If God Is Good
If
God is good, why does God allow suffering?
If
God is in charge, why is the world so unfair?
In today’s scripture Greeks wanted to see Jesus. In Jesus’ time Greeks were known as “seekers” after truth and wisdom. At that time some Greeks came up to worship at the feast in Jerusalem. They heard that Jesus was in town. They approached Philip and said, “Sir, we want to see Jesus. Can you help us?” Though we don’t know exactly why, perhaps they might have had some questions in mind that we have today: “If God is good, why does God allow such suffering and injustice?” “Where is God in our suffering?”
God in the Night
I think Elie Wiesel can help us. Born
a Hungarian Jew, he became an internationally famous author. In his book Night
he shares with us his boyhood experiences in the death camp of Auschwitz. When
he was 14 years old in 1944, his family and he were arrested and sent to the
concentration camp of Auschwitz. As soon as they arrived, the men and women
were separated, and Elie never saw his mother or sister again. He said, ‘Never
shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life
into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I
forget that smoke (sc. of the crematorium)....Never shall I forget those flames
which consumed my faith forever....Never shall I forget those moments which
murdered my God and my soul, and turned my dreams to dust ....’ (p.45).
Perhaps the most horrifying experience of all was when the guards first tortured and then hanged a young boy. Just before the hanging, Elie heard someone behind him whisper, “Where is God? Where is he?” Thousands of prisoners were forced to watch the hanging (it took the boy half an hour to die) and then to march past, looking him full in the face. Behind him Elie heard the same voice ask, “Where is God now?” At that very moment Elie heard a voice within him answer him: “Where is he? Here he is – he is hanging here on this gallows....” (pp.75–77).[1]
Suffering God
“Where is God in our suffering?”
Though there is no easy answer, we can find comfort when we look at the cross
of Christ. The God who allows us to suffer, once suffered himself in Christ on
the cross. The same God still suffers with us and for us today. Our God is a
suffering God.
In today’s passage Jesus tells us how he will rescue us from our suffering, our sin, and our death. Jesus said, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain, but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (v. 24). Then he continued, “Now my soul is troubled” (v. 27). Why was Jesus’ soul troubled? His soul was troubled because he felt the burden of our sin pressing him down. Before taking away all our sins, he had to bear our sins upon his shoulders, carry our sins, and groan under the burden of our sins. As a result, Jesus had to suffer separation from his Father on the cross as a cursed one, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” So his soul was greatly troubled. But Jesus was determined, saying, “What should I say: ‘Father, save me from this hour? No, this is the very reason I came!” (v. 27) Then, Jesus said, “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself” (v. 32). Jesus came to suffer and die for us. Still today, Jesus suffers with us and for us. Where can we find hope in our suffering? Only our suffering Christ is able to help us and save us. “Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested” (Heb 2:18, NLT).
In the Light of the Cross
Truly the name of Jesus is Immanuel,
“God with us.” The play titled ‘The Long Silence’ says it all. The story goes
like this. At the end of time, billions of people were scattered on a great
plain before God’s throne. Most people shrank back because of the brilliant
light before them. But some groups near the front talked heatedly, saying, “Can
God judge us? How can he know about suffering?” One woman ripped open a sleeve
to reveal a tattooed number from a Nazi concentration camp. “We endured
terror...beatings...torture...death!” In another group a Negro boy lowered his
collar. “What about this?” he demanded, showing his deep scars and burns. “Lynched...for
no crime but being black!”
Each had a complaint against God for the evil and suffering he allowed in this world. How lucky God was to live in heaven where all was sweetness and light, where there was no weeping or fear, no hunger or hatred. What did God know of all that the people had been forced to endure in this world? For God leads a pretty sheltered life, they said. So each of these groups sent forth their leader, chosen because he or she had suffered the most. A Jew, a Negro, a person from Hiroshima, a horribly deformed arthritic. In the center of the plain they consulted with each other. At last they were ready to present their case.
They insisted that before God could be qualified to be their judge, he must endure what they had endured. Their decision was that God should be sentenced to live on earth – as a man! “Let him be born a Jew. Let the legitimacy of his birth be doubted. Give him a work so difficult that even his family will think him out of his mind when he tries to do it. Let him be betrayed by his closest friends. Let him face false charges, be tried by a prejudiced jury and convicted by a cowardly judge. Let him be tortured… At the last, let him see what it means to be terribly alone. Then let him die. Let him die so that there can be no doubt that he died. Let there be a great host of witnesses to verify it.”
As each leader announced his portion of the sentence, loud murmurs of approval went up. And when the last had finished pronouncing sentence, there was a long silence. No one said another word. No one moved. All of sudden, all knew that God had already served his sentence.[2]
The Bible prophesies about the Messiah (Christ) this way: “He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering, who knew pain firsthand… Surely it was our pains he carried, it was our sins that weighed him down… He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed” (Isaiah 53:3-5).
God with Us
Why must Christ die a criminal’s
death on a cross? Who killed Jesus? Was it Judas Iscariot? The Jewish leaders?
Pilate? The Soldiers? It was the Father who gave His Son up for us. It
was Jesus who gave Himself up for us.
Our hearts are troubled when we look at today’s world. It seems like suffering, evil, and injustice are all around, and God seems distant. But when we look at the cross of Christ, we can face the most perplexing problem of suffering. We can face tomorrow.
Today we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Patrick was born in Britain. When he was 16 years old, he was captured by Irish pirates and lived as a slave for six years in Ireland. During that time, in his suffering he encountered Immanuel, the God who suffered with him, and became a Christian. After this, he was able to escape and return home in England. But he sensed he was called to serve the people in Ireland. So he returned to spread the good news of Jesus as a missionary to Ireland. Jesus said, “Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will be my servant be also” (v. 26). Patrick shared in Christ’s sufferings. He lived in the constant danger of martyrdom. But throughout his life, he always experienced Immanuel – the Christ who suffered with him and for him. As I close, I would like to share his prayer with you:
Christ
be with us, Christ before us, Christ behind us,
Christ
in us, Christ beneath us, Christ above us,
Christ
on our right, Christ on our left,
Christ
where we lie, Christ where we sit, Christ where we arise,
Christ
in the heart of every one who thinks of us,
Christ
in every eye that sees us,
Christ
in every ear that hears us.
Salvation
is of the Lord,
Salvation
is of the Christ,
May
your salvation, O Lord, be ever with us.
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