Ever since one of the most painful realizations in my life 10 years ago, I’ve struggled with understanding suffering as a Christian. It’s taken me years to even understand how much I have tried to avoid feeling pain, and how much I hate it. Throughout my years of questioning, I have had a growing unrest in my heart to what I will loosely label the “typical Christian’s” response to both the brokenness of this world and the suffering that accompanies the Christian because of his/her faith in Jesus. This typical response has a spectrum, and somewhere in the middle is: “Oh that’s horrible. I am so sorry. God, please comfort them and stop whatever is causing this distress and pain. Please remove the “______”. Now, if that’s your heart’s cry, cry it out. The Bible is clear that we need to raise our petitions to God. However, we Western Christians seem to be wonderful at mourning the brokenness that affects each of us, but we also seem to have a weak understanding of biblical suffering, how to go through it as a disciple of Jesus, and how to walk with and encourage other brothers and sisters in it. My own opinions and viewpoints, however, are not needed here. What we need is truth from God. We need to understand how he calls us to suffering as a Christian, and what he says about how to respond. Thankfully, God has plenty to say to us regarding suffering in his Word. Let’s take a look at a few portions of Scripture below.

Starting in Matthew 16:21. At this point, Jesus has been doing his public ministry for awhile. His disciples are with him. He has fed the 5000, and the 4000. He has healed many. He has walked on water. He has cast out demons. He has been confronted by the religious leaders and He continually offends them by breaking their man-made rules and exposing their self-righteousness. He has been revealing himself to be Messiah, God’s Son from heaven sent to save the world. However, no one really yet seems to understand how he will accomplish this salvation. His disciples seem to believe he will be a political leader, freeing the Jewish people from the rule of Rome and reigning in power as king. Now. So Jesus begins in Matthew 16:21 to explain to his disciples what is going to happen.

“From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” -Matthew 16:21-23

Jesus is clear. He will suffer many things at the hands of the Jewish religious leaders, and be killed, and rise on the third day. This is the first time in Matthew that he begins telling them exactly what his saving of the world will look like. He tells them again later. He’s preparing them. Consider Peter’s response. I see myself so much in Peter’s response. “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” Never, God! You would never want such a horrible thing to happen. Peter didn’t have a category in his mind for why Jesus would possibly need to suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, to ultimately be killed, and then to rise again. He couldn’t understand why Jesus needed to suffer. And because he didn’t understand, bless our dear Peter, he takes Jesus aside and rebukes him. It would take a lot of guts to rebuke Jesus, wouldn’t it?! Can you imagine? “Jesus, I know I’ve already confessed that you’re the Christ, the Son of the living God, but I have to tell you you’re wrong. This suffering and death and raising you’re talking about isn’t going to happen to you.”

Now consider Jesus’ response. Jesus, who created this world with his Father and the Spirit. Jesus, who knew from the beginning that he would be the one to come and be killed for our sin, for our sake. Jesus, who had already been tempted by Satan to avoid the cross. He turned, and I imagine he looked Peter straight in the eye as he said it. “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me.” Now stop. Here is why Peter missed it. Here is why Peter couldn’t grasp Jesus’ need to suffer and die and rise. Here’s why we have a weak theology of suffering as a Christian. “For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Friends, how often do we do the same thing when we or a loved one faces major pain or difficulty? How have we set our minds on the things of man instead of the things of God? My common “things of man” list includes:

• Pain is bad. Avoid it!
• Pain is bad. Pray against it!
• Pain is bad. God, stop the pain in my friend’s life!
• Pain is bad. God, get me out of it! As fast as possible!

Basically, I believe God couldn’t possibly want or have a purpose for me in something painful because he’s a good God. His job is to keep me from painful things. That breaks apart pretty quickly when we consider Jesus’ life and the following verses:

2 Corinthians 1:5 – For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.

Philippians 3:10 – that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

2 Timothy 1:8 – Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,

2 Timothy 2:3 – Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

1 Peter 4:13 – But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

Acts 14:22 – strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

John 15:20 – Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.

Romans 8:17 – and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

2 Timothy 3:12 – Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,

Romans 5:3 – Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 

Thankfully, none of us will ever need to bear the weight of suffering Jesus did. He took the worst of the worst for us, once for all. Yet, because he suffered in our place does not mean that we will not join him in suffering. No, indeed! The Bible promises suffering as a Christian. As if the above verses aren’t enough, check out what Jesus next tells his disciples in Matthew 16.

