We read from the Holy Scriptures this morning from First Peter, Chapter 3. The first epistle of Peter, Chapter 3. We read this chapter in connection with Lord's Day 15 of our Heidelberg Catechism, where we focus upon the suffering of our Savior. Call your attention especially to verse 18 in this passage. We hear the word of God in First Peter, chapter three. Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands, that if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives. While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear, whose adorning, let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair and of wearing of gold or of putting on of apparel, but let it be the hidden man of the heart in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. For after this manner in the old time, the holy women also who trusted in God adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands, even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord, whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well and are not afraid with any amazement. Likewise, ye husbands dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers be not hindered. Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, Be pitiful, be courteous, not rendering evil for evil or railing for railing, but contrary wise blessing, knowing that ye are there unto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. For he that will love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil and his lips that they speak no guile. Let him eschew evil and do good. Let him seek peace and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers. But the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But, and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye. And be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled. but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear, having a good conscience that whereas they speak evil of you as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well-doing than for evil doing. For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. By the witch also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison, which sometime were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a-preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. the like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is gone into heaven and is on the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him. Thus far, we read from God's infallibly inspired word. We'd call your attention especially to verse 18. For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. In harmony with this passage and all of Holy Scripture is the instruction of our Heidelberg Catechism in Lourdes Day 15. Lourdes Day 15. We find that on page nine in the back of the Psalter. Lourdes Day 15. What dost thou understand by the words he suffered? that he, all the time that he lived on earth, but especially at the end of his life, sustained in body and soul the wrath of God against the sins of all mankind. That so, by his passion, as the only propitiatory sacrifice, he might redeem our body and soul from everlasting damnation and obtain for us the favor of God, righteousness, and eternal life. Why did he suffer under Pontius Pilate as judge? That he, being innocent and yet condemned by a temporal judge, might thereby free us from the severe judgment of God to which we were exposed. Is there anything more in his being crucified than if he had died some other death? Yes, there is. For thereby, I am assured that he took on him the curse which lay upon me. For the death of the cross was a curse of God. Beloved congregation and our Lord Jesus Christ, this Lord's Day is The first of two Lord's Days which concern the suffering and death of our Lord Jesus. This Lord's Day deals with the first part of the fourth article of the Apostles' Creed. The words suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified. While our Apostles' Creed refers especially to the final suffering of our Lord, the suffering of Christ at the very end of his earthly sojourn and ministry, our catechism treats the words, he suffered separately. So making it possible to speak of the passion of the Savior as extending over all the time He lived on earth. Certainly, suffering is something that is common to all people. All men are born, suffer, and die. And although certainly all men are not crucified, there is nothing unique even in this Thousands were crucified around the time of Jesus' earthly life and ministry. Millions more have suffered agonizing deaths. But the significance of the words, suffered, was crucified, dead, and buried, must be found in the subject of this suffering. The subject of this suffering, of this crucifixion, of this death is Jesus Christ, our Lord, the only begotten Son of God, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary. God himself came in the flesh in the fullness of time and was born. Emmanuel, God with us, suffered, was crucified, died, was buried in the flesh. And that glorious truth, in that lies the tremendous and altogether unique power and significance of the words of our catechism. as well as the creed. For that Jesus suffered and died for us is the very heart of our faith. It's the ground of our salvation. And because of this, we never grow weary of hearing of the suffering of Jesus Christ, our Lord. We will know nothing but Christ and him crucified. For it is in our belonging to this faithful Savior, who with his precious blood hath fully satisfied for all our sins, that we find our only comfort, both in life and in death. And so we focus our attention on the statement of the Apostle's Creed that deals with the suffering of our Lord and Savior. The Apostle Peter, in the passage which we read, is writing to the suffering saints of that day, as well as throughout this new dispensation, the