Suffered under Pontius Pilate
Heidelberg Catechism
Heidelberg Catechism Question 37. What do you understand by the word “suffered”? That throughout his life on earth, but especially at the end of it, he bore in body and soul the wrath of God against the sin of the whole human race, so that by his suffering, as the only expiatory sacrifice, he might redeem our body and soul from everlasting damnation, and might obtain for us God’s grace, righteousness, and eternal life.
Heidelberg Catechism Question 38. Why did he suffer “under Pontius Pilate” as his judge? That he, being innocent, might be condemned by an earthly judge, and thereby set us free from the judgment of God which, in all its severity, ought to fall upon us.
Study Catechism
Study Catechism Question 42. What do you affirm when you say that he “suffered under Pontius Pilate”? First, that our Lord was humiliated, rejected and abused by the temporal authorities of his day, both religious and political. Christ thus aligned himself with all human beings who are oppressed, tortured, or otherwise shamefully treated by those with worldly power. Second, and even more importantly, that our Lord, though innocent, submitted himself to condemnation by an earthly judge so that through him we ourselves, though guilty, might be acquitted before our heavenly Judge.
- Luke 18:32 “For he will be handed over to the Gentiles; and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon.”
- Is. 53:3 “He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account.”
- Ps. 9:9 “The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.”
- Luke 1:52 “He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly.”
- 2 Cor. 5:21 “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
- 2 Tim. 4:8 “From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
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