3/22/12- The Descent of Christ

30- 3/22- HDBG- 41-44

Q. 41. Why was he “buried”?

A. To confirm the fact that he was really dead.

Q. 42. Since, then, Christ died for us, why must we also die?

A. Our death is not a reparation for our sins, but only a dying to sin and an entering into eternal life.

Q. 43. What further benefit do we receive from the sacrifice and death of Christ on the cross?

A. That by his power our old self is crucified, put to death, and buried with him, so that the evil passions of our mortal bodies may reign in us no more, but that we may offer ourselves to him as a sacrifice of thanksgiving.

Q. 44. Why is there added: “He descended into hell”?

A. That in my severest tribulations I may be assured that Christ my Lord has redeemed me from hellish anxieties and torment by the unspeakable anguish, pains, and terrors which he suffered in his soul both on the cross and before.

Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. ⁴¹ At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. ⁴² Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. (John 19:40-42)

Thoughts:  While Roman Catholic tradition has Christ harrowing hell, bringing out of limbo the Old Testament saints; Luther spoke of destroying the power of hell and the devil in his descent.  Some drop the descent into hell altogether because they do not understand it, or see it associated with purgatory.  Calvin (see below) appears to say that Christ went through hell on the cross for us.  If hell is separation from God, and Christ cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  Then Christ was bearing our sins in sacrifice and experiencing the God-forsakenness of hell.  This was seen as part of his payment or our sins.

Prayer:  May I not downplay the importance and the suffering you endured for me, dear Lord Jesus.  Help me to not shrink back from the crosses I must bear this Lent. 

The explanation given to us in God's Word is not only holy and pious, but also full of wonderful consolation. If Christ had died only a bodily death, it would have been ineffectual. No--it was expedient at the same time for him to undergo the severity of God's vengeance, to appease his wrath and satisfy his just judgment. For this reason, he must also grapple hand to hand with the armies of hell and the dread of everlasting death. A little while ago we referred to the prophet's statement that "the chastisement of our peace was laid upon him," "he was wounded for our transgressions" by the Father, "he was bruised for our infirmities." By these words he means that Christ was put in place of evildoers as surety and pledge--submitting himself even as the accused--to bear and suffer all the punishments that they ought to have sustained. All--with this one exception: "He could not be held by the pangs of death." No wonder, then, if he is said to have descended into hell, for he suffered the death that God in his wrath had inflicted upon the wicked! Those who--on the ground that it is absurd to put after his burial what preceded it--say that the order is reversed in this way are making a very trifling and ridiculous objection. The point is that the Creed sets forth what Christ suffered in the sight of men, and then appositely speaks of that invisible and incomprehensible judgment which he underwent in the sight of God in order that we might know not only that Christ's body was given as the price of our redemption, but that he paid a greater and more excellent price in suffering in his soul the terrible torments of a condemned and forsaken man. (Calvin's Institutes II.16.10)

(Descent Into Hell- Mantegna 1470)