Identifying with Christ's Suffering
When we are experiencing unjust
pain and suffering, we should attempt
to understand more fully
Christ's suffering on the cross.
Here's Gene:
There is no question as we look at this
Principle that Job endured incredible
unjust pain and suffering.
And we want to look at his prayer.
It's heart-rendering but I think it really
illustrates this Principle that we're
looking at here tonight.
In Job chapter 30, verses 9 and 10--
notice this prayer. And as we read it,
I want you to think of a passage of
Scripture you may be familiar with,
and that's Isaiah chapter 53.
And who's the focus of Isaiah chapter 53?
It's a prophetic picture of Jesus Christ.
In fact, some of the very words in
Job's prayer are iterated in Isaiah 53.
Here's Job's prayer:
Now I am mocked by their songs;
I have become an object of scorn to them.
They despise me and keep
their distance from me;
they do not hesitate to spit in my face.
Doesn't that sound like Isaiah chapter 53?
They mocked the Savior.
They scorned Him.
They despised Him.
He went to the cross.
I think Job's prayer really reminds us
of what Jesus Christ actually went through.
Notice verses 20 and 21:
I cry out to You for help,
but You do not answer me;
when I stand up, You merely look at me.
You have turned against me with cruelty;
You harass me with Your strong hand.
Again what this illustrates as well
is that Job is expressing his feelings.
And earlier, we've seen a Principle
that really relates to the fact that
when we are in deep pain,
God understands when we express our feelings.
And once again, we see him sharing these feelings.
Chapter 30, verses 25, 26:
Have I not wept for those
who have fallen on hard times? ...
And basically what he is simply saying is,
as he prays: I have been concerned about
people that have been in my condition.
I've wept for those who have
fallen on hard times.
...Has my soul not grieved for the needy?
But when I hoped for good, evil came;
when I looked for light, darkness came.
And really this is the story of the book of Job.
Now we know the back story.
Job didn't understand it.
In fact, none of the individuals that were
confronting him and trying to help him
in a weird sort of way,
understood the back story
in the sense as we know it.
And we know that God allowed
Satan to test him.
And really, in a sense, said to Satan:
You know, here is my servant Job.
Have you considered him?
His uprightness, his integrity.
And of course, then came the tests.
And God gave Satan the
permission to do this.
And Job, at this particular time,
didn't really understand all this.
And we have a glimpse here of the
darkness that he was feeling.
And as I've studied this,
I have thought about the fact that
in some respects, perhaps God has
given us this story to help us to see into
the heart of a man who was definitely human
and was definitely a simple man like we all are:
Falling short of the glory of God.
But has given us this story to illustrate,
in some respects, what Jesus Christ
went through when He died
for us on the cross.
And notice if you go to
Matthew chapter 27, verses 45 and following,
we read these words about Jesus:
From noon until three in the afternoon
darkness came over the whole land. ...
Now just for a moment, think back to
what Job said when he looked for light.
He had nothing but darkness.
You see a relationship here, I think,
even in the language that is used to
describe what actually happened
when Jesus Christ went to the cross.
Matthew continues:
...About three in the afternoon Jesus
cried out with a loud voice,
"Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?"
that is, "My God, my God,
why have You forsaken me?"
And that sounds like Job, doesn't it?
When I have sought You, I couldn't find You.
You didn't respond to me.
And here in His humanity, Jesus--
and remember He was fully human,
even though he was fully God.
That certainly set Him off from Job.
But in His humanity, He was suffering
just like Job suffered.
And so He is crying out to the Father:
Why have You turned Your back on Me?
And of course, then He said:
It is finished. He died.
He went to His death.
He went into the tomb.
He was resurrected.
And I think we have here an interesting
illustration of an Old Testament man of faith
who really went through the darkness.
Which really is an illustration,
as I said, of Jesus Christ.
You know, when we look at the
New Testament and when we look at
the suffering for the cause of Christ,
the apostle Paul certainly stands out
as an example.
In Philippians chapter 3, verse 10.
