10:1-2; 13:9-10; 14:1; 16:1-11; Judith 8:27; 1QH 2:13-14; 9:23-24). On the other hand, a person's suffering is the direct consequence of his or her violation of God's laws. also the Book of Daniel). Ending the suffering caused by illness is often the reason given in support of assisted suicide. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:17–18, “This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. In the Old Testament, the intertestamental literature, and the New Testament, suffering more frequently is causally linked to the sins of the descendants of the first man and woman. But just because we experience suffering as we await the redemption of our bodies, it doesn’t mean that our suffering is random or without purpose. Similarly, Pompey's intervention in the internal affairs of the Jewish nation, which brought about much suffering and death to some Jews, was understood as precipitated by national sin (cf. Unlike the Old Testament and intertestamental texts, however, the New Testament understands the flawed nature of creation to have been at least partially rectified, inasmuch as the influence of Satan and allied spirits on it has been curtailed through the appearance, death, and resurrection of the Messiah. 12). We have been given the privilege not only of trusting him but also of suffering for him. 10:1). Suffering is often categorized as physical or mental. Matt 10:19-23 ; = Luke 12:11 ; Matt 20:22-23 ; = Mark 10:38-39 ; Matt 24:9-10 ; = Mark 13:9-11 ; = Luke 21:12-18 ; John 7:6-11 ; 15:18-25 ; 17:14 ). It is God’s plan for preserving us and bringing us safely to glory. Bar. On the one hand, suffering is the consequence of the flawed nature of creation. Nineveh faces imminent judgment on account of the collective guilt of its inhabitants; national repentance forestalls the wrath of God (Book of Jonah). God disciplines the righteous individual, taking preventative and corrective measures in order to keep the heart of the righteous from turning away from him. Although in these texts ( Isa 42 , 44 , 49 , 50 , 52-53) the servant is often a collective noun denoting Israel, in Isaiah 53 the servant clearly is an individual who suffers on behalf of the collective, the people. "Entry for 'SUFFERING'". (Luke 13:2). One of the counterintuitive truths about suffering is that it prepares Christians for more glory. The idea of the eschatological necessity of suffering is also found in the rest of the New Testament ( Rom 8:16-18 ; Gal 3:3-4 ; Php 1:27-30 ; 1 Thess. Daniel 11:35 is another example of the suffering of the righteous having an expiatory effect. Or. It is much easier to appreciate the glory of Jesus’ resurrection than his painful crucifixion. The fate of the nation as a corporate entity is bound up intricately with the moral decisions of its individual members. All rights reserved. Here the clearest references are to the suffering or passion of Christ, which indeed includes the enduring of untold hardships and affliction, all of which culminate in His vicarious death for man (Matthew 16:21; Mark 8:31; 9:12; Luke 9:22; 17:25; 22:15; 24:26,46; Acts 3:18; 17:3; 26:23; 1 Peter 3:18). Paul attributes the tyranny of death, "the last enemy" ( 1 Cor 15:26 ), to the sin of Adam, the effects of which reach to all human beings and are nullified by the death and resurrection of Christ ( Rom 5:12-17 ; 1 Cor 15:20-22 ). Salem Media Group. The church is also meant to be a refuge for those who are suffering. (p17) And... 'For suffering cannot be transformed and changed by the grace from outside, but from within. The righteous are urged, therefore, to be patient in their suffering and to wait for the eschatological judgment and salvation of God, at which time they will receive the blessing due to them, whereas the wicked, who are often the oppressors of the righteous, will be punished and destroyed (cf. Suffering in the Christian life is not random or arbitrary, but our suffering is given greater meaning when we remember that Jesus also suffered. These verses are like sandpaper on our modern sentiments about suffering. In the end God never explains to Job the point of his suffering (although the reader is aware of Satan's involvement); instead, he asks Job a series of rhetorical questions designed to make the pint that some things are beyond human comprehension. We naturally try to avoid suffering at all costs. In so doing he dismisses the easy answers and constructs a much more nuanced, complex but satisfying approach. 