The Holy Arbor, Chapter 4 · Section 5
§. 5. Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was Crucified, Dead and Buried; He deſcended into Hell.
THis Pontius Pilate was a Heathen Judge, ſet over the Province of the Jews by the Roman Emperor, under whoſe Government Chriſt began to execute his office for which he was ſent, and continuing therein, and working Miracles, was ſpitefully entreated of the wicked Jews for the ſpace of three years and upward, then villanouſly betrayed by one of his Diſciples, apprehended, abuſed and crucified, being full Thirty three years of Age and upward; though his certain Age is not infallibly ſet down by any.
Dead] that is, On the Croſs he gave up the ghoſt, was after pierced to the very heart, ſo that water and blood came out; and being found certainly dead, he had not his legs broken as theirs were who had been crucified with him. And Buried] that is, for the more certainty that his Spirit was departed out of his body, and as for the confirmation of his death, ſo for the myſtery of our not onelyonly death, but burial unto ſin figured thereby, he was taken down from the Croſs, and laid in the Grave or Sepulchre. Now it is one thing to believe that Chriſt ſuffered, another to believe in Chriſt which ſuffered; for that is onelyonly to have an Hiſtorical Faith of Chriſts Paſſion, without repoſing any confidence therein: but this is to believe not onelyonly that Chriſt ſuffered, but alſo to repoſe and place our truſt and confidence in Chriſts Suffering and Paſſion.
For the right apprehenſion of the ſuffering of Chriſt being God-Man, know, That the Deity ſimply conſidered in it ſelf and by it ſelf, could not dye; but that perſon which was God, both could and did dye: For the Son of God aſſuming an Humane Nature unto the Unity of his Divine Nature, and uniting them together without confuſion, alteration, diſtraction, ſeparation, in one perſon, that which is done by the one Nature, is done by the perſon; in which reſpect the Scripture often attributeth the Suffering of Chriſt to the other Nature, 1 Cor. 2.8. Acts 20.28. And though the Divine Nature of Chriſt ſuffered not, yet did it ſupport the Humane Nature, and added dignity, worth and efficacy to the ſuffering of that Nature; yea, it had alſo proper and peculiar works, as to Sanctifie his Humane Nature, to take away our ſins, to reconcile us to God, and the like. And this muſt be cautiouſly obſerved by us for a Rule, That Chriſt is not dead for us, except we be dead to ſin; neither is he riſen again for us, except we be riſen again to newneſs of life. And take this for a moſt ſure Principle, That we are not Redeemed, except we be Sanctified; for he did not Redeem us from ſin, that we ſhould commit it afreſh and ſerve it again. It is one thing to know that Chriſt dyed, another thing that he dyed for us; and it is one thing to diſcourſe paſſionately of his death, another to feel the operation thereof within us: Labor therefore to be ſo affected therewith, as that it may effectually prove thy death unto ſin.
Chriſt deſcended into Hell for us, when after the very time of his Paſſion, he continued for a time in the ſtate of the Dead, and was under the power of the Grave. This Article of Chriſts Deſcenſion into Hell, is to be underſtood of the Grave, not of his Souls going down locally into the place of the Damned, not onelyonly of thoſe inexpreſſible, yea unconceiveable torments which he ſuffered in his Soul under the eclipſe of Gods favor, yea under the fearful wrath of God, which though in reſpect of us was to be eternal, in him was made temporary, having end, becauſe himſelf is Eternal and Infinite: So that to believe in Jeſus Chriſt which deſcended into Hell, is to believe that Chriſt was for a time in the ſtate of the Dead, and held under the power of the Grave.
To believe in Chriſt which ſuffered, is to believe,
1. That Chriſt from the very moment of his conception ſuſtained calamities and miſeries of all ſorts for my ſake.
2. That at that his laſt time he ſuffered all the moſt bitter torments both of body and ſoul for my ſake.
3. That he felt the horrible and dreadful wrath of God, whereby to make recompence for mine and others ſins, and to appeaſe his wrath againſt Mankinde.
