In taking on flesh and blood, the Creator was willing fully to associate with the plight of his fallen creation ‘since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same nature’ (2:14). For the author of Hebrews, Jesus was without sin. He nonetheless personally and directly stepped into the theatre of human anguish.

In Spain, baroque devotional art sought a vividness and impact that would stir emotions of penitence and inspire worship, in keeping with the values of the Catholic Counter-Reformation’s Council of Trent (1545–63). The Córdoba-born sculptor Juan de Mesa (1583–1627) developed a deeply expressive naturalistic manner, following his arrival in Seville in 1606. His attention to anatomical accuracy purportedly arose from his study of cadavers. His most celebrated work Nuestro Padre Jésus del Gran Poder (Our Father Jesus of the Great Power) was commissioned by the Hermandad del Gran Poder, a confraternity originally founded in 1431 and still custodians of the sculpture today.

The life-size figure of Jesus is made of cedar wood with articulated arms and has three sets of clothing. The polychromy was a vital aspect of bringing the sculpture to life and, interestingly, contemporary sources refer to such painting of flesh tones as encarnación, implying a mimesis of the incarnation itself. Contemporaries apparently hotly debated whether the finish should be polimento (glossy) or mate (matte, without lustre), the latter regarded as superior so that the colour would absorb light and seem more natural (Bray 2009:18–19). El Gran Poder’s somewhat dark complexion is a result of later damage.

The sculpture stands on a heavy metal float carried by approximately 35 members of the confraternity. Seen from the side, it creates a striking impression with its huge cross. The so-called costeleros under the float keep step in a swaying action that creates the impression Jesus himself walks the streets of Seville, followed by penitents wearing tall conical hoods and vast crowds of onlookers. The striking spectacle is intended to stimulate the memory, intellect, and will, and captures powerfully the idea of imaginal thought expressed in Hebrews 2:9, ‘But we see Jesus…crowned with glory and honour because of the suffering of death’.