I. Jesus is Condemned to Death
Kevin Vandivier

I spent most of the fall working with images in PhotoShop trying to create an image that best communicated Jesus being condemned to death. Nothing worked. I then began to wonder what it must have been like to be close to Jesus in the flesh. Then to hear He was condemned to die a brutal and slow death. The wind is sucked out of you. For a moment you are disoriented by shock. Disbelief tries to deny the truth. It's kind of like when you first heard the shuttle exploded or disintegrated, but much worse. You finally breathe and are emotionally turned inside out…ANGUISH! I decided to print several images I have of various people in the midst of sudden emotional pain. I printed the images on very special paper and was ready to hang the images for the show. I laid the images out for a final viewing when I got up the next morning. I arose to discover my daughter was using the images as a place mat for her breakfast, which was spilling over and ruining the pictures. Before any anger could rise, I felt the Lord reject these images and He placed one image in my mind that has represented the darkest hour in my life. I asked my wife Leslie her feelings about the other images and she voiced her preference for the same image that the Lord had reminded me about. Chosen by God, this image now hangs here. The emotion is ominous. You know that a dark time has begun, but you also know that like the weather, this darkness is temporary.

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