7  The Garden of Gethsemane

It is interesting to see here how the artist has  put distance between Jesus and the disciples, even though he has very limited space to work with.  Christ is higher and looking up and back, while the disciples are lower and facing down and toward us.  Again, Christ is emphasized and has a modified halo with the lighter sky behind his head. (Mark 14:32-42)

The chalice and hemlock above, toward which Christ is facing, represent “the bitter cup of death.”  Below are the purse and the thirty pieces of silver which Judas received for his betrayal.  At the top are the torch and spear associated with the scene.

Christ before Pilate

Jesus stands before Pilate in the purple robe the soldiers put on him to mock him for being the “King of the Jews.”  In every other window Jesus is shown in a yellow or gold colored tunic with a scarlet cloak, even as a boy where he is wearing a short gold tunic with a scarlet vest.  But here Mark (15:17) says, “They clothed him in a purple cloak.  A page is holding the basin of water in which Pilate washed his hands saying that Jesus had done no evil and he, Pilate, wished to be innocent of Jesus’ death.

The scales of justice, unbalanced because justice was not being done, are shown above.  Below are the pillars and scourges representing the authority of the Roman Empire, and the torture Jesus received.

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