Why there is Suffering (John 9:3)

 

Long ago, Hannah and Saul [not their real names] had a son who was blind -- even from birth.  This sad dilemma was confusing to them, and they often wondered why the Lord has visited this trial upon them.  In any case, the boy had to pull his own weight around the house, so he sat and begged for over 40 years. Though they themselves were not especially religious, they knew and understood the Lord's demand for righteousness.  They knew that the penalty of sin had fallen upon mankind, and that it was the Israelite's duty to keep the Law, as the righteous Pharisees taught.  There was a lot that was confusing about this, since the Pharisees didn't always seem to have a very straight conception of what was righteous, but in any case they quoted Moses a lot.  It wasn't encouraging to Hannah or Saul to know the demands of the Law, and they were not especially zealous to approach the Lord about this.  None of their prayers, when they made any, seemed to be answered.  In any case, this situation was something to fear -- and they did.

One year, however, a new prophet came through town.  He had the reputation of curing people, and some thought he was a prophet sent from God.  He did seem to be on the outs with the Pharisees, however, and there seemed to be "bad blood" between them.  The fact that Jesus seemed to have such a cavalier attitude toward the Pharisaical interpretation of the Law seemed irreligious to them.  In any case, one didn't know what it all meant.  Neither did it seem likely to them, from a distance, that Jesus would do anything more than add new and different burdens from those laid on by the Pharisees.

Then, this man healed their son.

 

Christian Suffering, Spirituality and Eschatology (revised 5/28)

This is the first post of what may be an occasional series of posts on the interrelationship of Christian Suffering and Eschatology.  

The basic thesis of these posts, which I will try to support over time, is this:  The age-long continuance of Christian Suffering is such a significant emphasis in the New Testament, that a view of the progress of this age which sees a gradual end to suffering by the time of the Second Coming of Christ must be an eschatology which is seriously at odds with the New Testament.

A few points are:

1)  The general cast of the New Testament is opposed to gradual entrance of conditions of such spiritual and experiential peace and plenty such that the transition to the eternal state is not catastrophic.  Put another way, the eternal state does not come by a process of development, or spiritual evolution, in either extent or quality.  I do not deny by this that the current age has a path of spiritual development, and that that development tends to the sharpness of the distinction between good and evil, nor do I deny that the preponderance of Christianity, and its effects, increases.

2)  The experimental suffering which is put forth as the norm in the Bible as a whole, and especially in the New Testament, must be the experience of all believers in this age, until the end of the age.  The maintenance of Christian spirituality depends on this.  Therefore, a view of the end of the age in which spiritual conditions approach conditions in the Eternal State is inimical to the New Testament vision of the spiritual value of the suffering that characterizes the present age.

3)  The whole Bible narrative of the believers' experience shows that an easy life is spiritually harmful to those still in the un-resurrected flesh.  Our fidelity to God is only guaranteed through spiritual struggle.  Christ, the perfect man, learned obedience through suffering.

4)  The spiritual purity and "separation" of the church from the world, so important in the text of the New Testament, is at stake.  The only way to maintain our testimony and actually have an effect on the world is to maintain this separation.  The liberal churches have simply identified their eschatology with popular political and social progressivism in all its methods and results, and thereby demonstrate the result of this kind of "postmillennialism."  A theonomic replacement of the world's carnal "law" with God's Law will not fix this problem, because the problem is spiritual in a way which transcends "law."  The Church is a New Creation, not simply a renovation of the Original Creation.

5)  Finally, the "proof-texts" for the evolution of gradual spiritual perfection do not support this picture.  Any sustained argument built up from the full revelation of the New Testament will show the continuing threat of apostasy -- even a final apostasy, and the spiritual warfare between the wheat and the tares will not end until the harvest.

Good and evil will "come to a point" at the harvest at the end of the age in such a manner that Christian suffering will remain the Christian lifestyle until the end of the age.  Our hope is in the Eternal State, not some near-perfect manifestation of God's Kingdom before that time.  To focus attention and hope on the pre-Eternal State as capable of containing the near-full manifestation of God's Kingdom is to lose the eschatological vision, and potentially to fall into the trap of worldliness which is condemned in the New Testament.

