Apostles Creed, #15

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, was crucified, died, and buried;

"He descended into hell."

We sometimes say too much about those things that God has largely concealed from our view. The deepest sufferings of Jesus for our salvation are not known to us.

What we do know is that our sin brought upon us the just sentence of an everlasting desolation. This is a debt to God well beyond our ability to pay. Jesus did all that was necessary in order for that debt to be canceled.

The Redeemer of Israel needed to suffer death and the grave. He needed to do all that was required to secure everlasting life for us in the blessedness of God's presence. The same Scriptures that prepared us for the death and burial of Israel's Messiah also told us of the overwhelming glory of His victory for us.

He did everything necessary in order to redeem our lives from the pit.

Genesis 2:17 ... you shall surely die.

Jeremiah 25:8 ... an everlasting desolation.

Psalm 22:1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?...

12 Many bulls encompass me;
strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
13 they open wide their mouths at me,
like a ravening and roaring lion....

21 Save me from the mouth of the lion!

You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!

22 I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:...

27 All the ends of the earth shall remember

and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before you.
28 For kingship belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.

29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
even the one who could not keep himself alive.
30 Posterity shall serve him;
it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,
that he has done it.

Isaiah 53:6 ... the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all. ...

10 when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Psalm 103:1 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
3 who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.