The Cross and Suffering, Part 1 | Christ, His Cross, His Church

Habakkuk

Well, I am sure that you have met people like I am about to describe. Whenever you talk with them, the conversation tends to go in the same direction, again and again. You ask them how they’re doing. I’m great. My spouse is great. My kids are great My job is great, My health is great. My house is great. My quiet time is great. Everything’s great. So enough about me. How are you?

 I’ve never said, in those settings what I’d really like to say. You know, my friend, the continual greatness of your unrelenting greatness, in so many great ways, annoys me greatly. There are folks like that. They mean well, and I don’t mean to say any more than that. And many pulpits tell you that God wants your life to be great, and wants your earthly life to go well.

But Scripture, I think if you read it cover to cover, paints a much different portrait than that in this expectation of continual greatness. Job chapter 5, verse 7 says, “Man is born for trouble as the sparks fly upward.” The Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 3 says, “When we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know.” Then in Second Thessalonians, chapter 1, he says, “We ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.”

 There’s a spiritual stability and a spiritual joy, but there’s an outward affliction that is very real and significant. And I think it’s important for us to have a good theology of suffering, in the Christian life. And to do that, we’re going to go to John, chapter 16, and I invite you to turn to John, chapter 16. I’ll read verses 25 to 33.

 The cross which brings us salvation also brings us suffering. In verse 25, Jesus, speaking in the upper room on the eve of his crucifixion, says to his disciples, “‘I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.

 “‘I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.’ His disciples said, ‘Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.’

“Jesus answered them, ‘Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.’”

 Now in those words, Jesus is preparing his disciples for his imminent departure. And in the setting, Judas Iscariot has left to initiate the events that will betray Jesus. And Jesus is now alone with the eleven and he is speaking with them in this intimate setting. And what He’s doing here is he is preparing them for the trials that are just ahead.

 If you look again at verse 25, he says, “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father.” Jesus had been saying things that were hard for them, for them to understand. And what he says now is that the day is coming when things will be clearer to you in the midst of this affliction.

In the midst of, in the, in the, midst of the events that are going on right now. I understand that you don’t understand everything, but there’s a day coming, when there will be. It, it will be more obvious to you, what is at stake. And probably in this context he’s referring immediately to the fact that the, the, Holy Spirit will soon indwell them, after his resurrection and, and, will open their minds and give them power and clarity.

You look at verse 26, we read this, that, “In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.” Christ is leaving, but they can be confident, even his physical absence, they can be confident in the love of their heavenly Father. There was no cause for alarm.

 And so, he says in verse 28, “I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” It’s a pretty remarkable statement of his eternality, his incarnation, and then the, the, glory of his ascension, and his reign on high. He came from the Father. He, he, wasn’t, his existence did not begin with his earthly birth.

 He came from heaven to earth. He’s come into the world. He’s completed his ministry. He’s about to render the atoning sacrifice for our sins. And he can say, now I am leaving the world, the work is done. Taking account of the fact that the cross was still just ahead of him, and he’s going to the Father. So, he came from the Father. He did his work. The cross will soon be done. He’ll be resurrected and he’s going back to the Father.

 So, there’s a lot going on there in the, in the, earthly ministry of Christ, that he just described. And that little summary gives the disciples a, a flash of understanding. And they, they, think that they get it, now. They say in verse 29, “His disciples said, ‘Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech. Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.”

 The disciples think that the difficulty has been cleared up for them, but they didn’t realize everything that lay just ahead in their future. They were confident of Christ’s divine origin, of his divine nature, and they had made progress, in that sense. Their confession was fine as far as it went, but they weren’t as, as, advanced as they thought they were.

 Verse 31, “Jesus answered them”, and, and, challenges them. He doesn’t really affirm what they said. He challenges them, he says, “Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me.” He’s warning them that there is an hour of testing that is about to fall on them, and they will scatter away, and they will leave him alone.

 Now, in the comparative security and intimacy of that immediate occasion, where Jesus is speaking with them, that must have seemed unthinkable to them. Indeed, in other places in Scripture you, you, read how Peter said, “Lord, even if I have to die with you, I will not abandon you, I will not forsake you. And the other disciples said the same thing.”

 They were on the brink of a great, great, testing; thought and felt very confident in it, not realizing that that a great crisis and, and, their own spiritual failure was just immediately around the corner. And it’s time of preparation for us even to think and in these terms, as we gather together in the comparative safety, and the quiet, and the fellowship of, of, a time like this. And it’s sweet, as it should be.

