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Verse:And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. —Zechariah 13:6, KJV
The May 9, 2013, issue of the Adventist Review presented an impressive painting of Jesus on its cover. It was slightly blurred with some glasses overlaid, allowing the viewer to see part of the face of Jesus more clearly through the lenses.
Who was the creator of the original illustration? None other than Harry Anderson, an extremely talented and famous Adventist illustrator who painted some of the most beautiful portraits of Jesus. Harry Anderson (1906–1996) was born to Swedish parents in Chicago, Illinois, on August 11, 1906. In 1944, he joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church and soon after began painting for the Review and Herald® Publishing Association. He painted about three hundred religious-themed illustrations for the church. By 1945, Anderson had completed What Happened to Your Hand? which is probably his most famous work. In that painting, Jesus is portrayed with three modern children.
This modern setting in What Happened to Your Hand? generated quite a bit of opposition, even from the staff of the Review’s art department.
But much of that bias disappeared after one of the staff members reported an enlightening experience. One evening at home, his little daughter was looking at her copy of The Children’s Hour. When she came to that painting, she ran to him and said, “Daddy, I want to sit on Jesus’ lap too.” He immediately realized that the modern illustration could help children better identify with Jesus.
Ellen White explains that at the final judgment, Jesus will show the wicked “His hands with the marks of His crucifixion.
The marks of this cruelty He will ever bear.
Every print of the nails will tell the story of man’s wonderful redemption and the dear price by which it was purchased.”14 But even now, “in our behalf He presents before His Father the marks of the crucifixion which He will bear throughout eternity.”15 The Lord said to Zion, “I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands” (Isaiah 49:16).
Likewise, we have in Jesus’ hands a symbol of His unconditional love for us and the assurance that He will never forsake us.