Gallery

Alone in the wilderness, Jesus quietly contemplates a venomous scorpion crawling across the palm of his hand, as painted by British artist Stanley Spencer (1891–1959).

Only the Gospel of Mark’s brief account of Jesus’ desert sojourn mentions the dangerous animals encountered there: Following the baptism, this Gospel relates, “the Spirit immediately drove Jesus out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness 40 days being tested by Satan. And he was with the wild beasts. And angels ministered to him” (Mark 1:12–13).

Although the gospel does not mention the scorpion specifically, numerous other Bible references suggest that the ancients were well acquainted with the perils of these desert creatures, more than 20 species of which live in Israel and the Sinai.

Spencer’s portrayal of Jesus calmly accepting the scorpion may have led the poet Morrie Creech to contrast the son with his Father, whom Creech sees as less tolerant of the venomous in the world:

All morning I have held
this scorpion, and considered
how the spine curves
toward the raised barb of its malice,
and have watched it
stand poised there
in the shadow of my will.

Father, how to explain
why I wept
for its fierce perfection?
When it struck my palm
why did I not let go
and curse its name,
grind it
in the dust beneath my feet?