An ink on paper artwork by Sharyl Adamson, depicting the fast of 40 days and nights.Previous Image: Mount of TransfigurationNext Image: Whole (Woman with an Issue of Blood)

Vertical Desert III

Sharyl Adamson

Medium

United States
2014
Ink on paper
29.75 × 22.5 in.
Church History Museum Collection

Purchase Award
Purchase Award

Led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Christ fasted for 40 days and nights and was tempted by Satan. Even though He was capable of sinning, He resisted temptation at a time when He was alone, emotionally worn, and physically drained. By portraying the wilderness as an abstraction, Adamson’s monoprint helps us understand its significance as a site where holy events transpired. Paul wrote, “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8).