October 29th, 2023
In the Nicene Creed, we confess what the “One Lord, Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God” has done “for us men and for our salvation.” After we confess his incarnation, that he came down from heaven and became man, the creed leads us to the cross: “He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate.”
He became man and was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate. In Genesis 3, after the LORD God curses the ground to bring thorns, he announces Adam’s death: “to dust you will return.” He clothes Adam and Eve. He declares, “Behold, the man” and then drives him out of the garden, to work the ground east of Eden (Gen 3:18-24). In the Gospel of John, Pontius Pilate presents Jesus, crowned with thorns and clothed in purple, and declares, “Behold, the man.” But the chief priests and officers cry out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” and he is led out of the city to hang on a tree (John 19:5-6).
Jesus is the last Adam, who “redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’” (Gal 3:13; Deut 21:22-23). When he was crucified for us, he became a curse for us, “so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith” (Gal 3:14).
From the accursed cross of Christ, the blessing of the Holy Spirit flows. Jesus himself promised this would happen:
“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’.” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (John 7:37-39)
As we read on in John’s Gospel, we learn that Jesus is glorified on the cross, for he says at the beginning of passion week: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:23-24).
He was crucified for us. He was cursed for us, hung on a tree, so that we may receive the blessing of the Holy Spirit. His death bears much fruit. His cross is a tree of life. He makes his blessings flow, far as the curse is found.
He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate. The first-century Roman governor of Judea is named in the creed. What’s he doing there? Why do we say his name every Sunday? His name reminds us that our faith in grounded in history. Our faith is not a philosophy or mythology. It’s not an ethical system or a set of religious rituals and practices. No, we believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, eternally begotten from the Father, light from light, true God from true God, who for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, became man, and was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate. This happened, at a particular time and place, under the rule and decree of Pontius Pilate.
The creed goes on to remind us of exactly what happened when he was crucified. He suffered for us. I will consider the suffering of Christ in my next note.