THE QUESTION OF SUFFERING – Part 3 of 3

Let me finish the story of Leslie and me in the fog in Wisconsin. We were following the taillights of that truck when the fog slowly began to lift, the rain let up and we entered a town with some lights. And there, silhouetted against the night sky, we saw the steeple of a church and the cross of Christ. After driving through the confusion of the fog for so long, that image struck me with poignancy I'll never forget -- because it was through the cross that Jesus conquered the world for us.

God's ultimate answer to suffering isn't an explanation; it's His incarnation. He isn't some distant, detached and disinterested deity; He entered our world and personally experienced our pain.

Jesus is there in the lowest places of our lives. As philosopher Peter Kreeft says: “Are you broken? He was broken, like bread, for us. Are you despised? He was despised and rejected of men. Do you cry out that you can't take any more? He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Did someone betray you? He was sold out. Are your most tender relationships broken? He loved and was rejected. Jesus is much closer than your closest friend. Because if you've put your trust in Him, then He is in you. And, therefore, your sufferings are His sufferings; your sorrow is His sorrow.”

So when tragedy strikes, when suffering comes, when you're wrestling with pain -- and when you make the choice to run into His arms, here's what you're going to discover: peace to deal with the present, courage to deal with your future and the incredible promise of eternal life in heaven.

“I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. But be courageous! I have conquered the world.” (John 16:33)

-- Lee Strobel in “The Case for Christianity Answer Book” 

#6165

PRAYER LEADS TO JUSTICE AND MERCY

“You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether one of your brethren or one of the aliens who is in your land within your gates. Each day you shall give him his wages, and not let the sun go down on it, for he is poor and has set his heart on it; lest he cry out against you to the Lord, and it be sin to you.”  (Deuteronomy 24:14–15 NIV)

Prayer and action… can never be seen as contradictory or mutually exclusive.  Prayer without action grows in powerless pietism, and action without prayer degenerates into questionable manipulation.  If prayer leads us into a deeper unity with the compassionate Christ, it will always give rise to concrete acts of service.  And if concrete acts of service do indeed lead us to a deeper solidarity with the poor, the hungry, the sick, the dying, and the oppressed, they will always give rise to prayer.  In prayer we meet Christ, and in Him all human suffering. In service we meet people, and in them the suffering Christ. 

-- Henri J. M. Nouwen (1932-1996) in “Compassion” [1982] 

#6151

MORE REVOLUTIONARY THAN THE REVOLUTIONARIES

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45 NIV)

Though sympathizing with the revolutionaries' analysis of what was wrong with society and in fact being mistaken for a revolutionary Himself by the political authorities of His day, nevertheless Jesus did not advocate a new political regime to be established by force through revolutionary action.  He called for the love of our enemies, not their destruction; ... for readiness to suffer instead of using force; for forgiveness instead of hate and revenge.  One might even say that Jesus was more revolutionary than the revolutionaries, or revolutionary in a very different way.  The revolution He had in mind was a radical change of heart on the part of mankind, involving conversion away from selfishness and toward the willing service of God and of people in general. 

-- Clark H. Pinnock (1937-2010) in “Reason Enough” 

#5993

PEACE IN CHRIST

Jesus said to His disciples, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”  (John 16:33 NLT)

Saints are people who are faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ… A faithful Christian life exhibits ongoing and active faith.  Faith is tested by the tough stuff in life -- when the chips are down and the heat is turned up.  I read about an elderly woman, badly crippled by arthritis, who was asked. "Do you suffer much?"  She pointed to her hand and responded, "Yes, but there is no nail here.  He had the nails, I have the peace."  She then pointed to her head saying, "There are no thorns here.  He had the thorns, I have the peace."  Finally, she touched her side and declared, "There is no spear here.  He had the spear, I have the peace."  This faithful woman was a modern-day saint.  She understood the incredible gift of grace given to her by God, and she was filled with "God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand." (Philippians 4:7 NLT)

-- Lenya Heitzig and Penny Pierce Rose in “Pathway to God's Treasure: Ephesians” 

#5940

THE PLUSH SEATS, PLEASE

“Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus, saying, ‘Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.’ And He said to them, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ They said to Him, ‘Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.’”  (Mark 10:35-37 NKJV)

Within the New Testament, there is no indication that Christians should expect to be healthy, wealthy, and successful in this present age. ... Christ never told His disciples that they would get an Academy Award for their performances, but He did tell them to expect to have troubles.

This age is interested in success, not suffering. We can identify with James and John who wanted choice seats in the kingdom. We might even ask for reclining chairs and soft music. 