Mention is made of Pilate in Chriſts Paſſion, for theſe Reaſons:
1. Becauſe Chriſt would receive from the Judge himſelf a Teſtimony of his Innocency.
2. Becauſe it was requiſite he ſhould be ſolemnly condemned, that all the world might know, that he, though innocent, was condemned.
3. That we might be advertiſed of the fulfilling of the Propheſie, Gen. 49.10. The Scepter ſhall not depart from Judah, &c.
4. For that his innocency might appear, he was not to be privily taken away by the Jews, nor to be drawn to death by tumult or diſorderly.
In the ſufferings, Death & Paſſion of Chriſt, theſe things are ſpecially to be conſidered:
1. The Hiſtory it ſelf of Chriſts Paſſion, agreeing with Gods Sacred Oracles and Propheſies.
2. The cauſe of his Sufferings.
3. The fruit or effects of Chriſts Paſſion.
4. His example, that we are alſo to enter into eternal life and heavenly glory, by death, as did Chriſt.
5. The due Meditation in the whole.
The Hiſtory of Chriſts paſſion runs thus:
1. They apprehend him as they would a Varlet that had done ſome outrage, coming unto him with ſwords and ſtaves in the night time.
2. They carry him firſt to one High Prieſt, then to another, then to Pilate, then to Herod, and back again to Pilate; amongſt whom he is mocked, laughed at, ſcornfully intreated, and buffeted, queſtioned withal, ſpitted on, and crowned with Thorns.
3. They compel him to carry his heavy Croſs, till he nigh fainted under the burthen, being without all pity and compaſſion towards him.
4. Though they could not charge him juſtly with any fault at all worthy the leaſt puniſhment, inſomuch as Pilate that Heathen Judge would have acquitted him; yet they cryed out, Crucifie him, Crucifie him, and had rather one Barabbas a Traytor and a Murtherer ſhould be releaſed then he.
5. They hung him up between two Thieves; the moſt harmleſs and innocent man in the world, is numbred amongſt the wicked and evil doers.
6. Not content to pierce his hands and feet with nails, by faſtning him to the Croſs, but like hard-hearted wretches, they gave him vinegar mingled with gall to drink in his great heat and thirſt, and upbraided him with ſcoffs when he was on departure.
7. Not aſtoniſhed at the wonderful darkneſs, The renting of the Temples vail, The opening of Graves, The coming forth of the Dead; their malice expired not with him, but even after he was dead, they pierced him with a ſpear even to the heart, Joh. 19.34.
In the cauſe of Chriſts Death and Paſſion, conſider theſe four:
1. The object moving; that is, Mans Miſery, and the Devils Tyranny.
2. The efficient cauſe:
1. Impellent Internal, being the love of God towards his creatures.
2. The Obedient, which was the very Son of God obedient to his Father.
3. The Inſtrumental, as the Devil, the Scribes, Phariſees, and the reſt.
3. The Formal cauſe, being the Paſſion it ſelf hiſtorized by the Evangeliſts.
4. The Final cauſe:
1. That God might be glorified for his Juſtice and Mercy.
2. That Salvation might be purchaſed for Man, who was loſt by reaſon of ſin.
3. That Chriſt might deſtroy the works of the Devil, 1 Joh. 3.
The fruit or effect of Chriſts Death, is twofold,
1. General: Chriſt by his Paſſion conquered
The Devil, whom he hath bound.
Hell, which he hath ſpoiled.
Death, which he overcame.
The World, which he deſpiſed.
The Puniſhment, which he hath ſuffered.
Heaven, which he hath opened.
2. Special:
1. Obedience is performed to God.
2. The Devil is vanquiſhed.
3. Man is freed from ſin, and juſtified.
4. An Equalification of Jew and Gentile.
5. Death is diſannulled.
The Meditation of our Saviors Paſſion, conſiſts chiefly in theſe ſix particulars; viz.
