Isaiah
53:
4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried
our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he
was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us
peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have
turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of
us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet
he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a
sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land
of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?
1Peter
2:
19 For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful
of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly.
20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and
are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you
endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.
21 For to this you have been called, because
Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow
in his steps.
22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found
in his mouth.
23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in
return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself
to him who judges justly.
24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the
tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you
have been healed.
25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now
returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Christ came to save His
people from their sins, and subsequently from the power (law) of sin and death.
(Matthew 1:21-23; Romans 8:2)
Sin and death came through
one man, i.e. the first Adam. Righteousness and new life come through the one new
man; the last Adam. (Romans 5:12-2; Eph 2:15)
The promise is not that
we will not endure suffering, aging, physical illness, or physical death, (as
flesh and blood do not inherit the kingdom anyway; 1 Cor 15:50). The promise is
all those in Christ, both the dead, and those alive at His return, walk in
newness of life now, in their fading mortality, (the first resurrection, which
is His resurrection; John 3:5-8; 5:24-27; Rev 20:6), and are forever transformed
into the immortal when He returns to save His people (Hebrews 9:26b-28; 1 John
3:2).
Hebrews 2:
14 Since therefore the children share in flesh
and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death
he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,
15 and deliver all those who through fear of
death were subject to lifelong slavery.
1Cor 15:
21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come
also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ
shall all be made alive.
23 But each in his own order: Christ the first-fruits,
then at his coming those who belong to Christ.
24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the
kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and
power.
25 For he must reign until he has put all his
enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
Peter,
Paul, all the disciples, indeed the saints of God throughout history,
understood that suffering was a part of the walk.
A
wicked generation seeks “the miraculous”, the righteous seek the resurrected Lord
(as if this is not miraculous enough). Signs and wonders are not the gospel.
(Romans 1:16-17; Hebrews 10:37-39; Hebrews 11:6)
Colossians 1:
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake,
and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the
sake of his body, that is, the church,
25 of which I became a minister according to the
stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God
fully known,
26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations
but now revealed to his saints.
2Timothy
1:
8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony
about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel
by the power of God,
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,
10 and which now has been manifested through the
appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and
immortality to light through the gospel,
11 for which I was appointed a preacher and
apostle and teacher,
12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not
ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to
guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.
Php
3:
8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of
the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have
suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may
gain Christ
9 and be found in him, not having a
righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through
faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
10 that I may know him and the power of his
resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
11 that by any means possible I may attain the
resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained this or am
already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has
made me his own.
2Cor 4:
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to
show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
8 We are afflicted in every way, but not
crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;
9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down,
but not destroyed;
10 always carrying in the body the death of
Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.
11 For we who live are always being given over
to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in
our mortal flesh.
12 So death is at work in us, but life in you.
13 Since we have the same spirit of faith
according to what has been written, "I believed, and so I spoke," we
also believe, and so we also speak,
14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus
will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.
15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace
extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of
God.
16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer
self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.
17 For this light momentary affliction is
preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,
18 as we look not to the things that are seen
but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient,
but the things that are unseen are eternal.
Rev
14:
12 Here is a call for the endurance of the
saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying,
"Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on."
"Blessed indeed," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from
their labors, for their deeds follow them!"
Christ suffered as
mortal, and we who are His suffer in the same way in our mortality. Therefore,
when we dwell with Him as immortal we will no longer be called to endure
patiently in suffering, as all suffering and death will be over forever. He
suffered once for all and for all time!
Hebrews 2:
17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers
in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest
in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
18 For because he himself has suffered when
tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Hebrews
5:
7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up
prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to
save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.
8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience
through what he suffered.
9 And being made perfect, he became the source
of eternal salvation to all who obey him,
Hebrews
9:28 so Christ, having been offered once
to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but
to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
Rev
21:
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne
saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with
them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their
God.
4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,
and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor
pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."
5 And he who was seated on the throne said,
"Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this
down, for these words are trustworthy and true."
