The following is a series of questions and answers taken from the Heidelberg Catechism that reflect on the Bible’s teaching about the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. If you have no other tradition in place, this may be a helpful guide for personal or family reflection beginning on Palm Sunday and ending Saturday in anticipation of Easter.
Each question is followed by its answer. The answer and the Scripture verses from which the answer is derived are original to the Heidelberg Catechism. The comments are my own and not part of the original.
Palm Sunday
Question (31)
Why is He called Christ, that is, Anointed?
Answer
Because He has been ordained by God the Father, and anointed with the Holy Spirit,1 to be our chief Prophet and Teacher,2 who has fully revealed to us the secret counsel and will of God concerning our redemption;3 our only High Priest,4 who by the one sacrifice of His body has redeemed us,5 and who continually intercedes for us before the Father;6 and our eternal King,7 who governs us by His Word and Spirit, and who defends and preserves us in the redemption obtained for us.8
1 Ps. 45:7 Heb. 1:9; Is. 61:1 Luke 4:18; Luke 3:21, 22. 2 Deut. 18:15 Acts 3:22. 3 John 1:18; 15:15. 4 Ps. 110:4 Heb. 7:17. 5 Heb. 9:12; 10:11-14. 6 Rom. 8:34; Heb. 9:24; I John 2:1. 7 Zach. 9:9 Matt. 21:5; Luke 1:33. 8 Matt. 28:18-20; John 10:28; Rev. 12:10, 11.
Comment
Christ came with a purpose, a purpose He was given by His Father and a purpose that was affirmed by the Holy Spirit who descended on Jesus as a dove at His baptism. As a prophet and a teacher, Jesus both reveals and explains God to us. This is especially true regarding our redemption – how sinful people are bought back from enslavement to sin.
Jesus is also our High Priest. He not only represents the Father to us, but He represents us to the Father. He did not offer a lamb or turtledove or goat as priests did for temporary atonement with God in the Old Testament. Instead, He offered Himself as a sacrifice able to secure forgiveness forever. Even now, in heaven, He constantly speaks on our behalf to the Father – declaring before the righteous judge of the earth that all our sins have been paid for.
Jesus is also our eternal King. He has given us good commands in His Word. He guides us and strengthens us to live as citizens of the King by His Holy Spirit. He protects us from all accusations and challengers who would try to condemn us, and He ensures that those who have once placed their faith in Him will be preserved through all of life’s hardships to arrive at heaven and enjoy the redemption He purchased for us.
Question (34)
Why do you call Him our Lord?
Answer
Because He has ransomed us, body and soul,1 from all our sins, not with silver or gold but with His precious blood,2 and has freed us from all the power of the devil to make us His own possession.3
1 I Cor. 6:20; I Tim. 2:5, 6. 2 I Peter 1:18, 19. 3 Col. 1:13, 14; Heb. 2:14, 15.
Comment
When Jesus died on the cross, He not only freed us – He bought us. To turn to Jesus and ask for His forgiveness is also to surrender ourselves to Him. We are His possession. It is a proud and foolish heart, and one that is unspeakably unthankful, which seeks to take from Jesus our freedom from sin and then live free from Jesus as well. We are not our own.
Monday
Question (35)
What do you confess when you say: He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary?
Answer
The eternal Son of God, who is and remains true and eternal God,1 took upon Himself true human nature from the flesh and blood of the virgin Mary,2 through the working of the Holy Spirit.3 Thus He is also the true seed of David,4 and like His brothers in every respect,5 yet without sin.6
1 John 1:1; 10:30-36; Rom. 1:3; 9:5; Col. 1:15-17; I John 5:20. 2 Matt. 1:18-23; John 1:14; Gal. 4:4; Heb. 2:14. 3 Luke 1:35. 4 II Sam. 7:12-16; Ps. 132:11; Matt. 1:1; Luke 1:32; Rom. 1:3. 5 Phil. 2:7; Heb. 2:17. 6 Heb. 4:15; 7:26, 27.
Comment
We do not believe in a fairy tale about a make-believe God who pretended to be a man. The Christian faith declares that Jesus was truly born by a divine miracle to a young woman named Mary. If this were not so, Jesus could not have accomplished our redemption. He needed to come in true human flesh and blood and with a true human nature so that He could be a true representative of us before the Father. He needed to be born of the physical line of David so that He could fulfill God’s promises about the Messiah. He needed to be our perfect example in all things by living a human life with all its real challenges and hardships – just as we do, but without sin.
Tuesday
Question (37)
What do you confess when you say that He suffered?
