LEARNING DAILY

 

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit; Born of the Virgin Mary; Suffered under Pontius Pilate; Was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into Hell; The third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven; And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit; The Holy Christian Church, the Communion of Saints; The Forgiveness of sins; The Resurrection of the body; And the life everlasting. Amen.   The Apostle’s Creed

 

The sufferings of Jesus were done in several “stages”.  The third stage of His suffering occurred when He was taken to the governor’s palace in Jerusalem.  By this time Jesus had been before both Annas and Caiaphas (stages 1 and 2); He had been mocked, struck in the face, and spit upon repeatedly.  Jesus said nothing to the questions asked Him by Pilate and Pilate found nothing Jesus was guilty of.  Nonetheless, Pilate thought he could get himself out of his situation by offering the people a choice between Jesus and a criminal named Barabbas.  Pilate’s greatest sin was compromising what he knew to be true and right for his own personal gain and position.  The people chose Barabbas to be set free.  Pilate washed his hands of the matter and sent Jesus to be scourged and crucified.

 

The next stage in the sufferings of Jesus came as a result of Pilate’s sentencing.  “The Roman flogging consisted of the Jesus being stripped and stretched and tied against a low post.  The instrument of torture was a scourge made of several leather thongs attached to a short wooden handle, with bits of iron or bone tied to the thongs. The blows were laid on the victims back by two men, one lashing the victim from each side.” (from the notes in The Life in the Spirit Study Bible).

 

I know that this is not easy to read.  But, in order to understand this doctrine in the Apostle’s Creed, we must know and realize what Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate.  This had to happen to fulfill the prophecy Isaiah 53:5, “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”

 

One reason to study doctrine is because it will shape your spiritual life.  Your belief about what Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate will affect your understanding of what He went through to save you from your sinful life.  Many who went through the scourging He went through died at that point.  The question for each of us to consider is what can we endure to be like our Savior and Lord?

 

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