Q: What do you understand by the word "suffered"?
A: That during his whole life on earth,
but especially at the end,
Christ sustained
in body and soul
the anger of God against the sin of the whole human race.1
This he did in order that,
by his suffering as the only atoning sacrifice,2
he might set us free, body and soul,
from eternal condemnation,3
and gain for us
God's grace,
righteousness,
and eternal life.4
1 Isa. 53; 1 Pet. 2:24; 3:18
2 Rom. 3:25; Heb. 10:14; 1 John 2:2; 4:10
3 Rom. 8:1-4; Gal. 3:13
4 John 3:16; Rom. 3:24-26
Q: Why did he suffer "under Pontius Pilate" as judge?
A: So that he,
though innocent,
might be condemned by a civil judge,1
and so free us from the severe judgment of God
that was to fall on us.2
1 Luke 23:13-24; John 19:4, 12-16
2 Isa. 53:4-5; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13
Q: Is it significant that he was "crucified" instead of dying some other way?
A: Yes.
This death convinces me
that he shouldered the curse
which lay on me,
since death by crucifixion was accursed by God.1
1 Gal. 3:10-13 (Deut. 21:23)