Article | Missions magazine

From God's Word to an Artist's Canvas

Jul 01, 2024
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By Jean-luc & Jeannie Tabailloux

Throughout the centuries, great artists have painted scenes from the Bible that have helped people understand the purposes of God. Today, those masterpieces continue to inspire us and challenge our understanding of the Grand Story. 

Recently, we arranged to have a traveling art exhibition, called De La Parole à la Peinture (“from word to painting”), come to our area of France, Grenoble, and we organized a local event. The producers of this exhibition selected 21 reproductions of famous artworks to represent creation, the fall, redemption, and restoration. 

The reproductions were on display for one week in our village. As viewers perused the exhibition, handheld audio-guide devices delivered a description of each masterpiece and its theological significance. About 30 volunteers from local churches welcomed visitors from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. daily. 

Throughout the week, more than 350 people visited the exhibition, including several elected city officials. Then, on four evenings that week, Jean-Luc led gatherings where he spoke about four of the masterpieces and the biblical texts that inspired them. The main idea was to introduce seekers to the answers the Bible offers to the great existential questions everyone asks at some point in his or her lifetime. About 150 people came to ponder the artworks and the related biblical texts. 

We started with a painting on creation from Jan Brueghel. We read excerpts from Genesis 1–2 and tried to answer the classic questions: Where do we come from? Who are we? Do we have inherent worth? What is the purpose of our existence? 

Next, we went over the fall, focusing on Michelangelo’s fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. We read excerpts from Genesis 3, and then, we answered another question: Where do evil, injustice, suffering, and death come from? 

On the third evening, we worked with a piece by Marc Chagall. We talked about the gift of the Ten Commandments. We asked: Can we really find freedom through the law of God? Can His laws save us from ourselves? We showed how the good commandments, far from saving us, emphasize our desperate need for forgiveness—how they point us toward Christ, the promised Savior and Redeemer. 

We finished the series by meditating on the prodigal son story as painted by Rembrandt. We asked: Who will save us from ourselves? Where will we find true redemption? 

After each session, we held a Q&A time so the audience could ask Jean-Luc their spiritual questions. The Gospel was thus presented from a cultural point of view by walking through the Grand Story one famous painting at a time and answering questions. 

In our guest book and in conversations, many visitors expressed gratitude for the visual lessons they encountered. One couple said, “We keep coming back because we have never heard these things before. It’s all new to us.” Another person commented, “For the first time, I understand the story of the prodigal son.” 

We are thankful that this event proclaimed the Grand Story to our village. Please pray for a renewed hunger for God’s Word in Grenoble, France. 

Jean-Luc and Jeannie Tabailloux are commended from Lake Geneva Bible Chapel in Wisconsin. 

Originally published in Missions magazine, June 2024. For more content, sign up for a free subscription (US) to Missions at CMML.us/magazine/subscribe