Numbers as Symbols in Religious Art

Back in Jesus’ time, and long before Him, numbers were not always used as precisely as we use them today. The most common example is found in Matthew’s gospel when Jesus says we must forgive each other not just seven times, but seventy times seven. (Matt 18:22) Jesus did not mean we have to forgive up to 490 times and then forget about it. He meant we always have to forgive. (It’s not easy.)

When the New Testament says Jesus prayed and fasted in the desert for forty days and the Old Testament says that the Israelites roamed the desert for forty years, they don’t mean those amounts of time exactly. They mean for a very long time.

When the Gospels say in three days or on the third day, they don’t mean 72 hours; they mean in a short time. (Understanding this as a child would have prevented me from “correcting” my Bible to say “Jesus rose a little more than a day and a half later depending upon the time of dawn.”)

Not all number expressions mean something else. Sometimes they represent a truth so foundational to our faith that we naturally think of that truth when we hear the number.

1—there is one God. There is one baptism, one Body of Christ (Christians).

2—there is duality in the world: good and evil, light and dark, sheep and goats (figuratively speaking: believers and heathens). There is also complimentary elements in the world: Jesus’ divinity and humanity; Old Testament and New Testament; male and female.

3—Trinity; there are three distinct Persons in our one God. Note the holy card for today’s post. It is telling us that Jesus is the Good Shepherd who leads us to Mass, that Mass provides Communion with Him (chalice). The artist could have depicted as many sheep and roses as she or he wanted but chose three of each. It is symbol reminding us that Jesus is one of the three Persons of God.

4—There are four earth directions. There are four Gospels/Evangelists.

5—Wounds of Christ, wounds of the stigmata (hands, feet, side)

6—Incomplete (it is short of the “perfect” number seven)

7—Perfection; Creation days ending in a day of rest

8—New Beginning; Jewish circumcision was held on the eighth day; the Christian day of Resurrection is on the eighth day—the week that ends on the Saturday Sabbath plus one equals eight.

9—Gifts of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22) Love, joy, peace, patience,kindness,goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control

10—Completeness; ten fingers and ten toes on the human body; ten Commandments

11—Incomplete; there were only eleven apostles after Judas left; conversely, some interpretations say it stands for balance.

12—Human completeness. There were twelve tribes of Israel and twelve Apostles

13—The Last Supper (twelve apostles plus Jesus)

14—Stations of the Cross, Scriptural Stations of the Cross (more about those in February). In Matthew’s gospel he says, “So then, there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, and fourteen from David to the exile in Babylon, and fourteen from then to the birth of the Messiah.” Bible scholars say that 14 is used symbolically here, as a double dose of seven (perfection) between major events in Jewish history leading up to the completion of the birth of the Messiah.

There are many more examples of symbolic numbers used in the Bible and in Christian Catholic tradition (such as the 8 Beatitudes, the 7 Sacraments, the three Theological Virutes–faith, hope, and love.) I have found these connections—between numbers and biblical truths—are interesting prayer prompts for meditative and contemplative prayer. We’ll be talking about that soon, too, because it’s easy, insightful, and really helps you understand how God is alive in your life. Did I mention simple and easy? In fact, beginning the Thursday after Ash Wednesday and ending on Holy Thursday, I will post a guided prayer prompt on Tuesdays and Thursdays using holy cards as prompts for this form of prayer. (Guided means all you have to do is show up to read the blog. I’ll take you through each step.)

But before that begins, let’s talk about Lent and the three spiritual disciplines that make it meaningful.

Hope you stop by on Thursday.

Be blessed.