Apostles Creed, #11

Continuing in the Apostles Creed... I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered

"under Pontius Pilate,"

Civil authorities are beneath you. They are your gift to establish good order, punishing evil and vindicating the innocent.

But since the days of Pharaoh and Moses your enemies have consistently attempted to use the power of governments to destroy your people. This is part of the wonder of your decree, for you announced the sufferings of your people under Pharaoh centuries before they occurred.

This pattern continued throughout the history of Israel, and you used the Assyrians and the Babylonians as agents of your judgment.

By this we were prepared for the day of your Anointed, when an official of the Roman empire handed Jesus over to executioners, knowing that He was innocent.

Genesis 15:13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there,

Ezra 4:11 “To Artaxerxes the king: Your servants, the men of the province Beyond the River, send greeting. And now 12 be it known to the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations. 13 Now be it known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and the royal revenue will be impaired. 14 Now because we eat the salt of the palace and it is not fitting for us to witness the king's dishonor, therefore we send and inform the king, 15 in order that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. You will find in the book of the records and learn that this city is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and that sedition was stirred up in it from of old. That was why this city was laid waste. 16 We make known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls finished, you will then have no possession in the province Beyond the River.”

Psalm 2:1 Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”