Suffered Under Pontius Pilate
Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions
Scripture Text: Matthew 27:11–23
Series: Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions
From the Confessions: The Apostles Creed
“Suffered under Pontius Pilate”
Pulling It Together
Pilate, as governor of the Roman province of Judea, presided over the trial of Jesus Christ. The trial, a sham, complete with trumped-up charges, an all-too-literal whipping boy, and a villain set free, would see Jesus spit upon, humiliated, scourged, a crown of thorns pressed into his scalp, and finally crucified as a common criminal. When we say that Jesus suffered under Pilate, we do not mean to say that Pilate’s own hand beat him, whipped him, and crucified him. We mean all that Jesus suffered was received under Pilate's governance. But more than that, we mean he really and truly suffered. His suffering was not a sham.
Did he have to suffer? No. With a word, he could have had 20,000 angels come to his defense (Matthew 26:53). He suffered willingly. An innocent man—the sinless Son of Man—wrongly suffered, but not needlessly. It did us an eternity of good. So, we confess that for our sin and for the sin of the whole world, “Christ bore his suffering on the cross and thereby transformed all suffering and every cross into a blessing” (Luther’s Works, vol 43, p 27).
Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, for willingly suffering for my sin. Amen.
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Author
Rev. Dr. Mark E. Ryman has served as Pastor for St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Salisbury, NC, since 2021. Previously, Pastor Ryman served congregations in North Carolina and Ohio, as well as a call to specialized ministry with Sola Publishing.
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