Suffering

They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise." But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.

They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the road?" But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me" (Mark 9:30-37).

In today’s Gospel lesson, our Lord began to speak candidly to the disciples about His approaching betrayal, crucifixion and resurrection. As was often the case, the disciples didn’t really understand what He was talking about, but on this occasion things were slightly different: they were afraid to ask him about it. This was unusual. Typically, when the disciples didn’t understand something that Jesus said, they would ask Him to explain His teachings to them. But on this occasion they did not—they were afraid to ask.

The reason that the disciples were afraid of asking Jesus for clarification is that they didn’t really want to know. Up until recently, everything had been going great. Jesus had gone from being an obscure teacher to being a prophet that people were eager to listen to. As Jesus traveled, more and more people attached themselves to the group that followed Him. The disciples had begun to hope that when Jesus entered Jerusalem for the coming Passover festival, He would declare Himself the King of the Jews and organize a rebellion against the occupying Roman militia. Each day was better than the last, and the future looked rosy indeed.

But now, things take a dark turn. As they near Jerusalem, Jesus begins to speak of betrayal and murder and mystical things like bodily resurrection from the dead. These teachings are strange and frightening, not at all in keeping with the plans His disciples had for the future. No one likes to hear a loved one talking about the approach of death; no one wants to think that someone you’ve been close to for years would turn traitor to the group. Jesus is suddenly saying frightening, unthinkable things.

And how do the disciples react? Out of fear, they hide their lack of understanding. They don’t want to hear any more of this strange talk. They want things to continue according to their hopes and dreams for the future, and betrayal and death just don’t fit comfortably into that plan. When Jesus speaks about suffering, the disciples don’t want to hear it.

We can certainly relate to the disciples’ reaction. We don’t like to hear about suffering either. Many Christians have somehow gotten the idea that being a follower of Jesus automatically fixes all of life’s problems, guarantees an easy ride until we reach heaven. When the Bible tells us about suffering we don’t want to listen, we don’t want the details. We hope that if we ignore talk of suffering that it will somehow go away and never touch us. But Jesus doesn’t let us hide from reality. He told the disciples what was to come, and our Lord uses Holy Scripture to tell us what to expect as well.

The life of a disciple of Jesus is not promised to be an easy one. In Luke chapter twelve Jesus says: do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law. Think of the families that you know. Many of those families contain a mixture of Christians and unbelievers. How well do these families get along together? Do you see the unbelievers resenting their Christian relatives for talking about religion and trying to get them to go to church? Do you see Christians being tempted or intimidated by their unbelieving relatives into skipping church for family activities, or being quiet about their faith in order to avoid emotional confrontations? These are the kinds of divisions that come about when some people have a relationship with Christ and other people don’t. Such divisions can bring suffering into the life of the Christian, as he or she worries about the souls of unbelieving loved ones.

Being a disciple of Jesus is difficult because unbelievers don’t understand Christianity and oppose God trying to steer their lives. Paul wrote, The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him (1 Corinthians 2:14). He also writes, the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so (Romans 8:7). Because we Christians care about every human soul, we cannot help but try to bring Christ into the lives of every unbeliever, but many times such offers are unwelcome. Staunch unbelievers not only reject Christ, they reject us as well, and sometimes that rejection is more than a harsh "keep your religion to yourself." Sometimes rejection of Christ takes the form of active persecution, such as vandalizing churches, getting prayer and Bibles removed from schools, and even in some parts of the world the imprisonment and killing of Christians. The offer of the love of Christ can and does provoke attacks of retaliation from those whom Satan holds firmly in his hands.

Christians suffer in other ways as well. Jesus said, If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me (Luke 9:23). Denying ourselves is something that most Americans are not very good at. How many of you who are reading this spend way too much money on food, alcohol, cigarettes, clothing, or cars? How many of you have denied your own desires for pleasure so that you could give 10% of your yearly income to the work of the Church? How many of you have denied your desire to fit in with your friends when they engage in unchristian behavior? How many of you have denied yourselves by telling the truth when a lie would have been so much easier? None of us denies himself as he should, because denying yourself is to suffer.

