This painting was created using a number of visual references which Jesus has given us through His Word. Framing the piece is a stone wall with an open door, leading to a well-beaten path through a manicured vineyard. The morning light is dawning from the East to begin a new day.

This wall is made from “Jerusalem” stone, a common limestone from which the Western Wall is constructed. 1 Corinthians 10:4 “…and the rock was Christ.” Isaiah 28:16 “…A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.” Psalm 118:22 “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone.”

The door is opening wide into the garden and as Jesus said in John 10:7, “I am the door of the sheep.” Also, in John 10:9 it is written, “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved…”

After stepping over the time worn threshold of the door representing the many who have traveled this way, the viewer is drawn onto the straight and brightly lit path. In John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father, but through Me.’” Also, in Psalm 119:105 the Psalmist says, “Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.”

In this vineyard representative of one near Tel Aviv, these prized and well weathered ancient trunks have been pruned through the years to produce much fruit. In John 15:1, Jesus tells us “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.” The abundant fruit is abiding in the vine. This illustrates what is written in John 15:5, “I am the vine and you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

As the morning light shines brightly into the garden, Malachi 4:2 states, “But for you who fear My name the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in it wings;…” and in John 8:12, we read “Again therefore Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.’”

(Scripture references are from the New American Standard)