P. Pilgrim
There is an old saying: “You can hide your sin from people, but you can never hide it from God.” The story of the Dutch painter Han van Meegeren gives us a remarkable illustration of this truth.
Van Meegeren was a talented painter who became famous for something very different from what he originally wanted. He became one of the most successful art forgers in history. He carefully studied the paintings of the famous Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer and began producing paintings that looked as though they had been painted by Vermeer centuries earlier. His deception was extremely clever. He used old canvases and carefully prepared paints and materials. He even tried to make the paintings appear genuinely old. Art experts examined some of his paintings and declared them to be genuine works by Vermeer. One of his most famous forgeries was The Supper at Emmaus. In 1938, the Boijmans Museum in Rotterdam purchased it for 520,000 Dutch guilders that was around 230,000 euros and half a million euros in today’s market. They believed it was a newly discovered masterpiece by Vermeer. Van Meegeren had succeeded in deceiving experts, collectors and museums. However, there was one person he could not deceive, that was the true and living God.
During the Second World War, another painting attributed to Vermeer, ‘Christ and the Adulteress’, ended up in the possession of the Nazi leader Hermann Göring. When the war ended, Allied investigators traced the painting back to Van Meegeren. On 29 May 1945, he was arrested and accused of fraud and helping the enemy. Van Meegeren suddenly found himself in serious trouble. If the painting had really been a priceless Dutch masterpiece sold to the enemy, he could have faced a very serious punishment even death for collaboration. His secret therefore had to come out. He eventually confessed that the painting was not a Vermeer that he had painted it himself. But there was a problem. The authorities did not simply believe him. After all, he was a known liar and forger. How could he prove that he had actually painted the paintings? So Van Meegeren did something extraordinary. While under supervision, he painted another picture in the style of Vermeer. Reporters and court-appointed witnesses watched him work. The painting, ‘Jesus among the Doctors’, was intended to demonstrate that he really could produce a painting that looked like a Vermeer. Eventually, scientific investigation provided further evidence. Experts examined the paintings and discovered materials and characteristics that could not have belonged to an authentic seventeenth-century Vermeer. The truth had finally come out. In November 1947, Van Meegeren was convicted of forgery and fraud and sentenced to one year in prison. The man who had spent years deceiving others was finally exposed.
This story reminds us of the words of Moses in Numbers 32:23, “be sure your sin will find you out.” Notice that the Bible does not say, “You might be found out.” It says: “Be sure your sin will find you out.” Sin has a way of coming into the light. We may hide our sins from our parents, our friends even our spouses. We may even convince ourselves that nobody knows, but God knows. The Bible says in Luke 12:2 “For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.” Van Meegeren could fool art experts, museums, including wealthy collectors but he could not fool God and neither can we. God already knows and because He knows everything, we can come honestly before Him and confess our sins. The Bible says in Proverbs 28:13 “but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” God exhorts us to bring our sins to Christ, to confess them, forsake them and ask him for forgiveness. The Apostle John gives us this wonderful promise: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The One who knows every secret is also the One who offers forgiveness to every repentant sinner. So come to him and experience his forgiveness and peace. (pilgrimway101@yahoo.com)
