Zacharias Ursinus:
Question 37. What dost thou understand by
he words, “he suffered?”
Answer. 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 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, righteous ness, and
eternal life.
EXPOSITION.
We have, thus far, in our remarks upon the second part of
the Creed, spoken only of the person of the mediator. We shall now proceed to
speak of his office, which is included in the remaining part of the second
division of the Creed, which treats of God, the Son and our redemption. And we
shall, in the first place, speak of the humiliation of Christ, (the first part
of his office) which we have comprehended in the fourth Article:
Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead, and
buried: He descended into hell. The passion or suffering of Christ is placed
immediately after his conception and nativity; 1. Because our entire salvation
consists in his passion and death. 2. Because his whole life was one continued
scene of suffering and privation. There are also many things which may, and
ought to be profitably observed, in the history of the life which Christ spent
on earth, written by those who were eye-witnesses of the facts which they
record. For this does not only prove him to be the promised Messiah, in as much
as all the predictions of the prophets meet, and are fulfilled in him ; but it
is also a consideration of the humiliation and obedience which he rendered unto
his Father.
Those things which are to be considered in relation to the
suffering of Christ, properly belong here ; such as the history of Christ s
passion, agreeing, as it does, with all that had been foretold concerning it,
and the wonderful events with which it was connected the causes and benefits of
his suffering, and the example which Christ has furnished us, teaching us that
we too must enter into glory through suffering.
But, for a more complete exposition of this Article, we
shall consider more particularly,
- What we are to understand by the term passion, or what it was that Christ suffered:
- Whether he suffered according to both natures:
- What the impelling cause of his suffering was:
- What the final causes and fruits of his sufferings were.
By the term passion we are to understand the whole
humiliation of Christ, or the obedience of his whole humiliation, all the
miseries, infirmities, griefs, torments and ignominy to which he was subject,
for our sakes, from the moment of his birth even to the hour of his death, as
well in soul as in body. The principal part of his sorrows and anguish were the
torments of soul, in which he felt and endured the wrath of God against the sins
of all mankind. By the term passion, however, we are to understand chiefly the
closing scene, or last act of his life, in which he suffered extreme torments,
both of body and soul, on account of our sins. “My soul is exceeding sorrowful,
even unto death.” “ My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me.” “Surely he hath
borne our griefs. He was wounded for our transgressions.” “Yet it pleased the
Lord to bruise him.” (Matt. 26:38; 27:46. Is. 53:4, 5, 10.)
What, therefore, did Christ suffer? 1. The privation or
destitution of the highest felicity and joy, together with all those good things
which he might have enjoyed. 2. All the infirmities of our nature, sin only
excepted: he hungered, he thirsted, was fatigued, was afflicted with sadness and
grief, &c. 3. Extreme want and poverty; “The Son of man hath not where to
lay his head.” (Matt. 8:20.) 4.
Infinite injuries, reproaches, calumnies, treacheries, envyings, slanders,
blasphemies, rejections and contempt; “I am a worm, arid no man; and a reproach
of many.” “He hath no form or comeliness, and when we shall see him there is no
beauty that we should desire him.” (Ps. 22:6. Is 53:2) 5. The
temptations of the devil; “He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet
without sin.” (Heb. 4:15.) 6. The
most reproachful and ignominious death, even that of the cross. 7. The keenest
and most bitter anguish of soul, which is doubtless a sense of the wrath of God
against the sins of the whole human race. It was this that caused him to
exclaim, upon the cross, with a loud voice, “My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? ”as if he should say, Why dost thou not drive away from me such
severe anguish and torments? Thus we see what, and how greatly Christ has
suffered in our behalf.
But since the divine nature was united to the human, how is
it possible that it was so oppressed and weakened as to break forth in such
exclamations of anguish; and especially so when there were martyrs who were far
more bold and courageous? The cause of this arises from the difference which
there was in the punishment which Christ endured and that of martyrs. St.
Lawrence, lying on the gridiron, did not experience the dreadful wrath of God,
either against his own, or against the sins of the human race, the entire
punishment of which was inflicted upon the Son of God, as Isaiah saith, he was
stricken, and smitten of God for our sins : We say, then, that St. Lawrence did
not feel the anger of an offended God piercing and wounding him ; but felt that
God was reconciled, and at peace with him ; neither did he experience the
horrors of death and hell as Christ did, but he had great consolation, because
he suffered on account of confessing the gospel, and was assured that his sins
were remitted by and for the sake of the Son of God, upon whom they were laid,
according to what is said, “Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of
the world.” (John 1 : 29.) Hence
it is easy to be accounted for, why St. Lawrence seemed to have more courage and
presence of mind in his martyrdom, than Christ in his passion; and hence it is
also that the human nature of Christ, although united to the Godhead, was made
to sweat drops of blood in the garden, and to give vent to the mournful
lamentation, “ My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Not that there was
any separation between the natures in Christ ; but because the humanity was for
i time forsaken by the Divinity, the Word being at rest, or quiet, (as Irenaeus
saith) and not bringing aid and deliverance to the afflicted humanity until a
passion altogether sufficient might be endured and finished.