6-7; 1 Enoch 102:3-103:15; 104:6-8; 108:3; 2 Enoch 9:1; 50:1-6; 51:3-5; 65:6-11; 66:6; 4 Ezra 7:18; 2 Apoc. 8:3-6; cf. Job suffers, yet he is righteous. At other times, it is the direct judgment of God manifesting itself through such things as drought, disease, or foreign invasion. 14:1-19; 15:7-8; 24:1-2; 44:13-14; Wis. 1-5 ). Christians affirm that somehow this suffering heals the rift between God and man. Most people experience suffering at some time in their life. The teaching that no suffering is by accident, and that it will all eventually be redeemed, brings me great comfort. The period of time in which the temple is defiled and the righteous are oppressed is predetermined, established according to the divine timetable. At other times, the correlation between righteousness and longevity/prosperity in this life breaks down altogether. Other common phrases are "to suffer affliction" (1 Thessalonians 3:4; Hebrews 11:25, the Revised Version (British and American) "share ill-treatment"), "to suffer hardship" (2 Timothy 2:9), "to suffer adversity" (Hebrews 13:3 the King James Version, the Revised Version (British and American) "to be ill-treated"), "to suffer dishonor" (the King James Version "shame," Acts 5:41), "to suffer violence," (Matthew 11:12), "to suffer wrong" (Acts 7:24), "to suffer terror" (Psalms 88:15), "to suffer shipwreck" (2 Corinthians 11:25), "to suffer hunger" (Psalms 34:10; Proverbs 19:15), "to suffer thirst" (Job 24:11). Although his comforters defend the principle of retributive justice and conclude that Job cannot be innocent, as he claims, the reader knows that they are wrong: Job speaks truly about his moral condition. Only a deliberate and forced stubbornness can quench that urge. 1. Some texts call this the kingdom of God (e.g., Pss. In doing so, God didn’t take away suffering — He transformed it. The author instructs his readers to "endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons" (v. 7), quoting Proverbs 3:11-12 to make the point. Jesus tells us, wear my yoke-for it fits perfectly-and let me teach you; for I am gentle and humble, and you shall find rest for your souls; for I … Each of us knows firsthand what it means to suffer as a result of … Here are five important biblical truths about suffering every Christian should have ready: Suffering has many faces. A woman "had suffered many things of many physicians" (Mark 5:26). My dear Christian friend, if you are today suffering at the hand of God and you have asked a thousand times, “Why?” I beg of you to be patient and quiet before God, and listen to the still, small voice. Sir. . All Christians suffer. The words and phrases in the Bible expressing this concept are too numerous to list. In the Servant Songs of Isaiah, the suffering and death of the servant has a vicarious and expiatory purpose ( Isa 53 ). Article Images Copyright © 2021 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. The suffering of the righteous also has a remedial function. The meaning of suffering is given us above all in Jesus’ suffering which is his love for us, for our redemption. 1 Peter 2:9 ). The Many Meanings of the Cross. Suffering as the Consequence of the Flawed Nature of Creation. In addition, a fourth explanation, unique to it, appears: Paul writes that suffering has the effect of ensuring his dependence on the power of God in his apostolic labors. A presupposition of the message preached by the early church was that Jesus' death was vicarious and expiatory. Suffering, or pain in a broad sense, may be an experience of unpleasantness and aversion associated with the perception of harm or threat of harm in an individual. What is God doing? In two passages outside the Gospels it is explicit that Jesus' death is the fulfillment of the vicarious and expiatory death of the servant ( Acts 8:32-33 ; 1 Peter 2:21-25 ). Suffering was never more real than here, but suffering is not the final word, since these were not Christ’s final words. Likewise, many psalms are premised on the notion that Yahweh blesses those who are righteous those who desire to obey him and habitually do so and protects those who take refuge in him. He has kept you through pain; he has reshaped you more into his image. 2. The Books of Job and Ecclesiastes. In: Tymieniecka AT., Agazzi E. (eds) Life Interpretation and the Sense of Illness within the Human Condition. 2, 8, 17-18). In this view human beings — with the exception of the first man and woman are victims, exposed constantly to the perils of a created order gone away. Firsthand experience in suffering is essential in equipping us for ministry. The chief end of man is to glorify God. 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