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.”

If anyone would come after Jesus, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow him. Interesting that Jesus, pre-crucifixion, said to take up his cross. I’m guessing he knew he would be killed on a Roman cross. A cross is painful! Following Jesus requires your life. It means even to the point of death you follow him. You deny any right you think you have to comfort, to a particular lifestyle, to controlling any part of your life. You surrender it all, gladly, and you take up your cross, and you follow him. Death is painful. Suffering is painful. Dying to yourself will be painful! There is no way around it. Christian, we’re not called to only mourn our suffering! We’re called to rejoice in it! We are not to minimize pain or struggle or horrific circumstances and the mourning of them, but the Bible is clear that also we are to rejoice in our suffering.

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. -Romans 5:3-5

Know this, Christian. It’s a witness. The non-Christian’s response to suffering will most likely be to avoid it at all costs. Run from it. Preserve your life at all costs in all ways. The Christian life is opposite from this. True Christianity becomes most visible and attractive to the outside world in times of trial and horror and brokenness and death. That is where a Christian’s response can simply boggle the mind of a non-Christian and show the world the hope we have in Jesus. How on earth can a husband and wife who have lost their eight-year-old sweetheart daughter to a sudden, unexplainable seizure leading to death be so at peace? How can they both mourn and celebrate? How can they be sure they’re going to see her again? What is this crazy hope they have? How can Christians who are being tortured and killed by their enemies be praying for those mutilating them? How can they die while singing praise to God? Why are Christians going to live with and help the sick in that part of the city? It’s quarantined. They’re going to die. Don’t they know if they want to live, they need to stay away? Consider this biblical example of suffering in Hebrews:

But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. -Hebrews 10:32-36

They joyfully accepted the plundering of their property because they knew that they had a better possession and an abiding one.

If we’re a true Christian, we understand our life is now hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3). So whenever our earthly bodies give out and die, we know and believe we will be raised again just as Jesus was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father (Romans 6:4). Even if we die, even if the worst possible thing happens, nothing can truly touch us. We’re secure in our eternal life; nothing can separate us from the love of the Father in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39). Suffering with Christ brings eternal reward for a Christian (Matt. 5:11-12). Death is a doorway to be with our beautiful Savior, Jesus (Luke 23:43). One day, at the end of time, our bodies will be raised, and we’ll meet with the Lord in the air (1 Thess. 4:17), and he will wipe away every tear from every eye. Death will be no more, neither will there be mourning or crying or pain anymore, for the former things have passed away (Rev. 21:4). We’ll be in a perfectly redeemed heaven and earth. We’ll be in the presence of Jesus himself. We’ll be reunited with loved ones. We will be in the company of the entire family of God throughout all history, the bride of Christ, complete and perfect. Not one will be missing. With the heavenly beings, we will praise the name of Jesus with one voice. We will feast together at the marriage supper of the Lamb. Then, as C.S. Lewis puts it in The Last Battle,

“Now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.”

As a Christian, our hope is not in this life. This life is but a shadow of the one to come. We give up our life and willingly engage in suffering because we are so grateful and overwhelmed by God’s love for us in sending Jesus to give up his life for us. It’s a response to the most mysterious, incomprehensible love we have ever known.

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. -Galatians 2:20

If you prefer to save your life and build it as you want it right now, don’t follow Jesus. Build your life apart from him. Just know that if you do so, you’ll find yourself spending eternity apart from him, just as you have already been doing. Hell is simply a continuation of a life lived apart from God by choice. God isn’t casting people into hell who are crying out to him, “Save me!” He’s giving people what they have been asking for – life apart from him. If Jesus is your treasure, you’re heaven-bound. If you want nothing to do with him, you’re hell-bound. God does not want anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9), but at the end of it all, he does give us what we want. There’s still time, friend! What do you want? Jesus offers you eternal life in himself. The only thing you need is need of him. You need to understand you’re a sinner. You need to understand you’ve wanted nothing to do with God. You need to understand you have nothing to offer to make yourself right with God, and you need a mediator. You need a Savior. You need a Redeemer. Jesus is it.

“because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” -Romans 10:9