7 Observations on Suffering from John 11
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I’ve had times of suffering, and I would guess you have too. For example, I’ve had multiple miscarriages and was unable to have children. I have a muscle and joint condition that causes constant pain. My husband lost part of his spine to bone cancer. I’ve had loved ones pass away. And most, if not all of you, have had similar stories of suffering.
Sooner or later, we ask, Why does God allow suffering? Today we’ll look at seven observations about suffering from John 11.
Welcome to Session 7 of Discovering Good News in John.
The Passage
Let’s begin by reading John 11:1–13:
Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
“But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”
Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”
After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”
His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
John 11:1–13, NIV
So what are the problems in this passage?
The Problems
Lazarus is so sick, he’s about to die, so Mary and Martha ask Jesus for help. Notice that this is, In a sense, a prayer. They ask Jesus for help.
Not only does Jesus not heal Lazarus from afar, but when he hears that Lazarus was sick, he waits two more days before starting the four-day trip to their home. He doesn’t explain his delay. It looks like Jesus isn’t answering their prayer.
In verse 14, Jesus announces that Lazarus has died and only then does he head out to see them.
Observation 1: Jesus allows the so-called problem of evil to exist
What’s called the evidential problem of evil goes like this: if there is an all-good, all-powerful God, does it make sense that this God would allow all the evil and suffering that he does allow?
In this series, we’ve talked about God’s attributes, including that he is omnipotent; that is, God is all powerful. Today we’ll introduce another attribute of God: God is good—even if it doesn’t always appear that way.
Many Bible Passages Declare That God Is Good
For example,
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 100:5, NIV
Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
Psalm 25:8
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!
1 Chronicles 16:34
Notice in the narrative that (1) Jesus loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. (2) Jesus had the power to stop suffering. (3) But Jesus still allowed Lazarus to suffer and die, and he allowed the sisters to suffer the loss of a loved one who was probably their only financial support.
Again, When Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, he waited two more days and he didn’t explain why.
Verse 32 gives us Mary’s reaction to Jesus arriving:
When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
John 11:32, NIV
The crowd’s reaction is similar:
But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
John 11:37, NIV
In other words, Didn’t Jesus know we were in need? Where were you, Jesus?
When people suffer, that’s often their question: Where’s God when I’m suffering?
But Divine Hiddenness Is Valuable
The Lord doesn’t want to interfere with our free will, so he doesn’t make his existence too obvious. God gives enough evidence of his existence that those who want to believe will have their beliefs justified but not so much evidence that those who don’t want to believe would be forced to feign loyalty. By the way, theologians and philosophers call this “divine hiddenness” or “epistemic distance.”
Observation 2: Jesus allows suffering to afflict those he loves
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.
John 11:5–6, NIV
Since the fall of man in Adam and Eve, every person dies. We are all going to suffer severely. Only one thing will prevent you from watching everyone you know die from murder, accident, or disease and that is your own death from murder, accident, or disease.
Severe suffering is no indicator that God doesn’t love you dearly. It’s just the opposite. As the book of Hebrews says,
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?
Hebrews 12:7, NIV
When we really understand the Kingdom of God, we’ll know that hardship works character into our lives that is valuable for eternal life
Observation 3: Jesus is sometimes misunderstood
And he’s not troubled by that! Jesus said Lazarus’s sickness would not end in death. Yet, Lazarus died.
The messenger might have returned relieved—but then he found that Lazarus was already dead! Did he say, “What?! I thought Jesus said Lazarus’s illness wasn’t going to end in death?!”
When Jesus decided after two days to go to Judea, the disciples reminded him that the Jews there wanted to kill him. How easy it would be to think that Jesus was looking out for himself. Or to think that he didn’t want to be bothered.
Now, we know that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. But the disciples, Mary, Martha, and the others didn’t know he was going to do that.
Yet Jesus wanted his disciples to learn to trust him. And that’s what we’re called to do, isn’t it? Trust Jesus. Trust his word. He’s got a plan.