members of the Church of Christ. People whom he addressed were not suffering merely from physical diseases or suffering from natural disasters, hurricanes or tornadoes or wildfires or blizzards. They were suffering because they were Christians. They were being persecuted for righteousness sake. As our Lord Jesus said, they and all Christians would suffer to one extent or another because they were going through this persecution. The thought came to them as to why? Why am I facing this suffering, this persecution? Since they had not done anything that would merit such persecution and suffering, the Apostle Peter addresses this subject. He does so by making a comparison between their suffering and the suffering of the Lord Jesus. In verses 17 and 18, for it is better if the will of God be so that ye suffer for well-doing than for evil doing. For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. Peter is saying to these persecuted saints that their experience is not by any means unique to them. He says they should suffer with joy because Christ suffered for them. However, he points out in verse 18 that the suffering of Christ was different, totally different, completely unique. in regard to the suffering that they were going through. Where you see the suffering of Christ was by no means confined to the physical, was rather his suffering under the infinite burden of the wrath of God that set it apart from all other suffering of God's people throughout the ages. And it's this suffering that we have before us here in Lord's Day 15. We see certainly that this description of Christ's work, he suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified. It properly recounts not only his suffering at the very end of his life, but his saving work throughout the whole course of his life. As the catechism puts it so well, it was a life of suffering from beginning to end, answering the question as to the meaning of the words suffered. Our catechism puts it well, that he, all the time he lived on earth, but especially at the end of his life, sustained in body and soul the wrath of God against the sins of all mankind. These words of our creed, he suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified. remind us that all of his saving work was focused in his suffering. In these words, the centerpiece of the account of our Lord's saving work is described. And we are reminded that this is a glorious and yet very sobering truth. And we only begin to plumb the depths as we attempt to speak and confess this truth. It's in this light that we consider our text this morning under the theme, The Nature of Christ's Suffering. We notice, first of all, that it was a unique suffering. Secondly, that it was a propitiatory sacrifice. And finally, that it accomplished a full redemption. He suffered, he suffered. If these words summarize the whole of Jesus' life and saving work for us, we must be very clear as to the nature and purpose of this work. We have to ask, what did he suffer? And why did he suffer? That's especially important because in recent years, there's much being written and said about our participation in the sufferings of Christ. In a world where suffering is commonplace, where the forms of suffering are so many, oftentimes so terrible, There is an understandable tendency to relate directly these forms of suffering to Christ's suffering. Tendency to look for what these forms of suffering have in common with the suffering of Christ. Some even speak of Christ's suffering in and with the suffering of the impoverished, the homeless, the marginalized, the refugees, the oppressed. And so they speak, for example, of Christ's suffering with the pain and suffering of the Jewish people throughout history, even to the present day, or with the poor and homeless of the earth today. In that search for the supposed common bond between Christ's suffering and the suffering that's so pervasive in this sin-cursed world in which we live, there is often a failure to recognize the utter uniqueness of the suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ. His suffering is unique, not only because of the uniqueness of his person as the eternal son of God in our flesh, but also unique in that it was a suffering of the wrath and displeasure of the holy God of heaven and earth. The wrath and displeasure of God with us on account of our sin In the suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ, we witness the incomparable and marvelous reality of God in the person of the Son bearing the condemnation for sin that we deserved. And we confess that our Lord suffered during the whole course of his life, but especially at the end, we confess that in his suffering, he sustained in body and soul the wrath of God against the sins of all mankind. And we understand, of course, that it's not all mankind in a universalistic sense, head for head, But we understand this organically, mankind from the viewpoint of the elect of God from every nation, tongue, and tribe. He sustained in body and soul the wrath of God. This is an increasingly unpopular emphasis today. and one which is sadly denied even by some who presume to confess the words of the Apostles' Creed. There's little enthusiasm or appreciation for the truth that our Lord Jesus Christ suffered as our substitute, the wrath and displeasure of God because of our sins. But having said that Christ suffered for, that is because of our sins. We have to go further to see why our sins brought upon him that suffering. We know the emphasis in scripture on the relationship between our sins and Christ's suffering and death. Prophet Ezekiel spoke of it in chapter 18, verse four, the soul that sinneth, it shall die. We remember the words of Deuteronomy chapter 27, quoted by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 3, verse 10. Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. Death is therefore the curse that comes to everyone who sins. But still, the question has to be asked and answered, why does our sin cause this suffering for Christ? Why did he have to suffer? And that brings us to the very heart of the nature of Christ's suffering. And that is that God was pleased to set his sovereign love upon his people. that rather than cause them to suffer and die for their sins, which would, in a word, mean for us hell, he caused his only begotten son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to suffer and die for our sins. So the reason why Jesus suffered was that God loved us. so much that he gave his son for us and for our salvation. And you see our catechism faces this question also from the point of view of the wrath, the anger of God against sin. When we hear the Apostle Paul say the wages of sin is death, why is the wages of sin death? That's really the bottom line in terms of the suffering of Christ. We know that God so loved us that he sent Christ to suffer in our place. Why is that suffering necessary at all? Why is it that the wages of sin is death? Why is it that the soul that sins, it must die? We come to the very nature of the wrath and the justice of the almighty God of heaven and earth, who is the holy God, who hates sin, for all sin is committed against his most high majesty. That's why our catechism says here in Lord's Day 15 that Christ sustained in body and soul the wrath of God against the sins of all mankind. We come face to face here with the fact that the wrath of God against sin, God hates sin. And because he hates sin, he is the holy God. That is, God is a God of holiness and justice. And therefore, he who said the soul that sins must die cannot go back upon his word. He who said the wages of sin is death cannot reverse himself. The sin of his people incurs the just wrath of God with the result that death is the inevitable result It's surely true that especially today the subject of the wrath of God is not very popular. Many preachers of the word so-called never mention the wrath and justice of God. They prefer to focus solely upon his love. But you see from This great subject of the suffering and death of our Savior that apart from the wrath and the justice of God, one can never really understand why the suffering of Christ was necessary at all. It makes no sense at all to talk about the death of Christ unless one also talks about the justice and the wrath of the thrice holy God. And that's why our catechism is so scriptural when it speaks of the fact that Christ sustained the wrath of God against sin. The justice of God must be satisfied, and that's why Christ suffered. So that when the Apostle Peter says here, for Christ also hath once suffered for sins, that's what he's talking about. He's talking about the reason why Christ died. He died because of the wrath of God that was poured out because upon our sin. There's also another idea to be found in that little preposition, for. Christ suffered four sins. And the idea is not only to be seen as the cause or the reason why Christ suffered, it also speaks of the result. or the purpose of his suffering. He died to take away our sins. By his suffering and death, Christ has taken away our sins. So Peter can say, Christ also hath once suffered for sins. What does it mean, that fact that Christ suffered to take away our sins? We must remember again that our sins incurred the wrath of the living God upon us. The wrath of God results in eternal punishment of both body and soul for the sinner. But now when Christ suffered and died for sins, he paid that punishment incurred by the anger, the wrath of God. He died in order that the punishment against our sins might be paid. Now that he has paid the price that was due to our sins, our sins are no longer held against us. It is as if we had never sinned at all. We can think of it in terms of running up a bill at the store. The debt stands against us every time we enter that store. We may feel terribly guilty because we know we owe that money and yet we can't pay. But then one day, someone comes into the store and tells the owner that he wants to pay that whole bill, our bill. He clears the ledger for us. And the result is that when we come into that store again, there's nothing there against us. It's as if we had never incurred any debt at all. And you see, that's exactly what Christ has done. He has paid for our sins. He paid the price. The death and punishment which we incurred under the just wrath of God, he has completely satisfied God's justice. The result is that our sins are gone. They don't stand between us and our God anymore. It is as if we had never sinned at all. Our catechism puts it so beautifully. That so by his passion as the only propitiatory sacrifice, he might redeem our body and soul from everlasting damnation. Christ died for sins, which means he not only suffered under the wrath of God because of sin, he also suffered and died with the result that we might be set free from the punishment of God. He took that punishment upon himself so that we might never have to suffer that eternal punishment. There is, however, a third truth that we must also see here in this first question and answer of this Lord's Day. It teaches that Christ also obtained for us the favor of God, righteousness and eternal life. That is, by his suffering and death, Christ not only paid the wages of sin under the wrath of God, he not only took away our sins by paying the debt that we owed, but he also gained for us God's favor, righteousness, and eternal life. The Apostle Peter makes this same point in verse 18. that he might bring us to God, that he might bring us to God. That's exactly the point of the catechism when it says that Christ obtained for us God's favor, righteousness, and eternal life. The only way that we might receive