-- Billy Graham in “The Faithful Christian” 

#5878

CHRIST IN GETHSEMANE

“Jesus went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.’”  (Matthew 26:29 NKJV)

We all know there is no such thing as a free lunch. Yet the Christian insists that salvation is free. Well, yes and no! It is freely offered to the sinner, but at a tremendous cost to the Savior. Our appreciation of salvation is directly related to our recognition of its cost…

[In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed an agonizing prayer.] He knew that He would rise again in a matter of days, so death held no fear for Him. It was the uniqueness of His dying that horrified Him. He would become a sin offering (2 Corinthians 5:21), He would carry the responsibility and the penalty for the sins of the entire human race (Isaiah 53:5), and He would experience being forsaken by His Heavenly Father (Matthew 27:46; see Psalm 22:1). In agony Jesus contemplated not so much the physical suffering, although this would be considerable; nor the emotional anguish, although this would be excruciating; but the spiritual dimensions of His death, the likes of which no other human has ever experienced or ever will (see Mark 15:34). Yet He was willing to suffer even to that extent for the salvation of a sinful world -- He was committed to His Father’s will (Matthew 26:29,42). 

-- Excerpted from “Daily Study Bible for Men” with daily studies by Stuart Briscoe

#5825

IT WAS HIS CHOICE

Jesus outlasted, outmaneuvered, and outthought every group, every power. But not just that. Mostly He just out-loved everybody. For Jesus in the garden had one agenda that superseded the agendas of all the others: love. On Friday, Jesus died for love. He said it was His choice. It wasn’t Pilate’s. It wasn’t Herod’s. It wasn’t Caesar’s. It wasn’t the chief priests’. It wasn’t the crowds’. He said, “I lay down my life for the sheep. . . . No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.” (John 10:17b-18)

The cross was changed from the symbol of a human empire’s power into a symbol of the suffering love of God. It was changed from an expression of ultimate threat into an expression of ultimate hope. It came, in a sense, to express the exact opposite of its original purpose -- that the power of embraced sacrifice is greater than the power of coercion. How did this happen? Jesus chose it. He chose to die on it. After Friday, neither the cross nor the world could stay the same. 

-- John Ortberg in “Who Is This Man?”

#5576

WHY DID JESUS HAVE TO DIE?

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.”  (1 Peter 3:18 NIV)

To understand why Jesus had to die it is important to remember both the Result of the Cross (costly forgiveness of sins) and the Pattern of the Cross (reversal of the world’s values). On the cross neither justice nor mercy loses out -- both are fulfilled at once. Jesus’ death was necessary if God was going to take justice seriously and still love us. This same concern for both love and justice should mark all our relationships. We should never acquiesce in injustice. Jesus identified with the oppressed. Yet we should not try to overcome evil with evil. Jesus forgave His enemies and died for them.

Why then, did Jesus have to die? Even Jesus asked that question. In the Garden of Gethsemane He asked if there was any other way. There wasn’t. There isn’t. On the cross, in agony, He cried out the question, “Why!?” Why was He being forsaken? Why was it all necessary? The answer of the Bible is -- for us! 

-- Timothy Keller in “The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism” 

#5575

HE UNDERSTANDS YOUR SUFFERING

“There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, He refused to drink it.”  (Matthew 27:34 NIV)

Before the nail was pounded, a drink was offered. Mark says the wine was mixed with myrrh. Matthew described it as wine mixed with gall. Both myrrh and gall contain sedative properties that numb the senses. But Jesus refused them. He refused to be stupefied by the drugs, opting instead to feel the full force of His suffering.

Why? Why did He endure all these feelings? Because He knew you would feel them too.

He knew you would be weary, disturbed, and angry. He knew you’d be sleepy, grief stricken, and hungry. He knew you’d face pain. If not pain of the body, the pain of the soul… pain too sharp for any drug. He knew you’d face thirst. If not a thirst for water, at least a thirst for truth, and the truth we glean from the image of a thirsty Christ is -- He understands. 

-- Max Lucado

#5573

THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP

“For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”  (1 Corinthians 6:20 NKJV)

We need not wonder about the cost of discipleship. We need only look upon Jesus on the cross. There we see the awful cost of the ministry that is offered in the life, nature, and spirit of Jesus.

The cost is awful indeed. But if our work introduces men and women to Jesus and to God’s love, this cost must be accepted. In our own self-emptying, those who gaze upon us may see Jesus. In our conviction, people may be convinced to look upon the cross of Jesus and say, “Truly this is the Son of God.”

