. The guy was like, “who is my naybor?” Jesus told about this Jewish guy who got beetin up. All these relijuss peeple walked by and did nothing! But the Good Samaritin helped even tho Samaritins and Jews didn’t normly get along. He put on band-aids, gave him a ride on his donky, and took him to the Holiday Inn. So the anser is: your naybor is anyone who needs help no matter where they come from. (Luckly these days you don’t need a donky to help.)
Birds Arn't Grumpy — Jesus had lots to say about being greedy. Like this story about a greedy guy who had so much stuff he had to bild bigger and bigger barns to hold it all. Then he croked. The End. Wich is a pretty short story. But then Jesus was like, “Don’t werry about getting stuff. Do God stuff. If your wondering how not to werry be like a bird or a flower.” He’s rite. You reely never hear birds or flowers complaining.
Let the Children Play — Jesus sed, “let the children come to me”, wich is another one of those times Jesus was serprising cuz he didn’t ever pick rich, important peeple. Then he said we are all sposed to act more like kids when it comes to God! Probly cuz church is more fun for kids cuz of crafts and snacks and stuff.
The Word — In the begining was the Word. And the Word was God and helped make evrything. Lite. And aminals. And peeple. All of it. It turns out that the Word is Jesus! Then a long time later the Word became flesh. Wich meens that God put on a body, and Jesus was borned, and we can know what God is like. That Word is “wow.”
Lams and Duvs — John the Baptist was out in the wilderness helping peeple get redy for Jesus. When Jesus went to get baptized John sed, “Look! It’s the Lam of God who takes away sins!” Wich is a pretty big thing to say about a person. Then he saw a dove come down from heaven on top of Jesus. Wich is wild. Exsept John was probly used to having aminals around.
Big Deel — Jesus asked this Samariten woman for water. Normly Jewish men didn’t tawk to Samariten women so it was a pretty big deel. They talked about all this relijus stuff, and that’s a big deel too. Jesus told her he’d give her living water, and THEN he told her he was the Messiuh (that he came from God)! Wich is the Biggest Deel! She ran off to tell evrybody in town. Jesus was probly like, “Um, is it OK if I borrow your water jar?” cuz Jesus lived in Bible Times and it’s hot there.
Family Bizness — In Jerusalem there was a pool where if you got into the bubbles in time it could make you better. There was a sick guy who’d ben laying there years and years and years, so Jesus heeled him (but Jesus didn’t need bubbles.) The problem was that it was the Sabith, wich was evryone’s day off, and peeple got mad at him for working. Jesus sed, “Like Father, like son.” Cuz Jesus was part of the Family Bizness.
Big Lunch — This ginormous crowd was following Jesus around cuz he was doing cool stuff like making sick peeple not sick. But it was time to eat and no one had food except for this one kid had bred and fish. It’s lucky for all those peeple that Jesus was God so he could make that one kid’s lunch into a picnic for 5000 peeple! It would of ben even luckier if that kid had packed pizza.
The Good Sheperd — Jesus sed, “I am the Good Sheperd.” The Good Sheperd knows all his sheep’s names. And there’s a gazillion of them. He duzn’t run away when wolfs come. Or lions or tigers or bears even. He even lays his life down for the sheep! That’s the job his Father gave him. That’s a big job! Jesus should of sed, “I am the Sooper Dooper Amazing Great Sheperd”.
That Duzn't Stink! — Jesus’ frend Lazarus got sooper sick. His sisters, Mary and Martha, sent for Jesus. But befor Jesus got there Lazarus died. Jesus told Martha, “I am the rezurekshun and the life.” Martha was like, “Yep! Your God’s son! But I wish you were here so my brother didn’t die.” Jesus told them to open the toom. Martha sed, “That’s gonna stink!” But Lazarus walked out alive! So Martha sed, “Oh! That duzn’t stink at all!”
Triumfant Parade — Jesus and his desiples got near Jerusalem. Jesus sent them to get a donky and a colt for him, just like the Bible sed would happen. His followers got super excited and put down clokes for him and waved branches and cheered. The rest of the crowds in Jerusalem wer like, “Who the heck is that guy?” But they probly still liked waching what was going on. Cuz who duzn’t like a parade?
Living Room Gift Shop — After Jesus’ “triumfent entry” he went over to the Temple, wich is God’s house, wich makes it his house. He got mad and started nocking things over cuz peeple wer selling stuff and Jesus sed, “Your sposed to be praying not robbing peeple!” You’d be mad too if you came home and found a gift shop set up in your living room.
No Dezert — Jesus and his desiples had a Passover meel. Passover is from when the Izreelites wer saved by God in Ejipt. While they wer eating he gave them bred and sed, “this is my body”, and wine and sed, “this is my blud”. He also told them that one of them was gonna betray him! So they probly just skipped dezert.
Wake Up Call — Jesus took his desiples to the Garden of Gethseminee so he could pray. Jesus was pretty werked up cuz the cross was about to happen. He was like, “Hey Dad, can we do this difrently? Whatever you say tho.” Meenwile, his desiples kept falling asleep! Then a big crowd with sords and clubs came to arrest Jesus. That for sher woke them up.
Hangry Desishun Making — Erly in the morning, the Jewish leeders brawt Jesus to the Roman leeder named Ponty S. Pilot. Mr. Pilot could tell that Jesus didn’t do anything rong. He was redy to let Jesus go and get on with his day but the peeple yelled and yelled and he got anoyed and ordered Jesus croosified. Wich duzn’t seem fair. Mr. Pilot probly hadn’t had brekfast yet and was getting hangry.
Dedline — Jesus was put on a cross even tho he didn’t do anything rong. He went anyway so that all our sins can be forgiven if we just ask. It’s the job God gave him to do. There were two robbers next to him who did do stuff rong. One of them asked Jesus to forgive him and Jesus did! Rite there on the cross! Talk about just beating a dedline.
Ta Da! — After all that talk of laying his life down for his sheep that’s exactly what Jesus did. (Wich tells you a lot about God.) But then on Easter Jesus wasn’t ded anymore! (Wich tells you a lot about God too probly.) He snuck up on his good frend Mary in the garden. He just started talking to her. He could of at leest sed, “Surprize!” or “Ta Da!” or sumthing.
Keep Fishing — One nite, after Jesus was alive agin, Peter and sum desiples went fishing. But they didn’t catch a thing. The next morning Jesus was there but they didn’t know it was him. He yelled what to do, and then they cawt a zillion fish so they knew it was Jesus! Peter was so exsited he jumped out of the boat! Then they all ate a fish brekfist. There’s probly a lesson in there about how Jesus wants us to keep on fishing. Or jump out of boats. Or try new things for brekfist maybe?
Eat Up Evryone! — Peter saw sum aminals on a flying carpet and herd a voice say, “Eat up!” But the aminals wer ones Jews wern’t sposed to eat (all the ferst Christians started out as Jews). Peter lerned that Jesus was for EVERYONE! Since that day, Jesus’ love has ben told all over the werld to all sorts of peeple. Even peeple who eat weerd stuff.