The cross reveals the very possibility of suffering. In the Gospel a righteous man brought glory to God while dying on a cross. If we understand this, we will not “be surprised” (1 Pet. 4:12) when we experience the same.

One of the reasons that people lose faith in times of suffering is our tendency towards a religious rather than a Christian worldview. A religious worldview teaches, “bad things happen to bad people and good things happen to good people.” Far from a random thought, this is the default of the human heart. The biblical examples are numerous. This is what the disciples assume when, coming upon a blind man, they ask, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (Joh 9:2) In Luke 13 Jesus recounts two tragedies. One involved Pilate slaying a group of Galileans and mingling their blood with sacrifices. The other concerned a tower that fell on a group of people at Siloam. In both cases the crowds assume that these tragedies took place because the people were greater sinners than most. Finally, remember the words of the natives of Melita when the snake came out of the fire to bite Paul: “No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” (Act 28:4) The assumption here is that an injury such as this can only mean that this man is guilty of something. All of this sounds very much like Eliphaz in the book of Job: “Remember: who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off?” (Job 4:7)

The flip side of this, of course, is that good things will happen to good people. Some think that as soon as I give my heart to Jesus my problems will disappear: my grades will come up, the pretty girl will fall in love with me, and grandma will get healed.

The Hebrews are struggling because they have adopted this religious world view of suffering. They cannot help but think, “How is it that we who follow Jesus are losing everything and those who have abandoned Jesus are doing so well?”

The Gospel brings us face to face with the very possibility of suffering. Peter writes boldly, “Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.” (1Peter 4:19) In a similar way, the writer of Hebrews shows us that if the sinless, righteous Son of God suffered while following God’s will, it is reasonable that His followers will too. (Hebrews12:5-7) In other words, the Gospel teaches us that pain, loss, and suffering are not a sign that a person is unfaithful to the Lord.

Hebrews 11 illustrates this so well. In this chapter the author takes an inventory of some of the great men and women of the faith. Many of these are described as accomplishing great things. But, note the contrast in the middle of these verses:

And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets– who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection.  ////   Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated– of whom the world was not worthy–wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. (Heb 11:32-38)

By faith some subdued kingdoms; by faith some were subdued by the kingdoms. By faith some escaped the edge of the sword; by faith others went to the sword. Some of these saints glorified God in life; others glorified God in death.

I cannot explain why some seem to live in the first half of this paragraph and why others exemplify the latter. But we can be sure that both were faithful to the Lord.

As believers in Christ, we seek to understand everything in light of the Cross. The Gospel is the lens though which we understand the world, draw strength for daily living, and discover ultimate hope. Nowhere is this truer than in the area of suffering.

While there are many passages that teach us how to suffer in light of the Gospel, Hebrews 12 is one of the most vivid. Notice how the author weaves together our suffering with the suffering of Jesus:

Jesus’ Mission (vv. 1-3)

• Jesus endured suffering (vv. 2-3)
• The end of His suffering is glory (v. 2)

Our Mission (vv. 4-12)

• We endure suffering (v. 7)
• The end of our suffering is fruit (vv. 10-11)

For the author of Hebrews, Jesus’ suffering serves as a pattern for us. There is even a repetition of a key word: “endured” (vv. 2, 7). Just like a zipper brings together the teeth on both sides of a garment, the author zips together our suffering with the cross of Christ.

This pattern is not unique to the book of Hebrews. The apostles routinely call us to understand our own suffering in light of the cross. Consider Romans 8:16-17: “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 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. Peter does something similar: “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” (1 Peter 4:12-13)

What does this mean practically? The only way that a believer can come to grips with suffering in his or her own life is by coming to grips with the pain in Jesus’ life. We cannot even understand suffering apart from the Gospel. This is why the passage in Hebrews begins with the words, “Consider Him…” (v. 3) In other words, when you as a believer experience a trial, the first move is always to look to the cross.

It has been wisely said, “If God can make sense of the suffering of Jesus, He can most certainly make sense of the suffering in your life.” Hebrews 12 reveals four important points about Gospel-centered suffering: the possibility, the progress, the purpose, and the potential. We uncover the first in the next post.

In the book Grief and Pain in the Plan of God, Walter Kaiser gives eight reasons why God allows suffering in this present world. They are Retributive, Disciplinary, Empathetic, Vicarious, Doxological, Revelation, Apocalyptic, and Testimonial. The issue of suffering is complex indeed! The implications of a survey such as this are far reaching and remarkably practical. First, we must exercise a degree of restraint in reading too much into any given tragedy. Most of the time, a simplistic answer will not do. Consider the responses that the American people heard on 9-11 when the planes crashed into the Twin Towers. Many people on the conservative right understood this event to be the judgment of God against Americans for immorality and apostasy. Not to be outdone, some from the liberal left assumed the opposite: God is judging America because of its birth defect of slavery, oppression of women, and exploitation of the poor. Both pulpits were essentially crying, “America’s chickens have come home to roost!” (to quote Jeremiah Wright).

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