 But, you know, it’s inevitable that there are trials and afflictions that, that, await us. Whether it’s soon or a little further along, it’s inevitable that trials are, are, just ahead. And so, Jesus, in effect, is saying, do you think you’ve arrived? Their faith was about to be tested. The Romans would soon arrest him. They would all run and leave him alone and make the point that overconfident disciples are not prepared for difficult trials.

 And that’s kind of the, you know, I alluded to those people that on social media or, you know, in personal conversations, everything’s great, everything’s great. There’s a pastoral sense in which I worry about people like that, because even if things are great and they are telling me the truth, it’s not always going to be like that. And that easy confidence is not the mark of a well-equipped disciple.

 And so, Jesus here is trying to equip the disciples and prepare them for the, the, immediate time when they will, they will fail him, and they will fail, and they will be crushed by the defeat. And he was preparing them by mapping out for them the road for suffering. And, you know, to just kind of pause there before we get into the exposition of verse 33.

 Maybe for some of you, this is a helpful thing to hear. You thought that you were strong. You thought that you were a giant for Christ. And yet, unexpected affliction has hit you, and now adversity shakes you, and you’re shaken to the core from the position that you thought you had. If you read the book that they are giving to everyone that attends here, you’ll see that I know what that’s like, and I know what that kind of overconfidence, and that kind of subsequent failure and surprise is like.

 I know that by personal experience, and so I’m here on your side to help you as we consider the cross, and suffering, and the theology of the cross. You look at verse 32, Jesus hints at their coming defection. When he says, the hour is coming, you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me alone. And Jesus is giving them this warning. And I would think, that the nature of the providence of things is that you are here today, not to be, not to be, rebuked for overconfidence, but Jesus gives this warning to encourage us, and to help us, and to, to, provide for our hearts, in those inevitable times that are to come.

 Look at what he says in verse 33. He says, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.” He says I’m saying these things to you, to equip you, to give you comfort, to give you strength. He’s not rebuking the disciples, in that sense, in a corrective way, but rather helping them to see that they’re not everybody that they think they are. They haven’t arrived like they think they are, and subsequent events are going to show that to them very clearly.

 This idea of peace, that Jesus uses, the word can be understood in this way; it’s a state of being that lacks nothing and has no fear of being troubled in its tranquility. Jesus says I’m, I’m telling you these things so that you can be in a state of tranquility, despite what’s about to take place. And what he does in verse 33, that follows, he gives them three, three, keys to finding peace and keeping peace in the midst of this hostile world in which we live.

 Now I just keep going back to the illustration that I gave at the start. I appreciate people with a positive attitude, and an optimistic sense, and they want to project joy in their lives. I appreciate people like that, to some extent. I know that I could certainly stand to be more like that, rather than the pessimistic self that I tend, that I tend, to be.

 But I like to deal with reality. I like to be prepared for reality, and this verse helps prepare us for the reality of being a Christian in a hostile world and being prepared for trials and adversity that comes to us from unexpected directions. So often you don’t see it coming. So often you don’t see the great semi-trailer truck of adversity that is about to strike you and, and, and, knock you across the street.

 And these words from Jesus, in verse 33, can prepare us and help us for those times. And so let’s look at them and consider them briefly here this afternoon. The first principle that I would say that Jesus is teaching us here is, he teaches us to recognize the obstacles, to recognize the obstacles. There will be perfect greatness for us. There will be perfect serenity, but that awaits us in heaven; and the absence, the absence of trouble is not for this life.

 On earth, greatness and everything, always going well, especially for a Christian, not so much. Look at what Jesus says in verse 33, after saying, “In me you may have peace. He says in the world you will have tribulation.” You will have tribulation. It’s a statement of fact. And so he’s telling them up front to expect the reality of difficulty. And the reality of difficulty, not such, that we can just kind of hover above it, and, and, look down and be somewhat disconnected from it.

But a real difficulty that really squeezes us, and really afflicts us, and really brings pressure upon us, whether it’s through outward circumstances or the afflictions of our heart. This is to be expected. “In the world, you will have tribulation.” Now in context, Jesus is referring to how the disciples will soon scatter away from him, but, it includes, all of the troubles that come in a fallen world.

 Trouble will be part of the fabric of your life, in this world. And there’s enough gray hair in the room, like mine, that I don’t need to tell you that you know it by experience. Acts chapter 14, verse 22 says, “Through many tribulations we must enter the Kingdom of God.” And how does that, how does that help you have peace? There is a sense in which it could almost make you gun shy. It could make you always wonder what’s just around the corner, and you could live in fear of the adversity that you don’t know is coming. But it’s not meant to give us that sense. It’s meant to give us a sense of peace and a sense of confidence.

