Sermon First Sunday After Christmas

Sermon: Apostle’s Creed V

By Frank Watson

We spent a lot of time on the line, “I believe Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.” It is a critical part of the Creed, and I’m glad we took the time to cover it thoroughly. The Creed continues with I believe Jesus Christ “suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified dead and buried.”

The Jewish leaders were terrified of Jesus. He entered Jerusalem on the back of a colt fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah. The people of Jerusalem greeted him as a conquering hero and laid palm branches in his path. Zechariah 9:9 9Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

The people were aware of this prophesy as were the leaders of the Sanhedrin. Jesus was a threat to their status and rocked the foundation of their beliefs. He spent the week before Passover healing, doing miracles, and preaching. His activities did little to calm the nerves of the High Priest. He cast the money lenders and sellers of sacrificial animals out of the temple. It was a significant source of income for the priests who rented space to them. Healing the blind and lame, He did what the priests could not do, thus, undermining their power. Jesus questioned conventional teachings and spoke of a new kingdom. He challenged the establishment, and He had to go.

The High Priests could have punished Jesus themselves. Jewish law allowed execution by burning, strangling, beheading or stoning. You will recall that Stephen was martyred by stoning. But it was the day before Passover, and Jesus had a large following.

They were afraid to have Him put to death. So, they took Him to Pilate.

Pilate is a documented historic figure. Doubters, however, refused to recognize his existence until 1961 when archeologists found a stone inscription linking him to the reign of Tiberius. He was appointed prefect and governor of Judea in 26 ad. He got off on the wrong foot right away and insulted the Jews by hanging pagan images in public places and minting coins with pagan symbols. He was recalled to Rome ten years after he was appointed governor and charged with executing men without proper trail. He was found guilty and Emperor Caligula ordered him to kill himself.

Pilate was not favored by the people of Judea. It would have supported the popularity of the Priests if Pilate put Jesus to death. Thus, it served more than one purpose to take Christ to Pilate. Pilate, however, surprised the High Priest by finding no fault with Him. So, He was taken before Herod.

Herod is also found in the history books. This is not the same Herod who ruled when the wise men visited the Baby in Bethlehem. That was Herod the Great. Herod the Great was appointed by Tiberius to govern Judea with the authority of Roman law. Herod Agrippa succeeded his father but was stripped of the governorship when Pontius Pilate was appointed. Thus, Herod Agrippa could only adjudicate Jewish law. Herod had John the Baptist beheaded, so we know he had the authority to execute Jesus but decided against it. It could have been, he feared the wrath of the people, or it could have been unpopular to have an execution of the eve of Passover, or it could have been he too wanted to put Pilate in a no-win situation. So, Herod dressed Jesus in a beautiful royal robe and sent him back to Pilate.

Roman punishments were commonly monetary fines or whippings. Crucifixion was reserved for serious crimes such as rebellion or treason. The priests had time to think of a crime worthy

of execution so they accused Jesus of claiming to be King. This was tantamount to treason. Pilate did not believe Him to be a threat to the Caesar’s authority so he had Him flogged and tried once again to send Him away.

Flogging was a gruesome punishment in itself. The whip was normally a cat-o-nine-tails with bits of stone or bone tied into the lashes to bite into the flesh. Many victims of flogging didn’t survive the ordeal. So, even if He were only flogged, He would have suffered greatly under Pontius Pilate, but there was more. The soldiers mocked Him by placing a crown of thorns on his head. I’m sure they didn’t take time to do this gently, and the thorns dug into his scalp. Christ had to have been in shock after the beating because there is no mention that he flinched or tried to remove the painful crown.

Pilate hoped to be finished with his prisoner, but the priests persisted. They wanted him dead. As a last resort to appease the priests, Pilate condemned Jesus but offered to pardon Him in honor of the Passover as was the custom. The Priests riled up the crowd such that they chose Barabbas in lieu of Christ. Pilate then gave up and washed his hand of the whole affair. Jesus suffered greatly under Pontius Pilate.

There is no record of the crucifixion. This is understandable when you consider the number of prisoners executed by the Romans. Execution of a wandering Jewish Holy Man was not considered significant enough to merit recording in their log. Jesus was one of three to be crucified that day. The condemned on either side of him were thieves, but they must have committed other more serious crimes. We don’t know what they stole, but it must have been serious enough to merit crucifixion.

We don’t know where the other disciples were, but we do know John was present at the cross. We also have the testimony of

Thomas and the others present when they examined the holes in His hands. There is little doubt that Christ was crucified.

“Dead and Buried.” The soldiers who stood watch at the cross and gambled for His clothes could testify that He was dead. Crucifixion normally took several hours. When the executioners thought the condemned had suffered enough, they broke his legs, so that he could not take the pressure off his diaphragm. Suffocation soon followed. When they came to Jesus, they found he had already expired as he was weakened by the flogging. Thus, there was no need to break His legs. They then made sure he was dead by stabbing him in each side with a lance. Jesus was dead. Joseph of Amaltheia, a member of the Sanhedrin, offered a newly carved family tomb for Crist’s internment. The disciple John, Mary and several women followers took the body down from the cross and put it in the tomb on the Friday before Passover. They could testify that he was dead and buried, but they didn’t have time to prepare the body according to their custom. They returned Sunday morning with spices and those things necessary to prepare the body. They certainly believed he was dead and buried, there can be no doubt this was true.

Some versions of the Apostle’s Creed have the next line read, “He descended into hell.” Others instead of Hell have him, “descended unto the dead.” I’m not sure I understand, but I have given it serious thought and believe it means that Christ’s spirit left His body, and He was truly dead. That He arose is evidence that Jesus has dominion even over death. There are other theologians who believe He descended into Hell to offer salvation to lost souls – to allow those who had died without knowing Jesus to enter into God’s eternal Kingdom. Maybe it is just too deep for most of us to grasp. The traditional version in our hymnal, on page 882, omits this line. I wonder if it is because few understand what it means.

Pray with me. I believe Jesus Christ suffered at the hands of Pontius Pilot. I believe the Jewish leaders insisted he be executed ,and he died on a Roman Cross and was buried. I believe He was devoid of life as we know it from Friday until Sunday morning. His death gives me hope that my soul may have a chance to live with Him in heaven. Amen