Paul: His Life and His Teachings The Sufferings of Jesus
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No.30 Paul: His Life and Teachings - The Sufferings of Jesus (Part 1)
No.31 Paul: His Life and Teachings - The Sufferings of Jesus (Part 2)
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We have been studying the writings of Paul on Christian suffering under the sub-theme The Hardship Catalogue; as part of the series of study on Paul’s Life and Teaching. In celebration of the Lenten season, it will be the fitting for us to revisit the suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ. The concept Christ’s substitutionary work is that Jesus will save us by going through the pain, suffering, death, and resurrection on our behalf. For instance, Jesus died for us that we may live; He became sin for us that we could be forgiven. In this lesson, we will look into the different expressions of Jesus’ suffering so as to gain a better understanding of the blessings and victory that Jesus has in store for us. Let us start with Jesus becoming poor. James is the one who confronts the rich who do not consider the poor. He is quoting from the Old Testament, like Psalm 41:1, which says: Happy is one who cares for the poor; the LORD will save him in a day of adversity (CSB). The thing is, he who despises the poor because of his poverty, despises the Lord Himself. The coming of the Messiah marks the preaching of the gospel to the poor.
The poor can be as wicked as the rich. However, riches pose a positive danger to most. It is the danger of pride, to be aloof against the poor, with whom the Lord associated Himself in the world. Paul articulated well the substitutionary work of Jesus: For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake, He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich (2 Cor. 8:9). The self-impoverishment of Jesus during the whole incarnation was for the enrichment of the believers in the Spirit. Now, we believe in prosperity, that is God’s provision. We do understand though that there were a lot of Christians who died poor. We could not call them lesser than those who were made rich in this world. Another expression of Christ’s suffering is the temptation. Jesus lived a life on earth of suffering and patience. When a person goes through temptation/s, there is a lot of suffering involved in it. There are so many consequences that are very negative that are results of yielding to temptation. Jesus identified, therefore, suffered with us in going through all classifications of temptation (cf. Heb.4:15).
Remember this every time we go through temptation. The temptation is a great suffering, especially when we fail. Don’t we just feel awful and suffering whenever we fail. But then even when we overcome temptations, we suffer most of the time in the aftermath of temptation. For example, what if we are tempted to compromise? As we make a stand not to, it could cost us some of our friends. Our suffering could be lost in terms of financial opportunities, promotions, etc. Another expression of Christ suffering is rejection (Jn.1:11). To reject in John 1:11 is to refuse to recognize. Thus, denying the person of what he rightfully is and all that belongs to what that person is rightfully him or her. Jesus was rejected by his brothers and sisters. He was rejected by some of their extended family members. He was rejected by His followers. He was abandoned (rejected) by His closest disciples. Today, Jesus is still being rejected by a lot. This includes feeling God-forsaken.
Pain and death because of who He is and what He taught. In the fallen world, birth precedes life, and life precedes death. Jesus went through these. Torture can be added to this section. So is being constantly resisted. Whatever Jesus did in those days, there are always parties that constantly resists whatever Jesus is doing. This includes accusations that He is a blasphemer and even a rebel. Sometimes He was accused of being crazy or beside Himself. The false accusations of being a blasphemer, in the context of Jesus’ trial is an accusation that He is a false messiah. A rebel because of His message. He refuses to conform to the corrupt religious system and teachings of the religious elitists. Not only was Jesus falsely accused, He was also falsely tried. The whole trial of Jesus is a sham. He was accused falsely, therefore, the trial was a deception from the religious elite to bring Him to death. The ability to do something about the situation but chose not to in obedience to the will of God is part of His suffering. Jesus suffered and died so that we could regain back what Adam had lost. Let us make Christ’s suffering count by fulfilling God’s will and living life for His glory. Praise be to God!