A Valuable Lesson

The last supper was painted by Leonardo DaVinci, a noted Italian artist. The time engaged for its completion was seven years. The figures representing the twelve Apostles and Christ Himself were painted from living persons.

The life-model for the painting of the figure of Jesus was chosen first. When it was decided that DaVinci would paint the great picture, hundreds and hundreds of young men were carefully viewed in an endeavor to find a face and personality exhibiting innocence and beauty, free from the scars and signs of deception caused by sin. Finally, after weeks of laborious searching, a young man nineteen years of age was selected as a model for the portrayal of Christ.

For six months, DaVinci worked on the production of this leading character of his famous painting. During the next six years, DaVinci continued his labors on this sublime work of art. One by one fitting persons were chosen to represent each of the eleven Apostles; space being left for the painting of the figure representing Judas Iscariot as the final task of this masterpiece. This was the Apostle, you remember, who betrayed his Lord for thirty pieces of silver, worth in our present day, currency of $16.96.

For weeks, DaVinci searched for a man with a callous face, with a countenance marked by scars of avarice, deceit, hypocrisy, crime and betrayal. After many discouraging experiences in searching for the type of person required to represent Judas, word came to DaVinci that a man whose appearance fully met his requirements had been found in a dungeon in Rome, sentenced to die for a life of crime and murder.

DaVinci made the trip to Rome at once and this man was brought out from his imprisonment in the dungeon and led out into the light of the sun. There DaVinci saw before him a dark, swarthy man; his long, shaggy and unkempt hair sprawled over his face, which betrayed a character of viciousness and ruin. At last, the famous painter had found the person he wanted to represent the character of Judas in his painting.

By special permission from the King, this prisoner was carried to Milan where the picture was being painted; and for months he sat before DaVinci at appointed hours each day as the gifted artist diligently continued his task of transmitting to his base character in the picture representing the traitor and betrayer of our Savior. As he finished his last stroke, he turned to the guards and said, “I have finished. You may take the prisoner away.”

As the guards were leading their prisoner away, he suddenly broke loose from their control and rushed up to DaVinci, crying as he did so. “O, DaVinci, look at me! Do you not know who I am?”

DaVinci , with the trained eye of a great character student, carefully scrutinized the man upon whose face he had continually gazed for six months and replied, “No, I have never seen you in my life until you were brought to me out of the dungeon in Rome.”

Then, lifting his eyes toward heaven, the prisoner said, “Oh, God have I fallen so low?” And turning his face to the painter, he cried, “Leonardo DaVinci! Look at me again, for I am the same man you painted just seven years ago as the figure of Christ.”

This is a true story of the painting of the Last Supper that teaches us so strongly the lesson of right and wrong thinking on the life of an individual. Here was a man whose character was so pure, unspoiled by the sins of the world, that he presented a countenance of innocence and beauty fit to be used for the painting of a representation of Christ. But within seven years, following the thoughts of sin and a life of crime, he was changed into a perfect picture of the most traitorous character ever known in the history of the world.

You, too, have a picture being painted of your life. What’s the end result going to look like?