The satisfaction, therefore, which Christ made, or the
suffering which he endured, differs from the torments of others. 1. Inform.
Christ felt and endured, both in body and soul, the entire wrath of God, which
no one else has ever experienced. 2. In the impelling cause. Christ suffered not
for his own sins, but for the sins of others. 3. In the final cause, or end.
The passion of Christ is the ransom and only propitiatory sacrifice for our
sins: the sufferings of others do not partake of this character, but are merely
punishments, or trials, or attestations to the truth of the Gospel.
Obj. 1. According to the order of divine justice, the
innocent ought not to suffer for the guilty: for justice demands the punishment
of the offender. But Christ was an innocent person. Therefore his punishment is
in opposition to the rule of justice; because, he being innocent, suffered for
us, who were guilty. Ans. We reply to the major proposition, that the innocent
ought not to suffer for the guilty, 1. Unless he willingly offer himself in the
room, and stead of the guilty. 2. Unless he who thus voluntarily suffers, be
able to make a sufficient ransom. 3. That he may be able to recover himself from
these sufferings, and not perish under them. 4. That he may be able to bring it
to pass, that those for whom he makes satisfaction, may not in future offend. 5.
And that he be of the same nature with those for whom satisfaction is made. If
such a satisfier as this can be substituted in the place of the offending, there
is nothing in it that is contrary to the order of divine justice: for thus, both
he who suffers, and those for whom it is endured, are saved. Christ, now, is
such a satisfier ; for he has accomplished all these things, and is not only a
man of the same nature with us, but we are also members of his. And it is on
account of this, our union with Christ our Head, that his punishment is truly
ours, and that the Apostles every where teach, that we all suffered, and died in
Christ : for when the body is afflicted, all the members suffer with it. This
argument, however, will be enlarged, when we come to speak of the article of the
forgiveness of sins. To sum up the whole : that any one may make satisfaction
for others, these things must be present, and harmonize it must be a sufficient
satisfaction it must be voluntary, and satisfy him to whom it is due ; all of
which conditions meet, and concur in the satisfaction of Christ.
Obj. 2. There must be a proportion between the satisfaction
and the crime. But there is no proper proportion, between the sufferings of one
man, and the sins of an infinite number of men. How, therefore, can the ransom
which Christ alone paid, correspond with the sins of a vast number of men? Ans.
It can, for these two causes: First, on account of the dignity of his person;
and secondly, on account of the greatness of the punishment which he endured;
for he suffered that which we were bound to suffer to all eternity. His passion,
therefore, is equivalent to everlasting punishment, yea it exceeds it ; because,
that God should suffer, is more than that all creatures should perish. This was
the greatest miracle, that the Son of God should cry out, “ My God, my God, why
hast thou forsaken me.”
Reply 1. God cannot suffer and die. Christ suffered and died.
There fore, he is not God. Ans. We reply to the major proposition God, that is,
the person which is only God, cannot suffer, or is impassible, according to that
in respect to which he is God. But Christ is not only God, but also man. Or we
may concede the whole argument, if it be rightly understood for Christ is not
God, in respect to that in which he suffered and died, that is, in respect to
his human nature.
Reply 2. If Christ is not God, according to that which
suffered, then that which is said, that God purchased the church with his own
blood, is false. Ans. This is spoken according to the communication of
properties, or according to the figure of speech, called synecdoche, which is
true only in the concrete. God, that is, that person which is God and man,
purchased the church with his blood, which he shed in respect to his humanity.
By this communication of properties, we attribute to the whole per son, what is
peculiar to one nature, and that in the concrete only ; because the term
concrete signifies the person in which both natures centre, and the property of
that nature of which this is predicated. Hence, there is nothing in the way of
our affirming of the whole person, what is peculiar to one nature, provided that
property reside in the person ; whilst on the contrary, by the term abstract,
only the properties of that nature are predicated of which they are peculiar.
Let this, which is spoken incidentally, suffice.
Obj. 3. There is no just proportion between temporal and
eternal punishment. Christ suffered only temporal punishments. Therefore, he
could not make satisfaction for eternal punishments. Ans. There is, indeed, no
proportion between temporal and eternal punishments, if it be in the same
subject, but there may be, in different subjects. The temporal punishment of the
Son of God, exceeds in dignity and worth, the eternal punishment of the whole
world, for the reasons already explained.
