April 9 – LD
15, Day 1: The
by Rev
Hebrews 2:9 “But we see Jesus, who
was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with
glory and honor; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man.”
This Lord’s Day introduces the second state of humiliation, Jesus’
life-long suffering. Strikingly the catechism notes that suffering as
life-long. There is an interesting question in that regard. How was
it possible for Jesus to experience God’s wrath all His life and at the same
time live in the consciousness of God’s favor and love? Jesus was always
aware of the love of His Father, but as he came closer and closer to the end of
his life, the consciousness of that love faded and the horror of God’s wrath
grew. “Especially at the end of His life” provides us with the solution.
The weight of suffering pressed out of Him blood and sweat in the garden. At
the same time, however, he was aware of God’s favor. He still could call
upon God as His Father. God loved His perfectly obedient Son in the midst of
all the suffering.
God’s anger was directed toward the sins which Jesus voluntarily took on
Himself. Burdened with yours and my sin He stood before God as the guilty one
and was made to taste death. No one before or after Him has ever experienced as
weighty a burden as the wrath of God against the sins of all the
redeemed.
It is hard for us to imagine living in the shadow of the cross as Jesus
did His entire life. For us, God gives sad and happy days. Not for Jesus.
His suffering was a life sentence. Only one who was very God and man could
endure it. What remarkable love!