Observation 4: Jesus lets us suffer for our sake
John 11:14-16 reads:
So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
John 11:14–16, NIV
Notice that Jesus still hasn’t told his disciples that he’s going to raise Lazarus. He merely says that what he is doing is for their sakes, which is like saying, “It’s—it’s going to be good for you” without saying how.
People ask why God allows particular instances of suffering. Why did God let that young mother die of cancer? Why did God let that child die by being hit by a car? Now, if someone asks these questions because they’ve just suffered a loss, we grieve with them. Scripture says, “Weep with those who weep.” But later when they want answers, we can approach the subject as Clay Jones does in his article,
“Why Did God Let That Child Die?”
I’ve had this kind of conversation many times, and it typically goes like this. Someone asks whether God was unfair for letting Kaylee die from leukemia. I respond, “But it’s not just Kaylee that you’re concerned about, right? I mean, you don’t think God should let any child die of cancer, right?” They always agree to this point. After all, you’d have to be a selfish swine to say that you only cared if one child died of cancer and not others. Then I point out that it’s not just cancer, right? I mean, you don’t think children should die of other horrible diseases, right? They always agree to this too. Then I ask, but it’s not just disease, right? You don’t think God should let children drown, or be crushed by boulders, or burn in fires, or be murdered, right? They always agree. But then I point out that it isn’t just death, right? After all, you don’t think children should be maimed or raped, right? They always agree. So finally, I ask, well, if all this is true, if children shouldn’t be able to suffer being raped or maimed, or to die from murder, accident, or disease, then to what age do you think children should be indestructible?
At this most start laughing because they realize the absurdity of indestructible children. In fact, when you change the question from why God allowed a particular child to die to why God allows children to die, the question almost answers itself.
Clay Jones, “Why Did God Let That Child Die?,” https://www.equip.org/articles/god-let-child-die-2/
A Miracle-Filled World Overrules Free Will And Severs Morality
Clay continues,
But perhaps the biggest problem with indestructible children regards the mechanism required to keep these children from being seriously injured or killed. Again, God couldn’t do tens of thousands of miracles every day without causing those who don’t want to worship him to feign loyalty.
Also, a child’s actions wouldn’t mean much. For example, Johnny could be cutting his steak next to his little brother Jimmy and suddenly jam his knife into Jimmy’s side and God could make the knife turn to rubber. The whole family could laugh heartily—but that’s a cartoon world. In such a world, we could encourage our kids to go play marbles in the freeway: “You’ll just bounce around a lot.” In such a world, children wouldn’t learn morality because many of their choices would lack moral consequences.
Clay Jones, “Why Did God Let That Child Die?,” https://www.equip.org/articles/god-let-child-die-2/
In a miracle-filled world, rebels would be compelled to feign allegiance. Also, a miracle filled world would sever morality from our choices because natural laws must work in regular ways for our choices to have moral meaning. I don’t know why a specific suffering comes on a particular person. But the Christians who suffer it will in time know why.
God Uses Hardship For Our Good
God uses suffering in our lives for our good, to teach us kingdom principles. Every Christian (as it says in Hebrews 12) should endure hardship as discipline. If you’ve been a Christian for some time, and you’ve endured hardship, in time you’ve come out of that hardship seeing how God used it for your good. Again, this may take some time but sooner or later we all see how God uses hardship for our good.
For example, after my second miscarriage, which was in the second trimester, I couldn’t understand why God was letting this happen to me. But later I saw that he was working several good things in my life. For one, I needed to learn to trust him more in hardships. Two, I needed to learn not to care that some people in my church were blaming the miscarriage on my lack of faith. And three, the Lord was opening up a door of ministry for us to take in foster children that couldn’t be placed in homes that already had children.
These were all good things. Just as Mary and Martha were about to find out that God was using their current suffering for a greater good, proving that Jesus had the power to give life, so you too will find in time what God is working in your life.