Obj. 4. If Christ made satisfaction for all, then all ought
to be saved. But all are not saved. Therefore, he did not make a perfect
satisfaction. Ans. Christ satisfied for all, as it respects the sufficiency of
the satisfaction which he made, but not as it respects the application thereof;
for he fulfilled the law in a two-fold respect. First, by his own righteousness;
and secondly, by making satisfaction for our sins, each of which is most
perfect. But the satisfaction is made ours by an application, which is also
two-fold; the former of which is made by God, when he justifies us on account of
the merit of his Son, and brings it to pass that we cease from sin; the latter
is accomplished by us through faith. For we apply unto ourselves, the merit of
Christ, when by a true faith, we are fully persuaded that God for the sake of
the satisfaction of his Son, remits unto us our sins. Without this application,
the satisfaction of Christ is of no benefit to us.
Obj. 5. But there were also propitiatory sacrifices under the
law of Moses. Ans. These were not properly expiatory, but were typical of the
sacrifice of Christ, which alone is truly expiatory: “For it is not possible
that the blood of bulls, and of goats should take away sins.” “The blood of
Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin.” “He is the propitiation for
the sins of the whole world.” (Heb. 10:4. 1 John 1:7; 2:2.)
Christ suffered, not according to both natures, nor according
to the Divinity, but according to the human nature only, both in body and soul;
for the divine nature is immutable, impassible, immortal, and life itself, and
so cannot die. But he suffered in such a manner, according to his humanity, that
by his passion and death, he satisfied for the sins of men. The divine nature
sustained the humanity, in the sorrows and pains which were endured, and raised
it when dead unto life. “Being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the
Spirit.” “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust,
that he might bring us to God.” “Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh.”
“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” “I am he that
liveth, and was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore.” “have power to lay
down my life, and I have power to take it up again.” (1 Pet. 2:18; 4:1. John 2:19. Rev.
1:18. John 10:18.) These
declarations testify that there was in Christ another nature, besides his flesh,
which did not suffer and die. Irensaeus says, “ As Christ was man, that he might
be tempted, so he was the Word, that he might be glorified; the Word resting in
him truly, that it might be possible for him to be tempted, crucified, and to
die, and yet united to his humanity, that he might thus overcome temptation,”.
Obj. But it is said that God purchased the church with his
own blood; and hence the Deity must have suffered. Ans. This does not follow,
because the form of speech is changed. When it is said God died, this is spoken
figuratively by a synecdoche, or by the communication of proper ties, as we have
already explained. But when it is said, the Deity suffered, this is spoken
without a figure, because the subject is taken in the abstract. Again, no
consequence from the concrete to the abstract is of any force. The concrete
(which is God) signifies the subject having a form; the abstract (which is
Deity) signifies the naked form, or the nature only. In this doctrine,
therefore, the concrete is the name of the person, and the abstract the name of
the nature. Hence, as this consequence does not follow: Man is composed of the
elements, and is corporeal; therefore, the soul is composed of the elements, and
is corporeal; so also it does not follow, Christ who is God died; therefore, the
Deity of Christ died.
The cause which moved God to
give his Son for us was : 1 . His love towards the human race. “ God so loved
the world that he gave his only begotten Son.” (John 3 : 16.) 2. The
compassion of God towards those who were fallen in sin and death. u According to
his mercy he saved us.” (Titus 8 : 5.) 8: The
desire and purpose of God to revenge and repair the injury of the devil, who, in
contempt and reproach of God, turned us from the Most High, and spoiled his
image in us.
The final causes, and fruits
of the passion of Christ are the same, but in a, different respect. In respect
to Christ who suffered, they are the final causes; but in respect to us, they
are the fruits. The principal final causes of the passion of Christ, are the
revelation and manifestation of the love, mercy and justice of God, in that he
did not spare his Son for us; and that his passion might be a sufficient ransom
for our sins, or for our redemption. There are, therefore, two chief final
causes, the glory of God and our salvation. The knowledge of the greatness of
sin, pertains to the former, that we may perceive how great an evil sin is, and
what it deserves. Our justification belongs to the latter, in which we have
comprehended all the benefits which Christ merited by his death, and which he
confers upon us by his coming forth from death. Hence we know that death is not
hurtful to the godly, and is, therefore, not to be feared.
Zacharias Ursinus, The Commentary of Dr. Zacharias Ursinus on the Heidelberg Catechism, trans. G.W.Willard, (Phillipsburg: P&R, 1994), pp. 212-217, underlining mine.
