The Trip to the Jordan

This scene depicts our Lord, Jesus as a child with his second cousin, John the Baptist playing in the River Jordan. Their mothers, Mary and Elizabeth are seen in the distance. Jesus stands on top of a rock with his arms stretched out, while John goes into the River before Jesus. A dove flies above the boys, which symbolises the Holy Spirit. A flock of sheep drinks from the river. A feature I did not notice until someone pointed it out to me was the rope belt around Christ’s waist, it symbolises the ichthys, also known as the Jesus fish.

On a trip to the National Gallery in London in July 2021, I felt that the Biblical paintings were trying to speak to me. I then felt God’s presence, He wanted me to paint for Him, and become a painter of Biblical subjects. This was the first image He provided me on that day and I set to work on it as soon as I could.