The Lord Jesus undertook this office completely willingly. So that that he might carry it out, he was made to be under the Law, and he perfectly fulfilled it. He endured grievous torments directly in his soul, and very painful sufferings in his body; he was crucified, died, was buried, and remained under the power of death, yet saw no corruption. On the third day he rose from the dead, with the same body in which he suffered, with which also he ascended to heaven, and sits there now at the right hand of his Father, making intercession; he shall return to judge people and angels at the end of the world.
(WCF 8.4)
In chapter 8 of the WCF thus far, we have seen that because of the sin of Adam (humanity’s first federal head), people were unable to approach God by any means of themselves (Gen 3:17-19, 23-24; Rom 5:12-15). Now under the old covenant, God made a way possible for His people to approach Him through the nation of Israel (and more specifically, through the Levitical priesthood, Gen 12:2-3, Ex 28, Lev 8). These ‘Levitical Priests of Israel’ were mediators of the Mosaic law, and could themselves only approach God by and through substitutionary victims (Lev 1-10). That was the only way people could approach God in their sin under the old covenant. They would have to make their way to Israel, and have a priest from the tribe of Levi make sacrifice and mediate on their behalf. Now all of this is worth noting because the sacrificial system, substitutionary victims, the priesthood and mediation was all but types ‘in the shadows’ for the people of God to learn Christ (Heb 10:1-17). That’s why God gave the law, it was so that people living in the time before Christ could learn Christ and thus trust in the promised ‘Seed’ before He took flesh and dwelt among us (Gen 15:4-6, Gal 3:15-16).
And this is the most incredibly interesting thing, all of this wasn’t plan B, no it wasn’t like Adam sinned in the garden and then God was wondering what to do. Just the opposite, God in His wisdom and understanding knew Adam would sin and already had planned that the second person of the Trinity would take flesh and deal with the problem of sin (Jn 1:29, Rev 13:8). That’s why when the law was given, it was never designed to save, but magnify sin so that people could look to Christ in the types (Heb 10:1-4). That’s what we read here in the confession, The Lord Jesus undertook this office completely willingly. So that that he might carry it out, he was made to be under the Law, and he perfectly fulfilled it. Now when the confession notes that Jesus ‘perfectly fulfilled’ the law, we have to remember what was contained in the law. It was like scaffolding to build something beyond itself and not the building itself. And so when the law commanded shed blood, innocent lambs, substitution, sacrifice and offerings, it is like a frame that tells us something of the ministry as to what Jesus would have to fulfil (see Isa 53). And that’s exactly what our confession notes here, saying He endured grievous torments directly in his soul, and very painful sufferings in his body; he was crucified, died, was buried, and remained under the power of death, yet saw no corruption.
That is why the old testament is so important to study (Ps 1,119), because it explains (among other things) the substitutionary atonement of Christ’s ministry for the world (Jn 3:16, Rom 3:19-26). And it also explains why the resurrection of Jesus physically was so important as well. It’s because Jesus’ sacrifice was totally and utterly accepted, and thus the wages of sin couldn’t pin him to the grave (Rom 6:23). And thus fulfilling the law, all its blessings were passed to Jesus (the second federal head) who now sits as our great high priest mediating on behalf of His people (Heb 4:14-16), or as we read here, On the third day he rose from the dead, with the same body in which he suffered, with which also he ascended to heaven, and sits there now at the right hand of his Father, making intercession.
In Christ’s first advent, He cam as a servant and lamb and perfectly fulfilled the will of His Father. He now sits in the heavens interceding and mediating for His church to which He is the head (Col 1:18). But that role will be added to. There will come a time when the Lamb of God will come again as the Lion of Judah where he shall return to judge people and angels at the end of the world. To which the people of God say ‘Even so, come Lord Jesus (Rev 22:20)