Why Is This Man Suffering? Part 1

A few weeks ago, I was listening to NPR. Every afternoon they have an hour from BBC world news.

On this particular day, they did an interview with Francis Collins who is the director of the National Institute of Health

And who is leading the race to find a vaccine for COVID-19

In the course of the interview, the interviewer asked this question:

Interviewer: You’d be aware that some religious fundamentalists seem to see this (COVID-19) as some sort of God-given plague. How do you react to that view that somehow there is a moral dimension to the suffering that comes in the wake of COVID-19?

Collins: The question of suffering and it’s meaning and why God would allow it is one of the toughest ones that believers and non-believers have to wrestle with. And I don’t have an easy answer to that, and I grieve for all those who are suffering and all those who have lost family members to this terrible plague. I can see from a scientific perspective how this virus which probably started in bats, and then maybe passed through a pangolin, and ultimately to a human in some wet market in China, is something that you can trace by the laws of nature and maybe, perhaps, we by getting closer than ever to animals that we normally wouldn’t be next to, have made it possible for these kind of leaps of viruses from one species to the next. So it’s hard for me to see this in the context that some might of a God-given plague.

I do think that we have to think about what is the significance of suffering in general, and do we as humans expect somehow to be free of that? There is a Psalm that I am very fond of which is posted next to my desk. Psalm 46 which says that God is our Refuge and Strength, a very present help in trouble. Keep in mind, therefore that God does not expect us to be preserved from any risks of trouble; but God is there with us.

I had two reactions to this answer

Yay for hearing the Word of God being proclaimed and lifted up on secular radio where too often He is scoffed at and ridiculed.

It didn’t seem like a complete answer. Granted, they were working with limited time, but it seems like Mr. Collins could have said a lot more about it.

Because, I’ll bet if we were to dig deeper into the mind of the interviewer, what he really wanted to know is why is there suffering

He’s right that the question of suffering is one that everyone struggles to answer.

For some, the question is just a simple “Why?” Why is there suffering? Why can’t life just be easy?

For others, the question might be something like, “Where is God in the midst of suffering?”

For others, the question is deeper, and more gut-wrenching, and seemingly unanswerable: “How can a loving God allow evil and suffering?”

Ravi Zacharias just went to be with Jesus. He spoke in countless gatherings and colleges and universities around the world. I would guess that he was asked this question more than just about any other question. “If there is a God, or if God is loving, how can He allow evil and suffering in our world?”

It seems that Mr. Collins from our interview might express his belief like this: Suffering is the result of poor choices that humans make and we have to live with the results and find our own way out of it. But God is there with us in the midst of our suffering. However, He doesn’t actively control the circumstances that cause suffering .

That seems like an unsatisfactory answer.

and the question is still in front of us: WHY is there suffering in this world?

This is the question in front of us as we come into John chapter 9.

And I tremble to try to answer it because I know that there have been many people who are a lot smarter than I am who have spent countless hours writing books and sermons and lectures trying to answer this question.

And the other reason that I tremble is because I know that there are those of you here this morning who have suffered in ways that I can only imagine. I look at you and I look at me and think that my life has been a cake walk compared with yours. And so who am I to talk about this?

But as people of faith and who believe that we can search the pages of Scripture to find answers, I think that we have to try to answer it.

And I think that it’s important that we have a correct “Theology of Suffering” (theology: The study of the nature of God)

By that, I mean, we strive to answer questions like:

How so I make sense of suffering in light of who God is?

How does God choose to work through suffering?

And we strive to answer these questions in a way that exalt Him ever more in our hearts.

BTW, this question of suffering is not a new question. The disciples of Jesus wondered the same thing. Why is there suffering?

John 9

Jesus had just escaped from being stoned in the Temple and now this happened:

John 9:1–5 ESV

1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

So it says that Jesus saw a man born blind.

This man has never seen the light of day. He has never had the ability to hold a job or earn a living.

I imagine that he has been begging for most of his life. He’s known by the neighborhood and by the religious leaders

The disciples noticed Jesus looking at this man and decided to wax philosophical

And they ask a question which helps Jesus know that they are really thinking deeply about things.

“Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

Seems like a strange question, if you think about it.

Because If this man was born blind, and suffering is a result of personal sin, how could his sin have caused his blindness?

There was actually a belief that it was possible for a baby to sin in the womb, and that is why someone could be born with congenital handicaps.