1. How great was the Wrath of God for ſin, which could not be appeaſed, but by the death of his onelyonly begotten Son.
2. How infinite was the Mercy of God the Father, who would rather his Son ſhould undergo the moſt ignominious death, then that Man his creature ſhould periſh.
3. How unconceiveable was the Love of the Son of God, who for Mans ſake took upon himſelf the wrath of his Father.
4. We muſt apply the Merit of Chriſts Paſſion to our ſelves by faith, his Obedience being made our Righteouſneſs, whereby through faith we appear to God, not as ſinners, but juſtified.
5. What the Lot of the Righteous is in this world, who muſt ſuffer with him, that they may be glorified with him, Rom. 6.
6. That our future life may be formed into a better mould, Rom. 6. being dead unto ſin, by the power and efficacy of his death.
The Reaſons why Chriſt ſuffered ſo ignominious a death:
1. That we might know the curſe due for our ſins to have layen upon him, and ſo ſhould be ſtirred up to the greater thankfulneſs, conſidering how deteſtable a thing ſin is, that it ſhould call for ſo ignominious a death.
2. That it might be an exaſperating of the puniſhment, and ſo we ſo much the more confirmed in a true faith.
3. That the Truth might anſwer to the Types and Figures, and ſo we might know that they are all fulfilled in Chriſt.
The cauſes of Chriſts Burial; viz.
1. That we might know that he was dead indeed.
2. That the laſt part of his Humiliation, whereby he did debaſe himſelf for our ſakes, might be accompliſhed.
3. A certain Type was thereby to be fulfilled; it was foretold by the Type of Jonas.
4. He would be Buried, that we might not be afraid of the grave, but might know that our Head, Chriſt Jeſus, had laid open the way unto us by Death and the Grave, to celeſtial Glory.
5. That we might know how we are indeed delivered from death; for in his Death, a teſtimony and record whereof is his Burial, conſiſteth our Salvation.
6. That it might be manifeſt, That he was able indeed to riſe again, and that his Reſurrection was not imaginary, but the real and true Reſurrection of a reviving corps.
7. That we being Spiritually dead, that is, to ſin, might reſt from ſin.
The duties required of us, to ſet forth our Faith in Chriſt crucified, are theſe, viz.
1. Godly ſorrow in bewailing our ſins, the onelyonly cauſe of theſe great ſufferings of our dear Savior.
2. The mortification of our fleſhly members and ſinful concupiſcences, and that for three ſpecial cauſes:
1. By continuing in ſin, we make our ſelves acceſſary's of Chriſts death.
2. Becauſe all ſuch as unto whom Chriſts death is effectual to do away their ſins, are conformable unto him in his Death and Burial.
3. Becauſe no man following the trade of ſin, can be Chriſts Diſciple.
3. Patience, and joy in ſuffering any thing for Chriſts ſake and the Goſpel, and that chiefly for two cauſes:
1. By ſuffering we are made like unto him, Mat. 10.25.
2. Becauſe in ſuffering for his Truth, he doth grace us, foraſmuch as he doth take us for his Martyrs and Witneſſes.
4. To remain unterrified with the pangs and approaching of death unto us, becauſe Chriſt in dying overcame death, and took away the ſting thereof.
5. For this infinite love of Chriſt toward us, to love him moſt earneſtly again, and all his members, the Faithful, for his ſake.
That Chriſt deſcended into Hell, all found Chriſtians acknowledge; but in the interpretation of this Article, there is not that conſent as were to be wiſhed: For the diſſent of Opinions touching the ſame, they may be all compriſed in theſe; viz.
