Years ago the Lord sought to instruct me with respect to the way of suffering. The Problem of Pain by C. S. Lewis was helpful, along with A Grief Observed by Lewis written after the death of his wife and their short marriage. At the time Joni Eareckson Tada’s story as well as her response to suffering after being paralyzed in a diving accident. Another evangelical author at the time, Joe Bayly, wrote The View from a Hearse after the early-in-life death of three of his seven children. In her book Affliction Edith Schaeffer (wife of Francis) added to my studies. All this reading was couched in some amazing studies in Scripture, and the answer to the question, “why does our loving God permit us to suffer?”
Our purpose today is not to deal with that specific question, but rather to gain a simple perspective on the suffering of Jesus. Today’s passage is clear, that God sent His Son to earth to suffer. That’s not the end purpose. It does not tell us the reason for His suffering. But the life He lived was difficult. And Peter does say that one aspect of Jesus’ life was that it was an example for us, because we also suffer. Note the three areas of suffering that is evident when we meditate on the cross.
· Christ suffered in His body. Isa. 52:14; 53:7-8; Mk. 15:15-24. This has been the subject in the last three posts.
· Christ suffered in His soul. Isa. 53:2-3; Mark. 15:1-15,25-32. You have put away my acquaintances far from me; You have made me an abomination to them; I am shut up, and I cannot get out; 9 My eye wastes away because of affliction (Ps. 88:8-9). To me, this is “soul suffering.” All humans have a soul. The soul speaks of all that we have in common. The people cried out to have Barabbas given his freedom and to have the one many of them had celebrated as He entered Jerusalem earlier in the week. They insulted Him, reviled Him, spit on Him. This might bring us to tears, but not our Lord. As Peter said, He did not return the rejection. But the Psalmist tells us that the soul-suffering was real and felt!
· Christ suffered in His spirit. Isa. 53:4,6,10; Mk. 15:33-34. Note how clearly the prophet Isaiah says: God put Him in the place of suffering (v4). God put our sins on Him (v6). God made Christ our guilt offering (v10). Now, stop and meditate on Psalm 22:1, the words of “complaint” from Jesus on the cross: My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? There is no relationship in the universe any tighter than the Trinity. “Tight” is really not the word because they are “One image” (Gen. 1:26-27), diversity in absolute Oneness (Dt. 6:4), each being the fullness of Deity (Ex. 34:6-7). Interestingly, together in the Godhead, they understood “good and evil” (Gen. 3:22). And yet, on the cross, in the hour of darkness, as Jesus bore our sins, He also bore the estrangement that we have known because of our sin. I just need to think on this. There is no greater pain in the cross than Mk. 15:33-34! There is no greater pain in the cross as that which was brought about by my sin and God's love.
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