| The Apostles' Creed, Part 9: "...suffered under Pontius Pilate..." |
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| Written by David Lawrence |
| Monday, December 12 2011 00:00 |
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The Apostles’ Creed continues to define the work of Jesus Christ. He suffered. We suffer and often complain or wonder why; Jesus suffered, but knew why. Sometimes we suffer when we make the wrong decision and experience the consequences. Sometimes we suffer because of events over which we had no control. Neither of these scenarios describes why Jesus suffered. First, He did no wrong. Scripture affirms over and over the sinlessness of Jesus: he obeyed every commandment of God, and He disobeyed none. The writer of Hebrews affirms that he was tempted in every way as we are “-yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). Peter affirmed the same truth in 1Pet 2:22-24, and Paul wrote that he had no sin (2 Cor. 5:21). Jesus told the Jews that he always did what pleased the Father (John 8:29). Second, Jesus did not suffer because of an event over which he had no control. He told His disciples repeatedly that He had come to suffer and die. We know that His death was the result of a covenant made among the persons of the Trinity in eternity past. For instance, Jesus told His disciples that “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28). We have a glimpse of Jesus’ prayer life in John 12 when he prayed “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour?’ No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” (John 12:27-28). Jesus’ death was predetermined from eternity (Acts 2:23, 4:28). His death was necessary to fulfill the purpose of God, to gain glory for Him, and to grant eternal life to all given to Him by the Father. Pontius Pilate was but an instrument in the hands of God, accountable, to be sure, for his sin, but used by God to fulfill His eternal purpose! |
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