Feast in the House of Levi

The story behind this painting is told by Philip Yancey in his book 'What's So Amazing About Grace.' 'Paolo Veronese (1528-1588) got in trouble with the Inquisition because of this piece. As you can see, the painting depicts Jesus as a banquet with his disciples, complete with Roman soldiers playing in one corner, a man with a bloody nose on the other side, stray dogs roaming around, a few drunks, and also midgets, blackamoors, and anachronistic Huns. Called before the Inquisition to explain these irreverence's, Veronese defended his painting by showing from the Gospels that these were the very kinds of people Jesus mingled with. Scandalized, the Inquisitors made him change the title of the painting and make the scene secular rather than religious. In doing so, of course, the Inquisitors replicated the attitude of the Pharisees in Jesus' day. They too were scandalized by the tax collectors, half-breeds, foreigners, and women of ill repute who hung out with Jesus. They too had a hard time swallowing the notion that these are the people that God loves.'

Thank you Jesus for having a heart for me – a sinner that once was lost, but got found, was dead but had life breathed back into my soul. Thank you!