The Gospels record two occasions when Jesus healed people suffering from leprosy. Jesus cures a lone leper with his touch in violation of Jewish laws about contact with the "unclean." Ten lepers call out to him and he heals them with an authoritative command. In this week's featured work on the theme of Jesus the Healer, American Artist Edward Knipper conflates the two leprosy narratives into a single symbolic scene. Knipper draws on traditional images of the Resurrection, where Christ rises from a stone sepulcher, while his guards lie sprawled on the ground beneath him, and the Harrowing of Hell, where the Resurrected Christ descends into Satan's domain to free souls held in captivity. Highlighted in white and gold, a triumphant jesus appears atop a pile of rubble to a group of lepers, considered to be the living dead in biblical times. They draw their disease-scarred bodies back in awe and wonder that someone should care enough about them to come offering the hope of a return to life. The oil on panel painting can be found on the Edward Knippers biosketch page in the Sacred Artists section. (John Kohan)