 And so, how does this help you have peace? Well, beloved, if you know in advance that troubles will come, if you know in advance that adversity is to be expected, then you won’t be so perplexed when it does come. Of course, you have trials today, my friend. Of course, things are difficult. Of course, you are experiencing sorrow. Of course, things you find, things that are sad, and problems that have no obvious solution.

 And, of course, you have people close to you that have let you down, that you’ve been disappointed in, that you’re concerned about, that you pray about, and things only seem to get more difficult. Beloved, this is to be expected. And the purveyors of the health and wealth gospel, those who say you can name what you want and then claim it. And if you just have enough faith, things will go the way that you want to.

 And I would not want to be standing in their shoes on the Day of Judgement, having inflicted so much physical, and well, spiritual pain on the people of God. It’s not true. We’re going to suffer, it’s going to be difficult, not, not, in the same degree for everybody, and not everybody will go through periods of darkness, like some of us have. But difficulty is to be expected.

We live in a fallen world and we are fallen creatures and, and, sad difficult fallen things, happen to fallen creatures, in a fallen world. And so, if you came to Christ just looking to, for an escape from all earthly trouble, welcome to reality. Welcome to a truer presentation of the gospel of Christ than what was given to you at first, and think about it, beloved. Jesus, John 15. “Jesus said if the world hates you they’ll hate me.” You know, and in like, man or if, if, we follow a savior who suffered on earth, then is it really too much to expect that we won’t suffer also?

Isn’t it to be expected that, that if we were to become like our master who, who, was perfected, so to speak, scripture says, “by his sufferings,” it, it, it, rounded out his human experience to go through suffering; then obviously if we are following in his footsteps, God will use suffering to sanctify us, as well. It’s a question of when it will happen, not if it will happen.

 Now, commercial airplanes have instruments that orient the pilot, when he can’t see where he’s going, flying through weather or whatever the case may be. What we’re talking about right now, my friends, is one of your most important spiritual instruments that you can have as you go through life, here on this fallen earth. One of your spiritual instruments that guide you in the darkness is to recognize that obstacles are to be expected in the Christian life. This is to be expected. And so you can take heart, my suffering friend.

 Jesus told you in advance, your plane isn’t off course. You’re just having adversity, which is to be expected, and to know that is to, to, solve half of the battle. I mentioned it in the book that they’ve, that they’ve, given to you. You know, one of the things that will hinder you as you go through trials is a wrong set of expectations.

 If you think that Christians are not supposed to suffer, that’s going to really hinder things and make it difficult for you, when you go through suffering, because you end up, I’m speaking to true Christians, in what I’m about to say, because you end up asking questions like am I really saved. If I were really saved, I wouldn’t be suffering like this. That’s not the way to think. That’s the based on the wrong set of expectations.

And so, Jesus tells us to recognize that there will be obstacles. You will have tribulation. And that’s a great starting point to have in place, so that when the doctor brings bad news, when the stock market collapses, when whatever other wind of adversity blows into your life, you can step back with a measure of detachment and say, wait, let me get oriented here, let me look at the instrument panel. Okay, the plane is still on course. This is to be expected.

 Now, that’s not enough to go through the trial successfully. It’s not enough to recognize the obstacles. You need to go further. You need to go further and point number two: You need to rise to the occasion. You need to rise to the occasion. Now, in exact opposite to the person who says that everything’s always great, on the exact, on the other extreme of things is that, you and I should not be people who are always complaining about what we’re going through, and soliciting sympathy, and I’m the victim here, and woe is me, and just talking about how dark and difficult things are, and, and, everything’s, everything’s, a crisis.

 That’s not the way that we’re meant to live either. Not in a false sense of optimism, a false portrayal that everything is always okay, and great with me, but neither should we just be always walking around like the, the, guy in the Peanuts cartoon who always had the cloud over his head. What was his name? Pigpen. Thank you.

 And so, we have to rise to the occasion. And as we come back to verse 33, I just want to say this, is if you’re in adversity now, what, what, God has set before you is perhaps different than what the outward trial seems to be. Now I’ve got to get through the next doctor appointment. I’ve got to fix this or whatever. There’s something more fundamental going on, if you’re going to view these things biblically, view them spiritually, and to truly be sanctified by them.

 God has brought something to you and brings adversity to us in order to mature our faith and to, and to, have us grow in, from one position of glory to another. And So, what we do is, we step up to the trials, instead of shrinking back, and falling down in discouragement. We rise to the occasion.