Following is a 1973 painting of the JESUS MAFA project, a response to New Testament readings from the Lectionary by a Christian community in Cameroon, Africa. Each of the readings was selected and adapted to dramatic interpretation by the community members. Photographs of their interpretations were made, and these were then transcribed to paintings:

In this painting, Jesus has been taken to the top of a mountain in the final temptation where the devil whispers in his ear the promise of all the kingdoms of the world. Jesus is confronted with the temptation to seize power—to live by the rule(s) of the world. We know from this one gospel story that he refuses every temptation, but we know from the remaining narrative that the temptation to be the messiah people expected must have haunted him to his death on the cross. Jesus instead is a new kind of messiah, one who exemplifies non-violent resistance, trusting in the love he embodies.

From Art in the Christian Tradition , a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. Image retrieved March 23, 2026. Original source: librairie-emmanuel.fr.