| Question | Wherein did Christ’s humiliation consist? |
|---|---|
| Answer | Christ’s humiliation consisted in his being born, and that in a low condition, 1 made under the law, 2 undergoing the miseries of this life, 3 the wrath of God, 4 and the cursed death of the cross; 5 in being buried, 6 and continuing under the power of death for a time. 7 |
The Baptist Catechism Set to Music
Benjamin Beddome’s Exposition
Did Christ humble himself?
Yes.
He made himself of no reputation,
Philippians 2:7
And was it requisite that he should do so?
Yes.
For thus it was written and thus it behoved Christ to suffer,
Luke 24:46
Did he humble himself in his birth?
Yes.
He took upon him the form of a servant,
Philippians 2:7
Was he born of a poor stock?
Yes.
He was a root out of a dry ground,
Isaiah 53:2
And in a poor place?
Yes.
Bethlehem was little among the thousands of Judah,
Micah 5:2
Was he poorly provided for?
Yes.
She brought forth her first born, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger,
Luke 2:7
Was this widely different from his former estate?
Yes.
For he was rich, though for our sakes he became poor,
2 Corinthians 8:9
Was Christ made under the law?
Yes.
He was made of a woman, made under the law,
Galatians 4:4
Was he circumcised?
Yes.
He was circumcised the eighth day,
Luke 2:21
Was he thereby obliged to keep the whole law?
Yes.
For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law,
Galatians 5:3
And did he actually keep it?
Yes.
Which of you convinceth me of sin?
John 8:46
Did he observe the ceremonial as well as the moral law?
Yes.
Then went he up also unto the feast,
John 7:10
And did he not only obey the precepts of the law, but bear the penalties of it?
Yes.
He was made a curse for us,
Galatians 3:13
Did Christ undergo the miseries of this life?
Yes.
He was a man of sorrows,
Isaiah 53:3
Were his temptations a trouble to him?
Yes.
He suffered, being tempted,
Hebrews 2:18
And his little success?
Yes.
He was grieved for the hardness of their hearts,
Mark 3:5
And the sorrows of his friends?
Yes.
For when he saw Mary weeping, he groaned in spirit and was troubled,
John 11:33
And the contradictions of his enemies?
Yes.
He endured the contradictions of sinners against himself.
Hebrews 12:2
Was his doctrine opposed?
Yes.
They said he deceiveth the people,
John 7:12
Were his miracles slandered?
Yes.
He casteth out devils by Belzebub the prince of devils,
Matthew 12:24
And were his best actions misrepresented?
Yes.
Behold a gluttonous man a wine bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners,
Luke 7:34
Was Christ unknown to the world?
Yes.
Whom none of the princes of the world knew,
1 Corinthians 2:8
Was he despised?
Yes.
He was despised and rejected of men.
Isaiah 53:3
Was he reproached?
Yes.
He was a reproach of men,
Psalm 22:6
Was he persecuted?
Yes.
The Jews took up stones to stone him,
John 10:31
Had he any fixed abode?
No.
The son of man hath not where to lay his head,
Luke 9:58
Had he any certain maintenance?
No.
For he was hungry and had nothing to eat,
Mark 11:12
Were his countrymen unkind?
Yes.
He came to his own and his own received him not,
John 1:11
Did many of his friends prove false?
Yes.
Many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him,
John 6:66
And were those on whom he bestowed favours unthankful?
Yes.
Were there not ten cleansed, but where are the nine,
Luke 17:17
Was Christ’s death another instance of his humiliation?
Yes.
He humbled himself and became obedient unto death,
Philippians 2:8
Was his death a painful one?
Yes.
It was the death of the cross,
Philippians 2:8
Was it a shameful one?
Yes.
For he endured the cross, despising the shame,
Hebrews 12:2
Was it a cursed one?
Yes.
For cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree,
Galatians 3:14
Did he suffer in his body?
Yes.
For we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all,
Hebrews 10:10
Did he suffer in his feeling?
Yes.
They pierced his hands and his feet,
Psalm 22:16
And in his taste?
Yes.
They gave him vinegar mingled with gall,
Matthew 27:34
And in his sight?
Yes.
They wagged their heads at him,
Matthew 27:39
And in his hearing?
Yes.
They that passed by reviled him,
Matthew 27:39
And in his smelling?
Yes.