But we won’t get very deep iinto that.

Basically they are asking this: “Why is this man suffering?”

We need to know who or what to blame for suffering.

In their minds, physical suffering is always tied to sin. It comes as a result of sin.

And it makes sense

They knew, and we know, that suffering entered the world through the sin of Adam.

They knew about what God had told the children of Israel would happen to them if they strayed away from Him.

They knew how their people had suffered for sin down through the generations.

So it was natural for them to ask this question: “Is this man suffering because of his own sin, or because of his parents’ sin?”

Could have been either one. It had to be sin.

And I think we understand this question. We know that sin does indeed bring suffering For most people, many Believers included, whether we admit it or not, deep down this is what we believe about suffering:

Suffering is always a result of sin.

If He is pleased with us, we do well

If He is not pleased with us, bad things happen.

Example: In 2005 Hurricane Katrina, a category 5 storm slammed full force into New Orleans, killing around 1800 people and causing $125 billion in damage.

Immediately the talk among the church folks where we were living started: “Oh, it’s because New Orleans is such a wicked city. God is bringing judgement on them for being so wicked.”

Possibly.

Yes, sin brings suffering.

But the question that this story brings to my mind is, But is suffering always the result of my personal sin or someone else’s sin?

IT is so significant what Jesus says here:

“IT’s not because this man or his parents sinned that he was born blind. The reason for his suffering is that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

There are reasons that I think this statement is so significant.

It opens our eyes

It opens our eyes to the possibility that there just might be a deeper and bigger reason for suffering than that it’s only used to punish sin

It makes us think that God might be up to something that we have no idea about

It begins to prepare us to ask bigger questions

It changes our basic question about suffering

If we believe that our suffering is always because of my sin or my ancestor’s sin, or if we view our suffering through the lense of, “I was just an innocent bystander, and I got caught up in the results of someone else’s dumb or sinful choices, then our question, or our focus often is, “What did I do to deserve this?

my focus in the midst of suffering is me.

What did I do to deserve this? Who’s going to help me? What can I do to get out of this?

In this frame of mind, it’s easy to get bogged down in our own misery and confusion.

We can’t understand why this has happened and answers seem completely out of reach.

But if we take our cue from Jesus’ words, we might ask a different question.

instead of “what did I do to deserve this?”, maybe we should ask, “Lord, do you want to do through this suffering?”

It turns our attention away from ourselves and our circumstances. It pulls our eyes away from looking inward and instead turns them toward looking upward to Him.

It helps me stop being “me focused” and instead be more “Him focused”

BTW, the way that we respond to suffering is really part of a larger picture: what we think about life.

From the time of the Fall, it has been our tendency to think that life is about me. What can I do to better my life? What can I do to get out of this suffering.

It even affects the way we as Christians view our salvation.

Why were you saved? So that Jesus would forgive my sins and so that I can go to heaven when I die.

That is true, but it’s “me” centered response.

But it changes our focus completely if we would respond to the question of why was I saved by answering something like this: 2 Timothy 1:9 (ESV) 9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,

It was HIS purpose and HIS grace which He gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began!

Wow! Suddenly we have to say, “OK, so it’s not just about me, and my salvation. It’s about HIM and His eternal purpose and I have been called to share in what He has been doing since before time began!

Could this also be true of suffering and hardship? That it’s not about me? But that it’s part of His eternal plan which he set in motion before time began?

I think it’s important to note here that Jesus does not deny that sin does bring suffering. That is a given.

But in this case at least, Jesus says, “Hey, it’s not about this man or his parents.

It’s about God and what God wants to do in this man!

For me, this is a game changer when it comes to processing suffering and hardships

And that brings us to #3

It widens our expectations

If we take Jesus at His word, we start to look around and try to see what God is doing.

Jesus talks about the “works of God”

I want to see the works of God being made manifest!

I know that God can do great and powerful things!

I don’t know about you, but I want to see Him at work!

What are the works of God? We could spend a long time with this, I imagine?

Healing

In this case, God chose to manifest His work by physically bringing sight to this man’s eyes

We rejoice in that. And we love to see people being physically healed. T

We love to see people delivered or removed from their suffering

like Jesus calming the storm and like God leading His people through the Red Sea.

But we don’t always see people immediately healed or delivered from their suffering, do we?

So next Sunday, I would like to consider this question:

“What are the works of God that he does in us through suffering?”