these great blessings is through That deep way of the suffering and death of Christ, apart from that suffering and death, we could never be brought near to God. We could never experience his favor. Indeed, we would be separated from God for all eternity in hell, but now. He has paid the debt that set us free. He has brought us back to God again, for he merited for us God's favor, righteousness, and eternal life. These blessings can be ours because our sins are washed away. They're fully paid for. The wrath of God has been perfectly satisfied. That is, the death of Christ was a propitiatory sacrifice. It paid the price. Satisfied God's justice when he took away our sins, paying the penalty that was due them. Now we are the recipients of God's favor, perfect righteousness, eternal life. This, beloved, is the nature of Christ's suffering, atoning sacrifice, in that he atoned for our sins by paying the wages of sin, which is death. Our catechism goes on to speak of that part of the Apostles' Creed that confesses that he suffered under Pontius Pilate. Why is Pilate mentioned here in the Creed? That's the point in this second question and answer here in Lord's Day 15. Why did he suffer under Pontius Pilate as judge? that he being innocent and yet condemned by a temporal judge might thereby free us from the severe judgment of God to which we were exposed. Again, Peter makes the same point when he says the just for the unjust. The just suffered for the unjust. Christ had to be condemned by a civil judge, even though that same civil judge declared again and again and again that he found Christ perfectly innocent of any crime. Why was that so important that Pilate declare Christ to be innocent? The answer is clearly this, only by the righteousness of Christ could he suffer for our sins if, God forbid, Christ himself was guilty of sin, he would have to suffer for his own sins. But now because he is the just one, the innocent one, he can bear that punishment that was to fall upon us and all of God's people. Notice that Peter doesn't use the word innocent here, he uses the word just. The word just is a legal term, a judicial word. It speaks of one's standing before the living God. Peter says that Christ's standing before God was one of justice, of righteousness. He was the just one. And that means, of course, that Jesus was innocent, as our catechism affirms, but it means more than just innocent. It means that because he was innocent, that is sinless, he is now righteous before God. The innocence of Christ before the judgment seat of Pontius Pilate is dependent on his righteousness before the judgment seat of the Almighty God. That righteousness before God. was the result of his perfect obedience, perfect conformity to the law of God. So he came to perform all the words of the book of the law. precisely that righteousness that we need in order to be declared right with God. So the standing of Christ before God and man is so vitally important for our salvation. That's why In the Apostles' Creed here, we confess that he suffered under Pontius Pilate. That's why Pilate's name is found in the Creed as a testimony to the sinlessness of Christ, to his perfect innocence. That's the basis for his perfect righteousness before the law of God, which in turn is the reason why he could free us from the severe judgment of God that was to fall upon us. But notice the Apostle Peter doesn't just speak of Christ as the just one, but he also speaks of us as the unjust ones. When he speaks of Christ suffering for sins, he says that this is what happened. The just one suffered for the unjust ones. So when the catechism spells that out, that Christ being innocent and yet condemned by a temporal judge might thereby free us from the severe judgment of God to which we were exposed. It's saying exactly what the Apostle Peter sets forth, the just for the unjust. What is meant by us as the unjust? What's the emphasis of that word? Just as the description of Christ as the just means a legal relationship before the living God, so also the word unjust describes a legal relationship to God. And whereas Christ the just stood guiltless before God, so we the unjust stand in ourselves guilty before God. And because we are guilty before God, the severe judgment of God must fall upon us. But now scripture says that Christ, the just one, suffered for the unjust. And again, that little preposition for tells us what Christ did as the just one. He took our place under that judgment of almighty God. He suffered as if he were the unjust instead of us. This is at the very heart of the substitutionary work of Christ. That little word for is so important in understanding what Christ did for us. As we've seen, it can mean because, it can also mean a purpose or a result, but it can also mean as it does here, in the place of us. In the place of us. The just suffered for in the place of the unjust. He took our place and he could do that because he was the just one, because he had no sin and thus was innocent, perfectly righteous before God and man, and he could take upon himself the punishment that was due unto us. The result of Christ, the just one, suffering and dying for the unjust ones, is that he might bring us to God. You have the same idea set forth by the Apostle Paul so beautifully in 2 Corinthians 5, in verse 21. For he hath made him, that is, God hath made Christ, to be sin for us who know no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. It's the same emphasis in 1 Peter 3, 18. And the catechism in connection with the words under Pontius Pilate, the emphasis is upon the innocence of Jesus, his righteousness, his holiness. