The Messiah’s Secret – The Apostles Creed

Part of a Series

“He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried.”

It’s good to reflect on the truths of what we believe in the Apostles Creed and own them by experiencing these truths for ourselves.

A young man who came to the Job Club was still searching to put substance to his faith. We looked at together ‘Amazing Exchange’ this little booklet presents the reader with various situations that may be applicable to their life, where they can’t quite understand something  and it blocks them coming to faith in Jesus. This young man had a problem believing that Jesus existed.  Maybe you have similar booklets that you enjoy sharing with people who want to know about Jesus.

I pointed the young man to the historian Titus Flavius Josephus who was a first-century Romano-Jewish scholar; he recorded Pilate’s involvement in the reality of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Antiquities of the Jews – Book XVIII“   “And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, (9) those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; (10) as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.”

The truth recorded in history of Jesus’ existence.

“And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross”

In order to comply with Roman law, the leaders of the Jewish Council had to send him to Pilate the Roman Governor of Israel for sentencing.  Jesus suffered false accusations against him.

a. They accused Jesus before Pilate of perverting the nation.

b. Forbidding them to give tribute to Caesar.

c  Saying that he himself is Christ a king. Luke 23: 2

Jesus was accused of perverting the nation, when he healed in the synagogue on the Sabbath day. Luke 13: 14.  They said, “There are six days on which work ought to be done, come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” Jesus said that it was right to do good on the Sabbath day. Luke 6:9.

He was falsely accused of not paying tribute, Peter paid the tribute on his behalf, a shekel retrieved from a fish’s mouth. Matthew 17: 27.

Before Pilate Jesus said, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” John 18: 37, 38.

Dr Luke writing to his friend Theophilus that he may know the truth of these things concerning Jesus’ birth.

Jesus was born a king, when the wise men came from the east to worship him they asked, “Where is he born King of the Jews?”  Kings are normally crowned a king as they succeed another. Matthew 2: 2.

We believe that it was in God’s plan that Jesus would be crucified,. Acts 2: 23 Peter proclaimed  to the crowd, “This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.”

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews explains why crucifixion.  “When Christ came into the world he said, “Sacrifices and offerings thou hast not desired, but a body you have prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings thou hast taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Lo, I have come to do thy will oh God’ as it is written of me in the roll of the book.”

He continued in the reading to give meaning to Jesus’ words, “Thou hast neither desired nor taken pleasure in burnt sacrifices and offerings and sin offerings” these were offered according to the law, “Low I have come to do thy will.”

He abolishes the first in order to establish the second, and by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

Jesus  knew  why he had to suffer to be the final sacrifice for sin, he wrestled with his own soul in the Garden of Gethsemane to do God’s will, to drink the cup that lead him like a lamb to the slaughter.

Which was to fulfil the Moses Covenant, under the law everyone was penalised for doing wrong and had to make a sacrifice to attain forgiveness. This was repeated as sins were continually confessed. Hebrews 10 : 5-10. RSV Bible                         

When I explain the cross to someone who has a church background, I use the true example in Leviticus, you may have your own way of explaining the cross.

In Leviticus Chapter 1 we read that .a person brought a sacrifice to the temple to be a substitute for their sin.  They said a prayer laying their hand upon the head of the lamb or a bird transferring their sin to it. The lamb was then slain by them.

Jesus’ body was prepared by God to be the final sacrifice for sin, so that the law was abolished in Jesus’ death In its’ place the New Covenant

The significance of the cross, so when we come to him in repentance and faith, he takes our sin upon himself and becomes our substitute taking the punishment, dying on the cross and in his burial, that sin is dead and buried, abolished, wiped out, therefore, we are not penalised, we are blessed by Jesus, which is grace – unmerited favour.

Speaking out the truth of these things, –  My friend June wrote her testimony down for me to share, “First I would like to explain that I finally forgiven someone, I mean truly forgiven. A few days later I was walking along the disused railway in Helmshore with our dogs.

It was a pleasant day, very still. I felt a wind blow up, but nothing was moving. I saw in front of me a life-size Jesus on the cross. He was dead, his body grey, stone like, I couldn’t bear to look, I turned away. I felt all the wrong that I had done being taken away from me, but I didn’t want him to, because I physically felt the pain that I had caused him. I felt ashamed and started crying.

The next minute I felt a presence next to me. I wasn’t sure if it was Jesus or God, but I couldn’t see anyone. All the weight I had been carrying inside had been taken away. I felt so happy, so clean. Everywhere was so beautiful, the colours were so bright, I had never seen colour like it before.”

This is a visual example of what takes place when every person meets Jesus at the cross, repents and receives forgiveness, sins are dead and buried for ever.

The young man received Jesus as his Saviour. Now, I hear he’s moved to Wales and is in partnership with his brother running a small business.