The picture above is extraordinary. Mary is depicted as hugging the infant Jesus and a lamb together, expressing her motherly affection to both of them, to a human being and to an animal at the same time. The infant Jesus is sleeping soundly, not disturbed by the young sheep. Perhaps the painter (William Bouguereau) wishes to tell us that Mary anticipates that in the future Jesus will become the good shepherd of Israel who will sacrifice his life for his sheep. In John 10:11, Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” Nevertheless, in John 1:29 the Fourth Evangelist changes Jesus metaphorically from the good shepherd to “the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”, and realistically from the unofficial Jewish leader to the victim of the political system of his day, from the judge to the culprit.
Look: another lady, not Mary of course, embracing a lamb! Who is she? I do not know. I got this image from the Internet. If you know her, please tell me who she is. But more importantly, do you capture the deep love of this lady for the lamb in her cuddle? This lamb peacefully lets itself be embraced by the lady as if the lady was its real mother. Perhaps you wonder how a human being, a lady, can express her affection so deeply to an animal. Imagine, you, gentlemen, are hugged by this lady in the same manner; what will you feel?I am not certain that Jesus in his life ever embraced a lamb. In metaphor, yes, Jesus is the good shepherd of his flock. But whether in reality he was a shepherd in the literal sense of the word, no one can know for certain. That Jesus was a tektōn, an artisan, a carpenter, is certain (see Mark 6:3; Matthew 13:55). We can however imagine that this lady is Jesus himself because the picture of Jesus embracing a lamb is so common. But, do you think that the love of Jesus for a lamb is greater than the love of this lady for the lamb in her cuddle? As far as the picture conveys, I am of the opinion that this lady’s love for a lamb is greater than Jesus’. Perhaps, Jesus in his life never touched a lamb, let alone embraced it, because he was so busy with his kingdom movement, calling men, not sheep, to come into it. Nevertheless, in a metaphorical way, perhaps it is better to imagine the picture above as the picture of a lady Jesus hugging a lamb. A lady Jesus is more heart-touching indeed than a gentleman Jesus.