Answer
During all the time He lived on earth, but especially at the end, Christ bore in body and soul the wrath of God against the sin of the whole human race.1 Thus, by His suffering, as the only atoning sacrifice,2 He has redeemed our body and soul from everlasting damnation,3 and obtained for us the grace of God, righteousness, and eternal life.4
1 Is. 53; I Tim. 2:6; I Pet. 2:24; 3:18. 2 Rom. 3:25; I Cor. 5:7; Eph. 5:2; Heb. 10:14; I John 2:2; 4:10. 3 Rom. 8:1-4; Gal. 3:13; Col. 1:13; Heb. 9:12; I Pet 1:18, 19. 4 John 3:16; Rom. 3:24-26; II Cor. 5:21; Heb. 9:15.
Comment
All human existence since the sin of Adam has been under the curse of God. Even coming to earth and being born in a body that could experience pain and death was a form of suffering for Jesus. However, the real suffering of Jesus which we speak of was a suffering that could not be seen on the outside. It was the suffering that took place when Jesus experienced the wrath of God that you and I deserve. This was the trial of the cross.
We often think of death simply as when a person stops breathing and their heart stops beating. This is not the only death that Jesus needed to die to save us. No, the most important death Jesus needed to die was what the Bible calls the Second Death – facing the wrath of God and being cut off from His gracious presence. When the Father turned His face away from the Son and crushed Him with His wrath on the cross, Jesus suffered what is impossible for language to describe, and what no other person in all of eternity will be able to sympathize with.
His suffering was for us. By His suffering He proved His love, paid for our sin, gained everlasting grace for those who would put their faith in Him, and glorified God. We must be thankful.
Wednesday
Question (40)
Why was it necessary for Christ to humble Himself even unto death?
Answer
Because of the justice and truth of God1 satisfaction for our sins could be made in no other way than by the death of the Son of God.2
1 Gen. 2:17. 2 Rom. 8:3; Phil. 2:8; Heb. 2:9, 14, 15.
Comment
If God can do anything, why not save us in some way that did not involve the death of His Son?
It is true that God has all power, but it is not quite true to say that God can do anything. The Bible says, for example, that God can not lie (Titus 1:2)! God cannot do anything that contradicts His character. Therefore, when God wishes to show mercy, or grace, or forgiveness, He cannot do so in a way that compromises His holiness, righteousness, or justice.
The wages of sin, says the Bible, is death (Romans 6:23). Sadly, everyone who has ever been born, with the exception of Jesus, is a sinner and earns the wages of death (Romans 3:23). Those wages must be paid, or else God is not just. Those wages must be paid by someone who doesn’t deserve them, or else the payment is only for the single, guilty person. Those wages must be paid by someone with an infinite capacity to pay, or else the payment cannot be in full and cannot be for all.
Only a man, who is God, who is innocent, and who is willing, could satisfy the righteous demands of the law of God and offer forgiveness to sinners. And so Jesus had to die. How thankful we are that He did!
Question (41)
Why was he buried?
Answer
His burial testified that He had really died.1
1 Is. 53:9; John 19:38-42; Acts 13:29; I Cor. 15:3,4.
Comment
Jesus could have resurrected directly from the cross. If He had done so, however, many would have always wondered if He truly died. To prove His death, and thus prove His resurrection, Jesus not only died, but was buried and lay in the tomb for part of Friday, all of Saturday, and part of Sunday.
We are reminded by the burial that the death of Jesus was not just for show, but an essential part of what had to take place for our salvation to be accomplished.
Thursday
Question (42)
Since Christ has died for us, why do we still have to die?
Answer
Our death is not a payment for our sins, but it puts an end to sin and is an entrance into eternal life.1
1 John 5:24; Phil. 1:21-23; I Thess. 5:9, 10.
Comment
What a glorious truth this is. A French composer named César Malan wrote a hymn called It Is Not Death to Die. He lived during a time of great persecution of Christians and watched even his own sister lose her life for Jesus. He was able to write these powerful words of truth:
Jesus, Thou Prince of life!
Thy chosen cannot die:
Like Thee, they conquer in the strife,
To reign with Thee on high.
Christians do not fear death, even if the process of dying is unpleasant. Death, when we have come to our appointed hour, frees us from all that is fallen and broken with us and with our world.
Question (43)
What further benefit do we receive from Christ's sacrifice and death on the cross?
Answer
Through Christ's death our old nature is crucified, put to death, and buried with Him,1 so that the evil desires of the flesh may no longer reign in us,2 but that we may offer ourselves to Him as a sacrifice of thankfulness.3
1 Rom. 6:5-11; Col. 2:11, 12. 2 Rom. 6:12-14. 3 Rom. 12:1; Eph. 5:1, 2.
Comment
The death of Christ not only paves the way for our justification (being declared innocent and righteous by the Father), but also our sanctification (becoming holy like Jesus). Where once we were slaves to a heart that loved things that God hates and did not love God, we are now free. We can, with all gratitude, give ourselves to God in service and worship. Even in our obedience to God we must not fail to remember that this is only possible because of the sacrifice of Christ.
