Behold the Man

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. ~ Isaiah 53:3-5

I painted this piece from the perspective of the crowd; we would be lower looking up at him. His hands are tied in front of him showing the willing sacrifice that he made – presenting his hands to be bound. As I was preparing a crown of thorns for reference, it brought me to tears to think that a man would have the brutality to actually weave the crown of thorns – it hurt my fingers as I twisted and wove it together. ~ Simon Dewey

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