1. Some hold the words (He deſcended into Hell) meerly literally; that is, into the place of the damned, or ſome lower place thereabout: They which underſtand it of the place of the damned, ſay, That he went thither to triumph over all the damned ghoſts and devils, as a moſt glorious Conqueror both of Death and Hell, the moſt powerful Enemies; or that as God onelyonly and not Man, he deſcended powerfully and effectually, but not perſonally, into Hell; and that the Deity exhibited it ſelf, as it were preſent in the infernal parts, to the terror of the Devil and other damned Spirits. They which underſtand it of ſome place thereabout, ſay, That he went thither, and that by a local deſcenſion (as the Papiſts aſſirm) to deliver the Fathers and Patriarchs, that were detained, as they dream, for their Original ſin in Limbo. The grounds pretended for both, are alleaged out of Eph. 4.9. 1 Pet. 3.19. Pſal. 16.10. Acts 2.25. But they that ſtand for Limbo, alleage Heb. 9.8. & 11.39.
2. Others hold them literally, but expound foreign the Grave, ſaying, That he dyed, and was buried; that is, anointed to the Burial, and deſcended into the Sepulchre.
3. Others interpreting foreign the Grave, make the deſcent figurative, thus; He deſcended into Hell; that is, remained in the grave until the third day: theſe ſuppoſe he deſcended into Hell as Man onelyonly; and that, as ſome think, in Body onelyonly, as when death as it were prevailed over him lying in the grave; as others deem, in Soul onelyonly, when he went unto the place of the Reprobate, to the encreaſing of their torments.
4. Others interpret it as an Idiom or phraſe peculiar to the Greeks foreign, He deſcended into Hell; that is, was in the ſtate of the dead, for thus the Greeks were wont to ſpeak of a man departed, whether good or bad. This Opinion takes beſt.
5. Others hold it to be meerly figuratively ſpoken, That Chriſt deſcended into Hell, as God and Man in one perſon, That in Body and Soul he went as it were into Hell, when upon the Croſs and elſwhere he ſuffered the terrors and torments propheſied of, Iſa. 5.3, 6, 10. Pſal. 116.2. and mentioned Mat. 26.38. or 27.46. Luke 22.42. when he ſuffered the torments of Hell, viz. The anger of God againſt the ſins of all the Elect, poured forth upon his Soul, driving him into that bloody Agony in the Garden, and making him on the Croſs cry out, My God, my God, why haſt thou forſaken me? This Opinion takes with many. Now of all theſe, that which ſtands for Limbo muſt not remain unexpunged, as by reaſon of ſundry poſitive Reaſons of Scripture to the contrary, ſo alſo in regard of the impertinency of the places alleaged.
How Chriſts temporal puniſhment is ſaid to be equivalent to eternal:
1. In reſpect of the worthineſs of the perſon, for it was the onelyonly begotten natural Son of God that did ſuffer.
2. For the grievouſneſs of the puniſhment, becauſe he ſuſtained the torments and ſenſe of the wrath of God, and the horror of death for the whole world, Pſal. 118.5. Hence it was that Chriſt ſo trembled at his death, when many Martyrs have entertained an ordinary death without it.
The uſe of this Doctrine of Chriſts Paſſion, teacheth us, That ſin is moſt of all to be eſchewed by us, which could not be expiated but by the death of the Son of God; That we ought to be thankful for this his ſo great a benefit of unſpeakable grace and favor beſtowed on us; and that all our ſins, how many, how great, and how grievous ſoever they be, are expiated and done away by the death alone of Chriſt: Yet know, That whereas it is frequently affirmed in Scripture, That Chriſt dyed for all, it is not meant generally for every particular perſon, but reſtrictively for all ſorts of people, that is, for Believers of all ſorts, both of Jews and Gentiles.
Behold the Son of God, come from the Womb
Ʋnto the Croſs, to drop into the Tomb:
He that is Life Eternal, the Moſt High
And Mighty Lord of Life, vouchſafes to dye:
He that fills Heaven and Earth, is pleas'd to have
His lodging in a Cradle and a Grave.
Blinde Jews! before your Day was turn'd to Night
At Noon, ye could not ſee for too much light.
Gentiles, believe; or know this for no news,
Your Sins will prove new Crucifying Jews.