Our expectations in this age must be properly focused, lest the spirituality and separation of the Church from the World be lost.  If the spirituality and separation of the Church is lost through some kind of "gospel reductionism," and if the central focus of the hope of fulfillment in an Eschaton which transcends the current aeon and its ways of life is lost, the result will just be "liberalism" again.

Following Christ the Savior

^{John 12:20} Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. ²¹ Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” ²² Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus. 

²³ But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. ²⁴ Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. ²⁵ He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶ If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.  

²⁷ “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. ²⁸ Father, glorify Your name.”

Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.” 

The inquiries of the Gentiles provoke our Lord to think of the sine qua non of his mission, the sacrifice of himself.  The overflow of the church into the whole world is now called for.  In fact, the world has come "knocking."  Therefore, our Lord must not shrink back, but die -- and multiply.  He preaches to himself, but also to us!

In this, we see our Lord as the author or pioneer of our salvation.  He does not ask us to go where he has not gone before.  He leads the way!  All we need to do is to follow him.  We do not go alone, but in the company and footsteps of the Great Shepherd who gives his life for his sheep.

What ambition, what riches or fame in this dying world counts compared to the fellowship of the Son of God?  He who loses worldly riches, fame or comfort gains eternal riches, fame and comfort in the family of God the Father!

Our Lord, paradoxically points out that his suffering is his glory!  What we shrink back from instinctively, just as a soldier shrinks back from death in his feelings, our Lord shrinks back from, too!  But, he also recognizes that in his suffering he is glorified.  Like a soldier-hero who gives his life for others, our Lord lays down his life under the wrath of God, enduring the pains of hell in body and soul which we shall never see, and all for his love of poor sinners such as we are!

Shall we not trust him with our souls and bodies?  Shall we not follow him, even in his sufferings?  Let us serve him and be with him where he is, forever!  Glory and honor from God our Father await us!

Glory and Anti-Glory

We think too much in worldly terms concerning glory -- and other things, too.

1)  Paul is clear in 1 Cor 1 that it is God's intention to shame the worldly powers in all their greatness by means of those who are weak and shameful in the eyes of the world.  The world has one idea of what power and glory are, and the church has another, opposite idea.  From our standpoint, the world's power and glory are vain, but our power is glorious, because we know and are empowered in all our weakness by God the Lord.  The world, on the other hand, is empowered in all its strength by that fallen angel doomed to the Lake of Fire.

2)  Think about Christ's suffering.  He was doomed by the world, and the Prince of this World, to shameful death on the Cross.  Yet, from the standpoint of faith, our Lord on the cross reigned as from a throne!

3)  Think about our sufferings as we follow in the footsteps of Christ.  The world thinks that our hope in Christ in the age to come dooms us to lack of self-fulfillment in this age.  From our perspective, any hope of self-fulfillment in this age is futile.  The only real hope of any fulfillment lies in the age to come.

4)  The world thinks that disease and difficulty, and eventually death, are evils to be avoided at all costs.  Suffering, while occasionally seen by the world as heroic, is really looked upon as an unmitigated evil.  From our perspective, we learn obedience through suffering.  Our character is built through suffering.  In suffering we give thanks, and testify to the grace of God, because we know that we will be rewarded with eternal rewards for spiritual endurance through suffering.

These instances could be multiplied.  In every case the world's conception is opposite to ours.  What is glorious to the world is hateful to us.  What is glorious to us is hateful to the world.  The world fears the world to come, because they know they will get what they deserve.  We long for the world to come, where we will receive as a gift the full inheritance of all that God has to give.  It will be a day of fulfillment and glory, in the only world that matters, and our lives are now filled with joy and anticipation as we wait for it by faith.

Paul said that he was crucified to the world (in Christ), and that the world was crucified (subjected to capital punishment) with respect to him.  The Cross is the great separator that crucifies the relationship between this age and the one to come.

Christ was made sin for us, taking away our sins on the cross, and triumphing over death for us, so that we might be made the righteousness of God in him by faith.

Therefore, believe and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling upon the name of the Lord!  Receive the Spirit of God who wages war against sin within us, and who fills us with all joy!  That Spirit is himself God's own down-payment to us from the inheritance we are destined to receive in the Age to Come!

