Jottings

by J. Miller | Category: Jottings | Dec 1960

The Greek word Pathema, "that which one suffers, or suffering," is derived from Pascho, which means, "to be affected by anything," whether good or bad, to experience good or to suffer evil. From Pascho is derived the English word "passion," as used of the Lord's suffering, in Acts 1. 3, "To whom (the chosen

apostles) He also skewed Himself alive after His passion." The word "passion" is rarely used now of suffering; its usual use now is to describe a state of ungovernable temper, or ungovernable lust, or sometimes of strong desire.

Human suffering has been described as "the mystery of suffering," and it is indeed a mystery why some seem to be born or called to suffer more than others. Though suffering is traceable to sin, that is, the sin of Adam and Eve, it is a fact that some of the greatest sufferers have not been the greatest sinners. Suffering and calamity have been regarded from ancient times to have been brought about by the sin and wrong-doing of the sufferers themselves. The Lord corrected this idea when He replied to those who informed Him of the cruelty of Pilate, who had slain certain Galileans and mingled their blood with their sacrifices, as follows,

"Think ye that these Galileans were sinners above alt the Galileans because they have suffered these things "I tell you Nay but except ye repent, ye shall all in like manner perish Or those eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them think ye that they were offenders above all the men that dwell in Jerusalem? I tell you Nay but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish (Luke 13 2 5)

Saints may suffer for well doing and they may even suffer for evil doing as Peter wrote, " It is better, if the will of God should so will, that ye suffer for well-doing than for evil doing" (1 Peter 3 17) God does not allow His saints to suffer for well doing save that it is according to His will Job's case is a standing example of this form of suffering. God asked Satan, "Hast thou considered My servant Job? for there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil" (Job 1.8). Satan's reply was an insinuation as to Job's character, that he feared God because He had given him so much and preserved him, his family and his substance. This was the cause alleged by Satan why Job was a perfect, upright, God-fearing man. Satan was allowed to test Job, and what suffering and sorrow he brought upon this man of God! Job suffered sorely for well-doing, according to the will of God. What a corrective the book of Job is to the all-too-ready assumption that suffering is the result of the sufferer 5 sin

Psalm 73 is another corrective portion of Scripture which is much like what Job says in chapter 21 about the prosperity of the wicked. He says that they reach to old age, wax mighty, their seed is established their houses safe the rod of God is not upon them, their cattle increase their little ones are like a flock they dance and sing, they spend their days in prosperity All this would indeed b fine for them if it continued, but Job says, "In a moment they go down to Sheol" (Hell) (verse 18). All this is parallel to the words of Psalm 73 So evidently prosperous were the wicked that the thought of it upset Asaph, the writer of the psalm, and his feet were almost gone; he felt himself slipping as he thought of the wicked in their prosperity, for all the day long he himself was plagued, and chastened every morning. All was changed, however, when he went into the sanctuary of God. Here he stepped on to the firm foundation of God which stands for ever. Here he saw things in their true perspective. In the clear light of God's presence he saw that it was the wicked who stood in slippery places. He saw them cast down to destruction and they became a desolation in a moment. Let us remember the words of Peter again:

"Insomuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings (not His vicarious sufferings), rejoice ; that at the revelation of His glory also ye may rejoice with exceeding joy " (1 Peter 4. 13).

And also the words of Paul:

" Yea, and all that would live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (2 Timothy 3.12).

The greater the godliness, the greater the persecution.

The prophets of the Old Testament testified by the Spirit of Christ (which is the Holy Spirit) concerning the sufferings of Christ, and the glories which should follow them. And of the salvation which would result therefrom these prophets sought and searched diligently as to the time or manner of time their words would have fulfilment. Besides the deep and profound contemplation of the prophets, we are told also of the angels that into these things they desire to look (1 Peter 1.10-12).

We cannot conclude that the angels knew of Christ's sufferings and glories prior to these being recorded upon the sacred page of Scripture, nor would it be safe to conclude that they only knew of these sufferings and glories when the blessed Holy Spirit caused the prophets to write in so great detail of the Lord's sufferings and glories as some of them did.

We know that the angels knew nothing in past ages of that wonderful revelation of the Mystery, of which we learn through Paul, which is, that Jew and Gentile should be fellow-heirs, and fellow-members of the Body, and fellow-partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

"The dispensation of the mystery which from all ages hath been hid in God who created all things; to the intent that now unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places might be made known through the Church (which is Christ's Body) the manifold wisdom of God." (Ephesians 3.1-11).

Midst the glories of heaven and of the eternal state saints shall for ever meditate upon the sufferings of Christ, and it will give them cause for praise, for the worthiness of the Lamb, the young Lamb who was slain, who by His blood has purchased to God men of every tongue and nation (Revelation 5).

David in the psalms, and Isaiah, are chief amongst the prophets who wrote of Christ's sufferings and glories. Psalms 22 and 69 are outstanding amongst David's psalms which speak of the sufferings of Christ. By the tongue and pen of David we hear the Lord speaking by His Spirit in David. In Psalm 22 we have the Lord using the personal pronouns " I," "Me," "My," in the first 21 verses some 44 times, beginning with the very words the Lord uttered in His anguish on the

Cross: "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?"

In Hebrews 2, the sufferings of Christ are threefold, (1) He suffered at the hands of God, which was once and once only (1 Peter 3.18; Hebrews 9.27, 28), in that He tasted death for (Huper, in behalf of) every man (verse 9), for man's wrongdoing. (2) He suffered at men's hands for His own well-doing, that is, His righteousness (verse 10), and by this suffering He was made perfect. (8) He suffered in temptation at the hands of Satan (verse 18). All temptation in the Lord's case came from without, and never did any of His temptations issue in sin. Hence, when assaulted in His holy Manhood by the devil's temptations, it brought to Him extreme mental suffering, not to speak of His physical sufferings in the wilderness and in the garden of Gethsemane.

We have pointed out elsewhere that in that form of address in praise to God the Father, "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 1.8, etc.), we have implied the Manhood and Godhood of our blessed Lord. He who is the eternal Father of the eternal Son is the God whom He worshipped and served when He became Man at His human birth. As the Man Christ Jesus in Psalm 22.1, He cried out in His anguish on the cross, "My God, My God, why has Thou forsaken Me." He speaks of trusting God when He was upon His mother's breasts, and of being cast upon God, and God being His God from birth, that is, from His human birth. He speaks of His bones, His heart,, His bowels, His tongue, His jaws, His hands, His feet. His bodily frame was wracked with pain and His heart broken in grief on the cross. We must be saved from a philosophy which would deny that the stroke of divine wrath fell on the Lord simply as Man, whereas, the word of God through Zechariah says,

"Awake, 0 sword, against My Shepherd, and against the Man that is My Fellow, saith the Lord of hosts: smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered."

" Christ died for our sins,"

and Christ is God and Man.

J. Miller | Dec 1960
Jottings