We have heard it said, “We can never wear the crown until we bear the cross,” but for those who willingly enter into the sufferings of Jesus, the cross is their crown, and they wear it with dignity and submission. 

-- Norman Shawchuck in “A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God”

#5552

 

THE MEASURE OF GREATNESS

“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”  (John 13:14-15 NIV)

The Bible is a disarmingly honest book.  As the disciples sat at the table, in the hours before Jesus was crucified, they argued about "which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest" (Luke 22:24).  It wasn't a very noble conversation!  As a matter of fact, it was downright petty.  Now we might excuse them in a measure by saying that they didn't realize the gravity of the hour and the nearness of their Lord's suffering.  But of course, that's the point. They were so self-absorbed in their dreams of greatness that they didn't sense Jesus' pain.  Self-centeredness does its greatest harm not in intentional acts of evil, but in neglect and insensitivity.  So Jesus talked with them about what constitutes true greatness.  If you want to be great, He said, you will need to serve.  Service is the measure of greatness. 

-- J. Ellsworth Kalas in “New Testament Stories from the Back Side”

#5439 

WHY THE SCARS?

“While they were still talking about this, Jesus Himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at My hands and My feet. It is I Myself! Touch Me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.’ When He had said this, He showed them His hands and feet.”  (Luke 24:36-40 NIV)

One detail of the Easter stories has always intrigued me: Why did Jesus keep the scars from His crucifixion? Presumably He could have had any resurrected body He wanted, yet He chose one identifiable mainly by scars that could be seen and touched. Why?

I believe the story of Easter would be incomplete without those scars on the hands, the feet, and the side of Jesus… The scars are, to Him, an emblem of life on our planet, a permanent reminder of those days of confinement and suffering.

I take hope in Jesus’ scars. From the perspective of heaven, they represent the most horrible event that has ever happened in the history of the universe. Even that event, though -- the crucifixion -- Easter has turned into a memory. Because of Easter, I can hope that the tears we shed, the blows we receive, the emotional pain, the heartache over lost friends and loved ones, all these will become memories, like Jesus’ scars. Scars never completely go away, but neither do they hurt any longer. We will have re-created bodies, a re-created heaven and earth. We will have a new start, an Easter start. 

-- Philip Yancey in “The Jesus I Never Knew”

#5332

DON’T TURN AWAY

“He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him; nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces He was despised, and we held Him in low esteem. Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered Him punished by God, stricken by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”  (Isaiah 53:2b-6 NIV)

Most of us don’t like to face bad news. We turn off the television when a sensitive story is told. We ask to be spared the details when an injury or death is described. For whatever reason, we would rather avoid hearing or knowing the truth if it isn’t pretty.

One of the reasons that Lent is so important is that it requires us to come face to face with the graphic and painful death of Jesus. We would rather jump right over the suffering of Good Friday and go directly to Easter. But we cannot. We must watch Jesus die.

It may have been the Jews who placed Jesus upon the cross, but it was our sin that drove the nails into His hands and feet. It was our voices that cried out “Crucify Him!” It was for us that He died, and He did it willingly, so that we might live.  

-- Steven Molin, from the “Cypress Lake UMC Lenten Devotional 2004”

#5326

THE SUFFERING AND SACRIFICE OF CHRIST

“[Jesus] personally carried our sins in His body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By His wounds you are healed.”  (1 Peter 2:24 NLT)

Slowly we have drifted away from the biblical truth: “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22). Mankind would like to make the cross a thing of sentiment -- a trinket to be worn around the neck, an ornament on a church steeple or an emblem stamped in gold on our Bibles. A certain romantic interest has gathered around the story of the cross. But it is the suffering and sacrifice of Christ on Calvary that symbolize our utter helplessness to save ourselves. The cross as the supreme symbol of suffering reveals two basic facts that cannot be denied: the depth of man’s depravity and the immensity of God’s love. 

-- Billy Graham in “Who’s in Charge of a World that Suffers?”

#5201

THE HANDS AND FEET OF CHRIST

“Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ After He said this, He showed them His hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.” (John 20:19b-20 NIV)

Jesus' hands and feet were not just anyone's hands and feet, but the signs of His real bodily presence. They were the hands and feet of Jesus marked with the wounds of His Crucifixion.  It is of great spiritual importance that Jesus made Himself known to His disciples by showing them His wounded body.  The Resurrection had not taken His wounds away, but, rather, they had become part of His Glory.  They had become glorified wounds.