Life Achievement (v4)

A saint near death writes in his will, commenting on his efforts to glorify God:

But alas! The desire which I have had, and the zeal, if so it must be called, has been so cold and so sluggish that I feel myself a debtor in everything and everywhere, and that, were it not for his infinite goodness, all the affection I have had would be but as smoke, nay, that even the favors which he has accorded me would be render me so much more guilty; so that my only recourse is this, that being the Father of mercies he will show himself the Father of so miserable a sinner.

One may marvel at the professed humility of such a saint, John Calvin, but unwittingly continue to regard these comments by Calvin as a wonderful sounding example of pious language on the part of a great Christian man.  But, this falsifies what the man is teaching in his final witness!  Because his example of real humility is not taken seriously, our own desires for greatness are not exposed as sin, and our own path to greatness is not revealed.

In fact, if Calvin's own self-image near death were ours now, then we would be more like him.  At the end of our lives, we should hope, like Calvin, to have finally achieved the true vision of our own humility and weakness -- and therefore to have finally rested in total reliance on the Grace of God.

What a goal!  A self-vision like this is a judgment on the idols of personal glory.  It is a real hope, that having learned obedience through suffering in the cause of Christ, we may in the end recline on our death beds, in the arms of Christ, and be carried by his grace to glory -- the glory reserved for those who rest on his finished work, and not their own.

The Sight of Faith

The man born blind was sent by Jesus to the pool of Siloam to be healed (John 9). Later, after the man was rejected by the Jewish leadership council, Jesus found him, in order to reveal himself to him more clearly.  Here is the conversation:

John 9:35-39  Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?" He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?"  And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you."  Then he said, "Lord, I believe!" And he worshiped Him. 

Note the four words I have taken the liberty to underline.  The blind man had already "seen" Jesus before he saw him in the flesh.  He "saw" spiritually, though blind physically.  This story is just not fundamentally about physical healing.  The physical healing is a gift of grace, and an intimation of the integrity of the resurrection body that is given to the man who "saw" while blind.  But, the real "theology" is about spiritual perception.

And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind." Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?"  Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains. 

I reverently suggest that what Jesus means is this:  His coming into the world is to execute a judgment, in order that those who [recognize that they] do not see [spiritually] may see, and that those who [assert that they do see, but they do not] may be made blind.  That is, the spiritually dead and sinners are recovered to life by repentance and faith in Christ himself, but the unrepentant and those spiritually blind to Christ are further enslaved in their blindness by his own testimony, and as a result are condemned.

There is a lifestyle here.  This passage speaks not only of that great transition from death to life which is connected with conversion to Christ, but also with the way we go on in this life.  Being brought low before Christ by our tribulations brings self-abasement, repentance, faith, dependence on Christ, love, joy, peace, patience, the vision of heaven seen by faith, and power by the Spirit.  To the sight of the flesh, what appears to be the way up to spiritual greatness is the way to hell.  But, to the sight given by the Spirit, the way to heaven is the way down, to Christ in his sufferings in the world, to Christ in his manner of life in this world, and soon, to Christ as he is in his resurrection and glory.

Boot Camp for Glory

… though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.   (Heb 5:8)

It’s easy to understand that suffering results from disobedience.  This is a most familiar experience.  Perhaps, too, in our spiritual weakness we have some dim perception of the great distress our Lord experienced, suffering for our sins on the cross, when he cried, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me!”  But, why must the suffering continue for us after we know the Lord?  Aren’t we forgiven?  Didn’t Christ bear the torment we were due?

The answer lies in our fellowship with Christ!

Jesus Christ was always the perfect man -- from birth.  No sin hung on him at all.  Yet, as a human being he learned obedience through suffering.  Now, we are being conformed to his image.  And so we have fellowship with him in our sufferings!  Just as he was made perfect through suffering, so are we!  Just as his sufferings redound to his glory, so do ours!  Peaceable fruit and maturity of character is the result -- and the Christ-like capacity for ministry to other sufferers!  It is a mystery how and why God permitted evil.  Yet the suffering of the righteous in a fallen world brings the greatest glory! 

Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.    (Matt 5:11-12)

It is the same for the struggle within ourselves between flesh and Spirit.  The apostle Paul was given his “thorn in the flesh,” a messenger of Satan, that he might not be proud because of the special revelation that he had received.  The Lord refused to remove this “thorn” in spite of Paul’s prayers.  Instead, the Lord said, “My grace is sufficient for you.” 

