Now I understand what you tried to say to me
Don McLean (Vincent)
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free
They would not listen, they did not know how
Perhaps they’ll listen now
My Polish opera-loving Grandmother first taught me to have an appreciation for fine art. She especially loved impressionistic paintings. She would say that painters in this era were true artists because they experimented with different ways of using brushstrokes so that their own signature style was easily recognizable. Her two favorite masters were Vincent Van Gogh and Edgar Degas. That is when I was introduced to Van Gogh’s classic Starry, Starry Night.
Starry, starry night
First Stanza of Vincent
Paint your palette blue and gray
Look out on a summer’s day
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul
The wonder of Van Gogh was his daring use of bold brush strokes, no one else painted like him. You could see them used in all of his paintings including Sunflowers and his own Self-Portrait.
Did you know that Jehovah God is an artist as well? And when you look close his brushstroke is not hard to see because no one else can paint like him. Psalm 19 says you can see it the sky:
“The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”
You can see his work on the smile of a baby as Psalm 139 says:
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful.”
But the true sublime and intricate strokes can be seen in some of the words of the ancient prophets. This is the week leading up to the greatest story ever told, the Passion of Christ. And to prepare your heart gaze upon the beauty of his brushstrokes as found in Isaiah 53, no one can paint a picture like Jehovah:
“Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his
Who else can write like this? Who else can paint the picture of salvation like our God?
“We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.”
The beauty of God’s poetry is that he says something. His art actually happens, his art actually saves, his art is truly beautiful. Think about these exquisite brushstrokes, ponder them, gaze upon them as you would a masterpiece.
“Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his
and he will bear their iniquities.”
Stop on this. Don’t rush it. He painted this for you!