A Christian finds himself suffering because we must wrestle with God’s teachings, and some of those teachings we just don’t want to hear. In John chapter 6 we are told: On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?"… From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. Some people find Jesus’ teachings too difficult to accept and they stop following Him. Some people cannot accept that God is Triune—one God in Three Persons; such people find it easier to believe in a single god (like Allah). Some people cannot accept that Jesus has made full atonement for our sins; they feel that salvation is something that they must earn through their own efforts, and so they turn to religions that emphasize the importance of holy living. Some people cannot accept Paul’s warning, all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness (2 Timothy 2:12); because they cannot accept a religion that warns of eternal punishment for unbelief, they turn to teachings that avoid the subject of hell, like reincarnation. As Christians, we are sometimes uncomfortable hearing heavenly truths that we cannot fully understand or that frighten us.

But Jesus speaks candidly about suffering because it is through suffering that great blessings are found. Jesus suffered unimaginably for us—He left behind the perfection of heaven, a place where there is no need, a place where the angels and the saints universally adored Him as the Son of God, and came to live among us here in a world of sin, suffering and tragedy, a world where some hated Him and many couldn’t care less about Him one way or the other. His suffering increased as He was baptized to be our substitute, the one who God the Father would hold accountable for our sins. His suffering reached an unimaginable crescendo when He was declared guilty by Pilate and was nailed to a cross to die. During the awful hours of Good Friday, Jesus experienced something only those sent to hell experience—the total absence of God’s love, which moved Him to cry out: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Mark 15:34). And then Jesus suffered death itself, the inevitable consequence of sin.

But as terrible as this all was, it was a necessary suffering—necessary because Jesus loves us and was willing to endure anything to spare us from the eternal punishment that we each deserve for resisting God’s leadership in our lives. Because the Father’s anger was directed at Jesus, it is no longer directed at us. And when Jesus rose from the dead on the third day we were given proof: proof that the Father accepted Jesus’ atoning work for us as complete, proof that Jesus can make good on His promise to bring us safely through death to eternal life, proof that we can enter heaven freely because the Lord who forgives our every mistake in life will be there to take us by the hand to lead us into the glorious presence of His Father. Jesus’ suffering has resulted in the Father declaring Him the eternal King of all, and has given us the offer of salvation from the consequences of our sin-filled lives.

Jesus suffered, and the result was the greatest of blessings for fallen humanity. When we suffer for Jesus, we also receive gracious gifts from God. In Romans chapter five Paul tells us, we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Going through hard times builds our faith when we put our hope in Christ.

Another blessing that Christians receive from God is the leadership of the Holy Spirit as He takes up residence in our hearts. Life is complex and confusing, as we try to handle the pressures of relationships and career in a constantly changing world. How do we determine the right course of action when faced with a decision? How do we repair relationships that we have damaged through our own stupidity? We turn to God. He has given us the Ten Commandments as a moral handbook for making decisions that are pleasing to God, supportive of those we love, and healthy for our own well-being. He has promised to answer our prayers, and in the example of the Lord’s Prayer He has shown us that forgiveness is the only way that damaged relationships can be restored. Only Christians have Jesus’ promise, come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).

Another blessing that only Christians receive is the assurance that when we commit ourselves to God’s care, we need never worry. Jesus said, do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:31-34).

Of course, the greatest blessing that comes to the person who is willing to suffer the challenges of Christianity is reconciliation to the God who hates sins but who welcomes those who are holding hands with Jesus. When Jesus extends His hand to us, we have the chance to be free of every bit of guilt for every mistake in our lives; we are offered the freedom of a new start. And when Jesus takes us by the hand we need not fear death, because He will lead us through that brief darkness into eternal light.

Jesus warned His followers that there would be a cost of suffering involved in following Him, and they should consider carefully if they felt the benefits outweighed the problems before they committed themselves to Him. But I have to agree with St. Paul when he wrote, I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us (Romans 8:18). It is our nature to shrink away from talk of suffering, but it is through Christ’s suffering and our own much smaller challenges that we receive God’s wonderful blessings.