What a Savior!

For he grew up before him like a young plant, 

and like a root out of dry ground; 

he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, 

and no beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men, 

a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; 

and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, 

and we esteemed him not. 

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, 

yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions; 

he was crushed for our iniquities; 

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, 

and with his wounds we are healed.

Isaiah 53: 2-5

I cannot read this passage of scripture without crying. It so powerfully shows what Christ was willing to endure for our salvation. We may forget that Elohim (God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit) is the author of all scripture. Therefore, Jesus "wrote" what was going to happen to him when God inspired Isaiah to pen this passage. When Jesus walked into the synagogue and was handed the scroll containing Isaiah 61 (Luke 4:16-21), he was being handed words he had authored. He was the fulfillment of Isaiah 61. Likewise he authored Isaiah 53, so as Christ set his face toward his final entry to Jerusalem, he knew EXACTLY what he was facing. He knew the hatred of hell was about to fall on him. He knew he would be ridiculed, tortured, and hung. He knew he would carry the weight of the sin of mankind, making the weight of the cross nothing in comparison. He knew how many lashes he would receive, he knew he would be beaten beyond recognition as a human face. But he also knew that enduring all this would open the way for our salvation. When we sing the words from the hymn What a Savior, we proclaim our knowledge and brokenness for what he endured for us. What a Savior that he would love us this much!

The background is sponged with three colors. I tore the heading from an old hymnal to put at the bottom. I used a new stamp (What a Savior) and inked it with the same three colors, blending the colors on the stamp. I added the fussy cut images from Good News set. Finally I used a splatter stamp from Grunge Elements and a shimmer ink from Stampin' Up! to create symbolic tear stains on the page. All the stamps are from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps.


Sets Used:

 

What a Savior 

Good News