Therefore I [Paul] take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Cor 12:10)

Paul's ministry depended on his suffering, and on weakness, for only then was the Lord's power seen in him!  For Paul, no "thorn" would have meant spiritual loss -- even no ministry!  But, as he suffers, he ministers.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. (2 Cor 1:3-5)

Do we enjoy every aspect of this “boot camp” for glory?  No.  But, as excellent soldiers and co-warriors with Christ, we have grace and comfort within it!  Christ persevered in all his tribulations because of the glory set before him.  So should we!  We have suffered with him.  We shall also be glorified with him!  We shall share this fellowship in glory forever and ever!

Why Did Christ Suffer?

... He [Jesus] knelt down and prayed, saying, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done." Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luke 22:41-44, NKJV)

Here he is -- the man who taught us not to fear death -- fearing death!   Why?

Oh, yes!  He taught us not to fear mere physical death at the hands of men, but that we ought to fear him who has the power to destroy both body and soul in hell!  That bloody sweat proves he is fearing no ordinary death!    

And, remember his desperate, but pious cry from the cross?  “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  He is suffering the torments of hell, and dying under a curse!  The true and righteous judge blames him!  He is condemning him for a world of sins and crimes he never committed!

See!  He wears the crown of thorns -- like Adam, the King of Thorns.  He deserves to die!  God makes him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him!  The one who came to give life, dies to give it!  His prayer to escape the cup -- the most fervent and sincere prayer he ever uttered -- is answered “No!”.  Sweating blood in agony, he takes the cup -- for us.  This great, saving work of God -- this death under the penalty of our sin -- is his greatest work of all!

Now, look!  Jesus rises from the dead!  The divine power of Life is still greater than the divine curse of death!  His Father truly is good!  This righteous man, whose prayer for deliverance was answered “No!”, was dead and now lives!  It is the death of death!  He is given all authority in heaven and on earth!  He is given the name above every name -- the name at which every knee will bow.  And, we are saved!  Since we are baptized into his death, we have borne the full curse for our sins -- in him!  We have been executed, along with him!  The doom of the broken Law has been visited upon us -- in him!  In him, we are raised from the dead to eternal life!    

God was in Christ, reconciling sinners to himself.  Now, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God!  Your salvation is accomplished -- in Christ.  God is at peace with you -- in Christ.  In Christ, you shall be at peace with him!  Dear saved and lost sinners, receive this suffering Savior! 

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!

Why Do We Suffer?

Now as Jesus passed by, he saw a man who was blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.” (John 9:1-3, NKJV)

The Gospel of John Chapter 9 is a remarkable story. In this story, our Lord Jesus turns a blind man into a believer, a prophet, and a teacher of the Jews! But, why was the man born blind?

Christ’s disciples think they are delving into big-time theology when they can converse with the “expert,” God’s Messiah, about the legal niceties of responsibility for sin. But, our Lord will have nothing of it. He simply will not talk about or calculate the consequences of the man’s sin. He even says that the real reason for the man’s blindness isn’t his sin! But, how can he say this? Our Lord can say this because there is something bigger than judgment for sin. There is something so big that it swallows up sin! This is revealed in the “works of God”!

Now we know that the man born blind could not have been born blind if Adam had not sinned. The man is guilty. So are his parents. They are all guiltier than the disciples even imagine. But, God in his inscrutable sovereignty did not permit sin in order to simply bring a curse. He permitted sin in order to show himself the Savior. Jesus portrays the healing of this blind man as a manifestation of the good works of God, reversing and counteracting the evil works of man. God is good, and he is good to sinners. He is the saving God. The “works of God,” which are his glory, are saving works. And, his saving works are greater than all our sin! Christ is so zealous to save and to show forth the works of God that he puts the blind man’s sins out of his mind! He simply refuses to bring them up against him—forever.

So, why is there suffering? Yes, suffering and death come by sin. But, there is a greater glory than the glory of God’s justice in punishing sinners. His greater glory is in saving them!

As we trust in Christ, the mystery behind our tribulations, our sorrows, our sins and sufferings is revealed: They are grounds for the saving works of God to be revealed. Therefore, let him save! Expect him to save! Pray for deliverance and salvation! There is a greater “Yes!” that waits behind every “No!” or “Wait!” that he gives in answer to our prayers. That “Yes!’ will finally come, and we will fulfill our highest destiny glorifying him in it and enjoying him forever!