Jesus is the Lord who came to save us by dying for us on the Cross.  The wounds in Jesus' glorified body remind us of the way in which we are saved.  But they also remind us that our own wounds are much more than roadblocks on our way to God.  They show us our own unique way to follow the suffering Christ, and they are destined to become glorified in our resurrected life.  Just as Jesus was identified by His wounds, so are we.

This mystery is hard to grasp, but it is of the greatest importance in helping us to deal with our own brokenness. 

-- Henri Nouwen 

#5071

THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL

The power of the gospel isn't simply that God walked among us to show us the way we should live.  Jesus wasn't merely a prophet or a great teacher.  The central focus of the message of the Gospels is not the sermons, teachings, or even the miracles of Jesus.  No, each of the Gospels is focused on the last week of Jesus' life; the week He faced His own cruel death, racked with pain upon the cross.  Each paints a picture for us, first of Jesus experiencing our human condition of fear, of grief, of pain, when He cries out in the garden, "If it be Your will, let this cup pass from Me!"  His death on the cross is the focal point: God's Son bleeds; He dies; His family grieves; they suffer the agony of losing a loved one just as we do.  But this is not the end of the Gospels.  No, the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ comes on the third day, when Jesus rose from the grave! 

-- Adam Hamilton in “Confronting the Controversies”

#5068

YOUR WILL BE DONE

“Father, if it is Your will, take this cup from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”  (Luke 22:42 NKJV)

Gaze in adoring wonder at the scene (Luke 22:39-46). The solidary figure etched against gnarled olive trees. The bloodlike sweat falling to the ground. The human longing: “Let this cup pass.” The final relinquishment: “Not My will but Yours be done.” We do well to meditate often on this unparalleled expression of relinquishment.

Here we have the incarnate Son praying through His tears and not receiving what He asks. Jesus knew the burden of unanswered prayer. He really did want the cup to pass, and He asked that it would pass. “If You are willing” was His questioning, His wondering. The Father’s will was not yet absolutely clear to Him. “Is there any other way?” “Can people be redeemed by some other means?” The answer – no! Andrew Murray writes, “For our sins, He suffered beneath the burden of that unanswered prayer.”

Here we have the complete laying down of human will. The battle cry for us is, “my will be done!” rather than, “Thy will be done.” 

-- Richard J. Foster in “Prayer”

#5067

SUFFERING ON THE CROSS

"He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed."  (1Peter 2:24 ESV)

During my senior year in high school, I took an art history survey course taught by a dynamic and passionate art lover. Ms. Giles, with her colorful, stylish clothes and contagious enthusiasm, trained us to analyze and appreciate art in all its diverse genres and media, from the art of the ancient Greeks to the art of surrealist, abstract, and post-modern painters and sculptors. Some time periods and artists I appreciated more than others.

One day Ms. Giles pulled me aside after class for a gentle conversation. "I noticed you weren't looking at some of the slides today, Sharon," she said. "Is anything wrong?"

The slides that day were primarily paintings of the crucifixion, and I couldn't bear to look. I made some excuse about feeling squeamish with some of the gory depictions. But more than that, I found the paintings disturbing because they were too close and confrontational. At that point in my life, I was far more comfortable with an empty cross, a sanitized cross, the kind I could wear around my neck on a gold or silver chain on Sundays. I didn't want to look at Jesus suffering upon it. 

-- Sharon Garlough Brown, excerpted from her newsletter

#5065

EASTER WITHOUT LENT?

Lent is the 40-day period leading up to Easter, beginning with Ash Wednesday, culminating with our celebration of the Greatest Day, the day death died and hope triumphed, our Resurrection Sunday.

Lent is a path walked by countless Christians for centuries, to prepare themselves for the joys of Easter. It is a season of reflection, confession, and anticipation, as we enter the sufferings of Christ.

But Lent seems like a lot of work! Is it really necessary? Why can’t I just celebrate the resurrection? Why take this longer, more arduous path when I know that, either way, Easter is coming?...

We can try to celebrate the resurrection without feeling the weight of the cross. We can try to rejoice in our forgiveness without reflecting on our brokenness and sin. We can try to delight in the hope of life without carrying the burden of suffering. You can absolutely celebrate Easter without Lent. But, you will rob yourself of a greater joy.

For it is in the arduous path of Lent that we get to stand in the presence of our Resurrected King. Not merely from a distance, as if we were a bunch of selfie-stick-carrying, religious tourists, but up close and personal. Through our increased engagement with the disciplines, such as Bible reading, prayer, reflection, solitude, confession, fasting, worship, community, etc., we get to experience our God not just from far off, but all around us. And the work will be worth it. 

-- Nathan Miller

#5037