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Heidelberg Catechism, Question 38

Question 38

Why did Christ suffer under Pontius Pilate, as his judge?

That he, being innocent, and yet condemned by a temporal judge (John 18;38), might thereby free us from the severe judgment of God, to which we were exposed (Isa. 53;5).

Scripture references for paragraph 1

Berean Standard Bible. Public domain text and source credits.

John 18:38

38“What is truth?” Pilate asked. And having said this, he went out again to the Jews and told them, “I find no basis for a charge against Him.

Luke 23:14

14and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined Him here in your presence and found Him not guilty of your charges against Him.

Luke 23:15

15Neither has Herod, for he sent Him back to us. As you can see, He has done nothing deserving of death.

Matthew 27:19

19While Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered terribly in a dream today because of Him.”

Matthew 27:21

21“Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor. “Barabbas,” they replied.

Isaiah 53:5

5But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.

Romans 8:34

34Who is there to condemn us? For Christ Jesus, who died, and more than that was raised to life, is at the right hand of God—and He is interceding for us.

Galatians 3:13

13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

Galatians 3:14

14He redeemed us in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

John 3:18

18Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

Source and edition

Heidelberg Catechism. RCA English, E. R. Good & Bro., Tiffin, 1879. RCA English, E. R. Good & Bro., Tiffin, 1879

Public Domain (historic text); CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikisource transcription). Source transcription.

Transcription licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0.

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