April 9 – LD 15, Day 1: The Second State of Humiliation

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!