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5 that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was the righteous one. He had no sin, but God made him to be sin for us. same emphasis. It is that the perfect Son of God took upon himself that burden of our sin and guilt in order that through his life and death we might receive perfect righteousness and stand before God as righteous. In this way, Christ freed us from the severe judgment of God that was to fall upon us. How thankful we must be for that perfection of Christ. How thankful that our Apostles' Creed saw fit to add these words, suffered under Pontius Pilate. as the testimony for all the world that our Lord Jesus Christ was indeed the just one. In order that he might suffer for us, the unjust ones, and so purchase for us the righteousness of God. One more truth remains for us to see in connection with this Lord's Day, the emphasis upon the kind of death that Jesus died. In question 39, is there anything more in his being crucified than if he had died some other death? Yes, there is. For thereby I am assured that he took on him the curse which lay upon me for the death of the cross was accursed of God. God had spoken the word. Cursed is everyone that hangeth upon a tree. Don Calvary, through the means of the tree, God spoke his word of wrath to the crucified son of God in our flesh. And so being made a curse, Jesus' death was a sacrifice for sin. In the accursed death of the cross, his blood was shed. In Christ, the priest and the sacrificial victim were one. He shed his own blood and himself carried it into the inner sanctuary. Voluntarily, he laid down his life in willing and loving obedience to the Father. He offered himself as the good shepherd. He gave his life for his sheep. And so Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law. Notice the personal element. Certainly in the narrow sense it referred to the Apostle Paul and the Galatians, but really to all of God's people. Must be our confession. All this Christ did for us. He was made a curse for us. Literally, he was made a curse for our advantage, for on our behalf, in our place, for us. And thus, the curse, as far as we are concerned, is gone. We still sin, but the curse of the law is gone. By faith in Christ, there is nothing but blessing. We have the complete forgiveness of all our sins. And the fruit of this redemption is our desire to serve our God, to live lives of thanksgiving. Unto him we are redeemed. And so, beloved, however difficult it may be for our puny minds to comprehend and to fathom all that our confession sets forth about the suffering and death of our Savior, it remains the heart of our confession concerning his saving work. But do we see what this tells us about our sin and Christ's work of atonement for sin? It's impossible to confess with the creed the suffering and death of Christ on the cross without being struck by God's estimate of sin. Again, there's no escaping the conclusion that the wages of sin is death The just penalty for anyone who sins against the most high majesty and the burning holiness of God is eternal death. Again, that's highly unpopular to be sure, but it's inescapable. No one can begin to understand Christ's saving work by way of his suffering and death on the cross without gaining a proper estimate of the horror of sin, the ugliness, the seriousness, the consequence of sin. And you see, that's also the reason why the cross remains a stumbling block. An occasion for offense. to anyone who does not want to reckon honestly with the reality and the consequence of his own sin against the living God. It's also the reason those who endeavor to avoid the preaching of the cross do so invariably because they want to avoid the preaching about sin and its consequence. Do we see, grasp the seriousness of sin? But in addition, do we then see what this tells us about God's love, his mercy, his justice? Though these are often said to be in conflict with each other, God's mercy or love and his justice on the other hand, God is in Christ loving in his justice and just in his loving. It reminds us that God has in love provided his son as the substitute to carry our sin Pay its penalty. It reminds us that God has done this in perfect harmony with his justice. That stands in marked contrast to the sentimentalizing of God's love which is so prevalent today. The God that many profess is someone who can ignore sin, wink at sin, accommodate the sinner in his sin, who could not be so perfectly just as to require satisfaction for sin. The suffering and cross of Christ testified to us that God in his burning justice could only receive us into his favor and fellowship by way of providing this atonement for sin. So those who would deny the substitutionary work of our Lord Jesus in satisfying God's justice don't just throw away a dispensable theory about the atonement. No, they do away with the revelation of God's mercy and justice. Really, they deny the reality of God himself. in his saving work. As those who make this confession, accordingly, we should anticipate that as the saints of old in Peter's days, we also will suffer. We should anticipate hostility and rejection in the midst of this world of darkness from those that stumble at the cross. In this way, as believers, we do participate in the suffering of Christ, not as those who add to a suffering that is otherwise incomplete or insufficient, but as those who suffer on account of and for the sake of the confession of the suffering Christ. The Apostle expresses it so beautifully in 1 Corinthians 1 from verse 22. For the Jews require a sign and the Greeks seek after wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block and unto the Greeks foolishness. but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father who art in heaven, we thank thee for the glorious gospel of Christ, yea, of his suffering and death. What a deep way he had to descend according to thy good pleasure that we, so undeserving in ourselves, might be redeemed. Thanks and praise be unto thee, now and forever. Amen.