Lords Day 15

In this beautiful poetic presentation of Lords Day 15 by David Croft, the Heidelberg Catechism addresses the suffering of Christ. Why did Jesus have to suffer? Was there no other way to save a lost mankind? Why was it necessary that He be condemned by a judge, and why was He crucified? With its very familiarity we take these questions for granted, but it was truly necessary that everything happened exactly as it did!

Lords Day 15

Describe Christ's Sorrows

Describe Christ's sorrows if you can!
They lived, as lived He on the earth
Apportioned to the Son of man
A tapestry of pain and dearth
But most unfettered at the end
He bore in body and in soul
God's burning anger over sin
Of which were Adam's children full

And Christ so suffered in our place
That one atoning sacrifice
To gain us righteousness and grace
Eternal life in paradise
But why was Christ then humbled by
The judgment Pontius Pilate made?
Though innocent, He chose to die
So that our judgment would be stayed

And is it then significant
That Christ the Lord was crucified?
To seal the living testament
He bled upon a cross and died
This form of death was cursed of God
And so it then convinces me
That Christ took all my curses on
And buried them at Calvary

April 26, 1996
Lords Day 15 Heidelberg Catechism Questions & Answers 37-39
© Copyright 1996 David L. Croft

How can we understand Christ's sorrows? How can we know the pain of suffering the death, torment, and separation from God, for all of the people of God, that they might be presented to God as righteous? We cannot! Yet He willingly offered Himself up as a sacrifice in our place, paying a debt we could not possibly pay.

Why was it necessary that He be condemned by a civil judge? Because He was truly innocent, and yet condemned by a civil judge, God in His righteousness accepted His payment for us, who deserved to die in His place, because we are not innocent.

These are hard truths for us to understand, but we must all agree that nothing we could say or do could come close to showing our love and thankfulness for such an awful price He paid.

Oh what love!

Lords Day 15

Lords Day 16

Lords Day 14

Heidelberg Catechism Poetry

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