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Suffering and Jesus. Questions about Suffering. Why is there suffering? Where is God? Does God care?. The Bible and Suffering. Mark 15:33-34 Christ on the cross “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?. The Bible and Suffering. Isaiah 52:13-53:13 (especially 53:2-11 ) (p. 559)
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Questions about Suffering Why is there suffering? Where is God? Does God care?
The Bible and Suffering Mark 15:33-34 Christ on the cross “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
The Bible and Suffering Isaiah 52:13-53:13 (especially 53:2-11) (p. 559) “The Suffering Servant” despised, rejected, a man of sorrows, beaten, oppressed, condemned
Why did Christ suffer? “It was the Lord’s good plan...” v. 10 God suffers with us.
Questions about Suffering Why is there suffering? Where is God? Does God care?
Understanding Suffering • Natural disasters • Sickness and disease • Relational sin
Christ and Our Suffering • Natural disasters. A new heaven and earth. • Sickness and disease. New glorified bodies. • Relational sin. Free to love.
God’s Plan • Christ, The Suffering Servant
“Only the gospel dares to proclaim that God enters smack-dab into the middle of the hell we create...and suffered firsthand the hellish depth of all that is nightmarish in human existence.” Letters from a Skeptic by Gregory Boyd and Edward Boyd
God’s Plan • Christ, The Suffering Servant • Being transformed into Christ’s image • The Church, the Body of Christ
God’s Question to Us How will you respond to suffering?
Responses to Suffering • Ignore it. • Turn away from God. • Turn toward God. • Be part of His plan to address suffering.
“Jesus Christ did not come to explain suffering. He came to fill suffering with His nearness.” French poet Paul Claudel Respond to God