They brought him to Golgotha, that is to say, the place of a skull,
Matthew 27:33
Did he also suffer in his soul?
Yes.
Now is my soul troubled,
John 12:27
And was this the sorest of all his sufferings?
Yes.
He was in an agony,
Luke 22:44
Did Christ suffer from the Father?
Yes.
He was smitten of God,
Isaiah 53:4
And from Satan?
Yes.
Thou shalt bruise his heel,
Genesis 3:15
And from men?
Yes.
This is your hour and the power of darkness,
Luke 22:53
Was he betrayed by one disciple?
Yes.
The devil put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot to betray him,
John 13:2
And forsaken by the rest?
Yes.
All his disciples forsook him and fled,
Matthew 26:56
Was he falsely accused?
Yes.
They sought false witness against him,
Matthew 26:59
And unjustly condemned?
Yes.
For Pilate said, I find no fault in him,
Luke 23:4
And inhumanly executed?
Yes.
For he was scourged, crowned with thorns, and made to bear his own cross,
Matthew 27:26, 29
Did Christ die to display the justice and holiness of God?
Yes.
To declare his righteousness that he might be just,
Romans 3:26
And to represent the great evil and malignity of sin?
Yes.
For sin he condemned sin in the flesh,
Romans 8:3
And to set us an example of patience and resignation to the divine will?
Yes.
For as much as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind,
1 Peter 4:1
And to glorify that law which man hath broken?
Yes.
He hath magnified the law and made it honourable,
Isaiah 42:21
And to destroy Satan?
Yes.
That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, even the devil,
Hebrews 2:14
And to break the power of sin?
Yes.
Our old man is crucified with Christ, that the body of sin might be destroyed,
Romans 6:6
And to bring in a justifying righteousness?
Yes.
By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities,
Isaiah 53:11
And to procure us a title to heaven?
Yes.
For the saints shall reign in life by one, Christ Jesus,
Romans 5:17
Was it for the elect that Christ thus suffered and died?
Yes.
For he loved the church and gave himself for it,
Ephesians 5:25
Was Christ buried?
Yes.
And that he was buried,
1 Corinthians 15:4
Was he buried at another’s expense?
Yes.
And when Joseph had taken the body he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own tomb,
Matthew 27:59–60
Did he continue under the power of death for a time?
Yes.
So shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth,
Matthew 12:40
And was this a part of Christ’s humiliation?
Yes.
Thou hast brought me into the dust of death,
Psalm 22:15
Should the sufferings of Christ make sinners tremble?
Yes.
If they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?
Luke 23:31
And the saints rejoice?
Yes.
God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Galatians 6:14
The Westminster Larger Catechism
| Question | What was the estate of Christ's humiliation? |
|---|---|
| Answer | The estate of Christ's humiliation was that low condition, wherein he for our sakes, emptying himself of his glory, took upon him the form of a servant, in his conception and birth, life, death, and after his death, until his resurrection. 1 |
| Question | How did Christ humble himself in his conception and birth? |
|---|---|
| Answer | Christ humbled himself in his conception and birth, in that, being from all eternity the Son of God, in the bosom of the Father, he was pleased in the fulness of time to become the son of man, made of a woman of low estate, and to be born of her; with divers circumstances of more than ordinary abasement. 1 |
| Question | How did Christ humble himself in his life? |
|---|---|
| Answer | Christ humbled himself in his life, by subjecting himself to the law, 1 which he perfectly fulfilled; 2 and by conflicting with the indignities of the world, 3 temptations of Satan, 4 and infirmities in his flesh, whether common to the nature of man, or particularly accompanying that his low condition. 5 |
| Question | How did Christ humble himself in his death? |
|---|---|
| Answer | Christ humbled himself in his death, in that having been betrayed by Judas, 1 forsaken by his disciples, 2 scorned and rejected by the world, 3 condemned by Pilate, and tormented by his persecutors; 4 having also conflicted with the terrors of death, and the powers of darkness, felt and borne the weight of God's wrath, 5 he laid down his life an offering for sin, 6 enduring the painful, shameful, and cursed death of the cross. 7 |
| Question | Wherein consisted Christ's humiliation after his death? |
|---|---|
| Answer | Christ's humiliation after his death consisted in his being buried, 1 and continuing in the state of the dead, and under the power of death till the third day; 2 which hath been otherwise expressed in these words, he descended into hell. |