What a betrayal it is for all of us when, having been given such a costly freedom from the power of sin in our lives, we choose to walk in sin anyway. The death of Jesus should not only renew our confidence in eternal salvation, but should also renew our commitment to personal and thankful holiness.
Friday
Question (44)
Why is there added: He descended into hell?
Answer
In my greatest sorrows and temptations I may be assured and comforted that my Lord Jesus Christ, by His unspeakable anguish, pain, terror, and agony, which He endured throughout all His sufferings1 but especially on the cross, has delivered me from the anguish and torment of hell.2
1 Ps. 18:5, 6; 116:3; Matt. 26:36-46; 27:45, 46; Heb. 5:7-10. 2 Is. 53.
Comment
I hope many who read this have attended, or will attend, our Good Friday service. It is a somber but precious time for our church to reflect together on the death of Christ. Today’s meditation is meant to connect with this service.
Our catechism question is asking about a line from the early church creeds that speaks of Jesus descending into hell. The purpose of this question is to cause us to realize that the terrors of hell are not the torments of demons or devils, for demons and devils do not oversee hell, they are imprisoned there. The torments of hell are comprised of the wrath of God. Jesus experienced all the terrors of hell when He bore the wrath of God on the cross.
This should quiet us and humble us, but as this question makes clear – it should also comfort us. When we are most sorrowed, and when we are most aware of our ongoing sinfulness, we can take assurance from the suffering of Jesus. What He has suffered for us, we will never suffer. All the horrors of holy wrath that we, in our honest moments of self-evaluation, rightly believe are deserved, have been forever removed from us by the one who suffered in our place. It is one of the most enduring and stubborn manifestations of pride that it is so often difficult for us to fully rest in this truth. How often do we act as though our sin were so small a matter that we can make up for it by our own good efforts? How often do we wallow in guilt when forgiveness has been secured?
He could not have suffered more. In Him, I can not suffer less. To grace such as this, what can be said?
Saturday
Question (45)
How does Christ's resurrection benefit us?
Answer
First, by His resurrection He has overcome death, so that He could make us share in the righteousness which He had obtained for us by His death.1 Second, by His power we too are raised up to a new life.2 Third, Christ's resurrection is to us a sure pledge of our glorious resurrection.3
1 Rom. 4:25; I Cor. 15:16-20; I Pet. 1:3-5. 2 Rom. 6:5-11; Eph. 2:4-6; Col. 3:1-4. 3 Rom. 8:11; I Cor. 15:12-23; Phil. 3:20, 21.
Comment
As we anticipate celebrating the resurrection in just one more day, this question and answer helps us to specifically thank God for the benefits of the resurrection.
In the death of Jesus, the fatal blow against death was struck. In the resurrection, that terrible giant of old came crashing down in defeat. In so doing, all the promises of God to us were made certain.
Jesus, the great Hero, had gone into battle for us, and now He has emerged from the pall of war with His enemies ruined and His rewards with Him.
It is worth pondering how we take advantage of these benefits. We are alive because the righteousness of Christ has been credited, or imputed, to us. Do we also live out His righteousness as a demonstration of who we are in Him? His power has raised us up to a new life as the old passes away and all things become new in Christ. How many of our old habits do we return to when glorious replacements are now ours in Him? Finally, Christ’s resurrection guarantees that our resurrection is going to happen. Can Jesus really bring us from the grave to glory? Certainly! He, and He alone, has traversed that hidden road on His own and can lead others just as safely.
Question (46)
What do you confess when you say, He ascended into heaven?
Answer
That Christ, before the eyes of His disciples, was taken up from the earth into heaven,1 and that He is there for our benefit2 until He comes again to judge the living and the dead.3
1 Mark 16:19; Luke 24:50, 51; Acts 1:9-11. 2 Rom. 8:34; Heb. 4:14; 7:23-25; 9:24. 3 Matt. 24:30; Acts 1:11.
Comment
This final question we ponder before the celebration of Easter is one which directs our gaze to heaven. The resurrected Savior has left this world and is even now in heaven seated at the right hand of the Father. He has not left us in an act of neglect, but as another gift of grace. It is to our great benefit that Jesus left since His leaving secures for us an intercessor before the Father, a preparation of our eternal home, and the sending of the Holy Spirit. We now live in the great anticipation of His return when the completion of His promises will unfold. Motivated by love, we proclaim the goodness of Jesus to our neighbors, even unto the ends of the earth. However, we also see the sin, pain, and suffering that are inescapable in this cursed world and pray, Come, Lord Jesus!
All these truths we have considered this week hinge on a Savior who came, died, and rose. May we all have a deeper sense of what we celebrate when we gather tomorrow and declare to one another:
Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed!