Reformation altarpiece [right wing]: The Confession (recto), The Sacrifice of Abraham (verso)

The recto depicts a confession scene. It is Johannes Bugenhagen (1485-1558), minister of the parish church and Martin Luther's confessor, friend and close associate, who hears the confession of two men. Bugenhagen sits on a wooden stool, representatives from the Wittenberg community have gathered behind him - the men on the right, the women on the left. He holds two keys in his hands as a symbol of the power bestowed on the church by Christ to bind or release. The image of Bugenhagen with the keys shows the minister of the parish church of Wittenberg as the legitimate successor of Christ's disciples. [...] As such he has the power to forgive or condemn sins. He stretches the key out towards the older man in a long fur-lined coat, kneeling devoutly with folded hands. The other man in a short, red coat with a magnificent sword at his side does not receive absolution.

The verso depicts the story of the sacrifice of Abraham against the backdrop of a landscape with a town and a mountain visible in the distance. The panel does not only illustrate the dramatic climax of the 'test of faith' in the Old Testament story, but also shows Abraham's journey with his son to Morija, where God commanded him to sacrifice his only son (1 Mose 22,1-19). Both can be seen at the right of the image, Isaac carries a bundle of kindle on his shoulders. The main scene shows Abraham placing his bound son on the sacrificial altar. An angel appears to stop him just as he is about to use his sword. The ram that was sacrificed instead is shown trapped in a bush in the foreground.

[Zdunczyk, in: Harasimowicz, Seyderhelm 2015, 84-86]