We Can Trust God When Prayers Are Answered “No”
Let’s read John 11:17-27:
On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
John 11:17–27, NIV
Notice that Mary expressed trust in Jesus even when Jesus hadn’t met her deepest need! Your finest hour is not a relaxing day at the beach, or getting married, or having kids, or writing a book, or becoming the president of a company. Your finest hour is when your life is falling apart, maybe you’re facing immense loss or terminal illness, but you say, “I still honor God.” That’s your finest hour!
Observation 5: Jesus sympathizes with our suffering
John 11:28-36 reads:
After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
Jesus wept.
Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
John 11:28–36, NIV
God is not emotionally distant. He is not like a cold, exalted physician—he sympathizes with our suffering
In an earlier session, we said that one of God’s attributes is that he is unchangeable. Sometimes Christians think this attribute means that God can’t be affected by us; in other words, he doesn’t feel anything about our suffering or sin. He never becomes sad over human suffering. He never becomes angry at human sinfulness. He is unmoved by what happens to us. But that comes from Plato and Greek philosophy. The Bible doesn’t teach this.
Instead, we read that “Jesus wept.” Jesus sympathizes with our suffering.
Observation 6: Jesus demonstrated his compassion, authenticity, and power, thus bringing glory to himself
His compassion we’ve already seen when we read that “Jesus wept.” In 11:37-44 we read
But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
John 11:37–44, NIV
Jesus demonstrated his authenticity by showing he is who he said he was, the one who gives life. And he proved his power over death.
Verse 45 reads:
Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.
John 11:45, NIV
Remember, the reason the crowd gathered for the triumphal entry in John 12 was that they heard about Lazarus being raised from the dead after four days in the grave.
Observation 7: Jesus will end all the suffering of those who believe
We read John 11:25-26 previously but let’s read it again.
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
John 11:25–26, NIV
Martha replied “Yes.” But what about you? Do you believe this?
Barring Jesus’s return, we’re all going to die, but Jesus will raise us to life, and we will live forever.
Thus, we have a partial answer to the problem of evil question that we began with: if there is an all-good, all-powerful God, does it make sense that this God would allow all the evil and suffering that he allows?
The answer is yes, because God will put an end to all evil—He just hasn’t done it yet because there are things he wants to teach us. But one day he will banish all evil. This is the ultimate answer to the problem of evil—the Lord is coming back and when he does, we will all inherit eternal life where there will never again be any death or mourning or crying or pain. Instead, Revelation 22:5 says we will reign with Christ forever and ever. Let’s enjoy that.
If You’re Following in the Book
This week in Discovering Good News in John, complete chapter 7: The Servant King. We’ll answer the question, What evidence did Jesus offer that his imminent death was part of God’s plan? See you next time.
Join the Discussion!
Please answer these questions in the comments below.
- What one thought stuck out to you in this week’s video? Why did it stand out?
- What one thought stuck out to you from this week’s chapter? Why did it stand out?
- Question 18, page 124: Describe a time when God gave you better than what you prayed for.
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The Bible says God disciplines His children, but when terrible things happen I can’t believe that God is in anyway to blame. If people are made sick and die from all the chemicals that have been released into the atmosphere, earth, water and food, I don’t believe God is teaching us a lesson. God cannot makeHis children indestructible. We suffer because of mankind’s foolishness and also evil. God is good without a doubt, but God doesn’t click His fingers and make everything okay simply because we are His. He asks us to trust Him through the suffering and promises to be with us.
Hi, Angela. I totally agree that God is never to blame for suffering caused by evil. God does teach believers important truths from the evil we see and experience, though, such as that we should hate sin, that we should trust that God knows what is best when he gives commands, and that God can work even others’ evil deeds for the good of those who love him. In the case of pollution, we learn that people must be more careful to care for each other, just as his commandments on ensuring safety for others teach us. For example, Deuteronomy 22:8 commands the Israelites to build fences on rooftops to prevent people from falling off the roof (their roofs were flat and were treated as a living space). That commandment teaches us the importance of ensuring safety and the sinfulness of not doing so.