Holy Week Illustrated By James Tissot: Monday
The Accursed Fig Tree
Mark 11:12-14: "The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, 'May no one ever eat fruit from you again.' And his disciples heard him say it."
Mark 11:19-25: "When evening came, they went out of the city.
"In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, 'Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!' 'Have faith in God,' Jesus answered. 'I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, "Go, throw yourself into the sea," and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.'"
From Dom Guéranger's The Liturgical Year:
"This morning, also, Jesus goes with His disciples to Jerusalem. . . . He approaches a fig-tree, which is by the way-side; but finds nothing on it, save leaves only. Jesus, wishing to give us an instruction, curses the fig-tree, which immediately withers away. He would hereby teach us what they are to expect, who have nothing but good desires, and never produce in themselves the fruit of a real conversion. Nor is the allusion to Jerusalem less evident. This city is zealous for the exterior of divine worship; but her heart is hard and obstinate, and she is plotting, at this very hour, the death of the Son of God."
Merchants Chased from the Temple, the Cleansing of the Temple
Mark 11:15-17: "On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts."
And as he taught them, he said, 'Is it not written: "My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations?" But you have made it "a den of robbers."'"
Jesus Forbids Carrying of Loads in the Forecourt of the Temple
Mark 11:16: [Jesus] would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.
Jesus Heals the Lame in the Temple
Matthew 21:14-16: "The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, 'Hosanna to the Son of David,' they were indignant.
"'Do you hear what these children are saying?' they asked him.
"'Yes,' replied Jesus, 'have you never read, "'From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise"?'"
Jesus Goes in the Evening to Bethany
Matthew 21:17: "And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night."
From Dom Guéranger's The Liturgical Year:
"At length, Jesus leaves the temple, and takes the road that leads to Bethania. Having come as far as Mount Olivet, which commands a view of Jerusalem, He sits down and rests awhile. The disciples take this opportunity of asking Him how soon the chastisements He has been speaking of in the temple will come upon the city. His answer comprises two events: the destruction of Jerusalem, and the final destruction of the world. He thus teaches them that the first is the figure of the second. The time when each is to happen, is to be when the measure of iniquity is filled up. But, with regard to the chastisement that is to befall Jerusalem, He gives this more definite answer: ‘Amen I say to you: this generation shall not pass till all these things be done.’ History tells us how this prophecy of Jesus was fulfilled: forty years had scarcely elapsed after His Ascension, when the Roman army encamped on this very place where He is now speaking to His disciples, and laid siege to the ungrateful and wicked city. After giving a prophetic description of that last judgment, which is to rectify all the unjust judgments of men, He leaves Mount Olivet, returns to Bethania, and consoles the anxious heart of His most holy Mother."
This is one of a series of posts for Holy Week.
Holy Week Illustrated by James Tissot: Palm Sunday
Holy Week Illustrated by James Tissot: Monday
Holy Week Illustrated by James Tissot: Tuesday
Holy Week Illustrated by James Tissot: Wednesday
Holy Week Illustrated by James Tissot: Holy Thursday
Holy Week Illustrated by James Tissot: Good Friday
Holy Week Illustrated by James Tissot: Holy Saturday
Holy Week Illustrated by James Tissot: Easter Sunday
After his conversion back to the faith of his childhood, James Jacques Tissot, French realist painter of worldly scenes, took three arduous trips to the Holy Land to seek out and record authentic details about the people, the landscape, the architecture, and the way of life. On his return he created a series of goache (opaque watercolor) illustrations of the life of Christ.
In 1896, the illustrations went on a trans-Atlantic tour to be displayed in London, New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago, and they attracted throngs wherever they were shown. In 1900, the illustrations along with Tissot's preliminary drawings and notes were purchased on the advice of John Singer Sargent to be the centerpiece collection of the newly formed Brooklyn Museum of Art—with the help of thousands of subscriptions from average citizens. The images on this page are from the Brooklyn Museum www.brooklynmuseum.org. "RIGHTS STATEMENT No known copyright restrictions."