Paul is writing from prison
and notice what he says:
My goal is to know Him and the power
of His resurrection and the
fellowship of His sufferings,
being conformed to His death.
Now what an incredible statement that is.
And of course, the pronoun Him/His
refers to Jesus Christ Himself.
And so the apostle Paul there in prison
is identifying in a sense
with the sufferings of Jesus.
Not fully identifying with that. He knows that
that is far beyond anything
that he could ever suffer.
But he saw this as a privilege to
suffer for Jesus Christ.
To be honest with you,
I can't even identify with that.
That's an incredible attitude in terms of
seeing in his own experience,
Christ's suffering and
understanding that suffering.
So let me just repeat the Principle
so you get the connection.
You see, the Principle reads:
When we are experiencing unjust
pain and suffering...
Which the apostle Paul was when
he wrote these words to the Philippians:
When we're experiencing unjust
pain and suffering, we should attempt
to understand more fully,
Christ's suffering on the cross.
And that's exactly what the apostle Paul
was illustrating in his own life--
using his own suffering to understand
the suffering of Jesus Christ.
And here's the question for
Reflection and Response:
Why can unjust and undeserved
painful experiences help us to
appreciate more fully the price
Jesus Christ paid so that we can ultimately
be free from all pain and suffering?
When I think of that question
and when I think of this Principle,
to be honest with you,
I have to conclude that--
and I think you will include it as well--
that most of us who live in the
western world don't understand suffering
because we're followers of Jesus Christ.
There are exceptions of course.
But we don't understand that
like Paul understood that.
We don't understand that like
many New Testament followers
of Jesus Christ experienced suffering.
In fact, most of us cannot understand
that as it relates to other people
in the world today.
And I have just read recently stories of
people who to this day in various parts
of the world are suffering for the
cause of Jesus Christ.
Even their lives are being threatened
or actually literally giving their lives for Christ.
And to be honest with you, I can't identify with that.
I just can't identify with that.
If I'm perfectly honest, when I'm in pain,
I usually think of myself, not Jesus.
And a lot of these people think about Jesus.
That's what Paul did. And that's what
this Principle really is all about.
And he was thankful--Paul was thankful that he could
identify with Christ's suffering.
Again, far beyond anything that
I can understand.
Now that's one reason why I think
we need these stories.
And I think this is one reason why the Lord
has given us a story here in
the Old Testament about Job.
Because as we read the story of Job,
it really is in many respects a
picture of Christ's suffering.
And as we consider that
and how he responded to that,
I think it's a great example to all of us
as believers today.
Who know the end of the story
but also we know the fullness of the story
as far as God's redemptive plan is concerned.
And that is the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
What an incredible example.
Now let me say this:
You see, one of the encouraging things
in the light of suffering, as you read in
1st Timothy, particularly chapter 2:
We're to pray for all those in authority. Why?
Well let me just read what Paul said:
so that we may lead a tranquil and
quiet life in all godliness and dignity.
What is the most encouraging thing here
is that the will of God primarily is that
we experience peace and tranquility, not suffering.
And boy, I want to pray for that.
I can identify with that. Because I'm so
thankful for the freedom that we have:
Not to have to engage in suffering.
But the fact of the matter is,
because we don't engage in that
kind of persecution,
experience that kind of persecution,
we really have a difficult time
understanding suffering and identifying
with the sufferings of Jesus Christ.
But that doesn't mean we
should not attempt to understand that.
And that's why I've worded this
Principle in just this way.
So let me, for the third time, restate it:
When we are experiencing unjust
pain and suffering, we should attempt
to understand more fully
Christ's suffering on the cross.
And I believe that probably at
certain times in our lives,
God allows us to experience suffering
just to remind us of what Jesus Christ
did for us when He gave everything
on the cross. And endured that
incredible pain of even the
Father turning His back on Him.
A mystery. How He could be
both the Father and the Son?
But the fact that matters is, Jesus Christ
was the God-man who became flesh.
And came into this world to reveal
God's love to us through this incredible,
incredible suffering.
I thank God for that. Don't you?