Death of Marat - Art of the Gospel Part 2 (Philippians 1:20-21)

One oil painting we saw at the Louvre was an oil painting of the 1793 painting by Jacques-Louis David of his colleague, the murdered French revolutionary leader, Jean-Paul Marat, entitled ‘Death of Marat’.

Oil paintings are amazing. You can see them today, centuries later, and they look as vibrant as if they were painted just yesterday.

What struck me about the death of Marat however was not the art as much as the subject matter. Now, I am not a fan of Marat. It really is not a surprise that he was murdered, in my opinion: he was really quite a nasty fellow. He was a propagandist for the French revolutionaries; much like Milton was for England’s Cromwell, only nastier, I think.

Marat is often held responsible for the September Massacres in which between 1,176 and 1,614 defenceless people were taken prisoner and then murdered. And then after earning these murderous credentials, Marat went on to sit on the Committee of General Security where he played his part in what is now called the Reign of Terror where they chopped the heads of a further 1700 people and otherwise were directly responsible for the deaths of up to 5000 people. I would not say he was a ‘good guy’.

What strikes me about the painting and his death is this; possibly his one noble attribute: Marat died doing what he loved and what he believed in. He was a propagandist for the revolution. He was murdered probably writing propaganda for the revolution and his doing so certainly contributed to his death.

If the ‘bad guys’ can have so much devotion to their causes, that they die for them and that they are willing to live for them, how much more should we? We should feel emboldened and empowered to stand up for our faith. Do we share Christ with the world and with our friends – Christ, who has saved the world and who can save your friend – do we stand up for Christ the way others stand up for their causes and beliefs? Are we willing to die for what we believe in like Marat did? Are we willing to die, yes, and even more importantly than that, are we prepared as Paul said, to live for Christ?

Philippians 1:20-21: I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

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