I was recently watching a Christian from China being interviewed by a fellow Christian from America. They were discussing the experience of fellowship in China as compared to western nations such as the US. Christians in China experience real hardship as well as real danger. Their faith is strong. Their numbers are growing. They love the freedom and peace that comes from knowing Jesus. This, in spite of danger of imprisonment or worse, if they are discovered by the authorities. We in the west cannot imagine such hardships. We admire their courage and tenacity.
Psalm 6 describes David’s experience.
Turn, O LORD, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love. [6] I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping. [7] My eye wastes away because of grief; it grows weak because of all my foes. [8] Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping. [9] The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD accepts my prayer. [10] All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled; they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment. Psalm 6:4,6-10 ESV
Once again this was written by a man who knew hardship and danger. So does this type of experience belong only to those who experience ‘real’ persecution?
Is this the unique domain of persecuted Christians in countries such as China or is it the lot of Christians everywhere? When Jesus said:
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
Matthew 11:12 KJV. Was He saying here that once John had declared the Messiah, the battle would really be on for those truly accepting Jesus. Could Jesus be telling us in the above verse that all those Old Testament physical battles are simply a foretaste and harbinger of the ‘real’ battles that would be fought in New Covenant times.
Prayer was not optional for Jesus. It was an imperative. And so it should be with us.
And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. Luke 18:1 ESV
He was always our example.
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. Hebrews 5:7 ESV We are told to follow “in his steps”.
When Paul wrote Ephesians 6:
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12 KJV. Was he saying that our real enemies aren’t flesh and blood but unseen spiritual forces. Is this the standing marching orders for all Christians irrespective of where they are born?
This is the experience of all committed Christians. Indeed the Bible clearly says:
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 2 Timothy 3:12 KJV
It should be noted that the real sufferings of Christ began in that passion week before His crucifixion. Even Jesus was constrained to cry out,
…….O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. Matthew 26:39 KJV
This was the time when the sins of the world (all of us) would roll upon our Saviour.
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV
Of course this was a pathway that was unique to our Saviour.
What then does the following statement mean?
Of all the blessings that heaven can bestow, fellowship with Christ in his sufferings is the most weighty trust and the highest honour. Desire of Ages p.225.
Do we really have a part of Christ’s sin bearing on behalf of others?
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, Colossians 1:24 ESV
No sane person wants to suffer – but in this crazy world in which we find ourselves is it possible to be so insular and perfect that we don’t experience suffering of some kind?
In the above verse from Matthew, even Jesus begged that if it were possible, that cup would pass from him.
Are we not told to follow “in his steps”. (1Pet. 2:21)
What Jesus said to Peter he is still saying to us today.
Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Matthew 26:40 KJV
Jesus bore the sins of the world. He could only do that because He was divine – the Son of God.
In what way can we bear the sins of those we love?
Is that what is alluded to in Job.21:19. This is a verse that seems to have different connotations depending on what version of the Bible we are reading. Could it be that Kenneth Taylor, when he wrote the Living Bible, was getting close to the truth of the original meaning?
“‘Well,’ you say, ‘at least God will punish their children!’ But I say that God should punish the man who sins, not his children! Let him feel the penalty himself. Job 21:19 TLB
Even the authorised version is not far from this conclusion.
God layeth up his iniquity for his children: he rewardeth him, and he shall know it. Job 21:19 KJV
In the same book, in chapter 33, Elihu alludes to the fact that their are souls who need the intercession of a friend, a loved one, who “declares a person upright”.
Then, if there should be for one of them an angel, a mediator, one of a thousand, one who declares a person upright, [24] and he is gracious to that person, and says, ‘Deliver him from going down into the Pit; I have found a ransom; [25] let his flesh become fresh with youth; let him return to the days of his youthful vigor’; Job 33:23-25 NRSV
This then would be in agreement with other parts of Scripture where intercessory prayer is spoken of.
Therefore he said he would destroy them- had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him, to turn away his wrath from destroying them. [30] Then Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was stayed. Psalm 106:23,30 ESV
If God’s people begin to really pray for those around them, then they too will know what it is to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. This then, is what Satan fears the most. That God’s people will grasp His promises and begin to really pray. They may even experience persecution as Christians in other countries. But it will be a spiritual rather than a physical oppression.
Perhaps these verses don’t prove that God’s people are called to carry the sins of others but there is evidence here that this is indeed the way that God has designed things. Otherwise the above quoted texts are irrelevant and meaningless.
Because Jesus was sinless, any suffering that he experienced would have been vicarious, on behalf of others. That this suffering of his was real is beyond question.
Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; Hebrews 5:7 KJV
To what extent our suffering is determined by our own sin or that of others can only be determined by God. But just as Jesus suffering on behalf of others was real. So, as with us who are called to follow in his steps, our suffering can be very real. Jesus, of course was perfect and sinless. As the divine Son of God his suffering and his sacrifice was for the whole human race. Our intercession and hence our suffering is for our own sins and those of our innermost circle. Those whom God has brought to our limited and rebellious attention. We are all totally dependant on our Saviour who knows us intimately. God’s people have always been the recipients of, not only his love, but also of his shared suffering.
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. [2] Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. [3] The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. [4] Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: Isaiah 40:1-4 KJV
And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. [6] The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: [7] The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. [8] The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. [9] O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! [10] Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. Isaiah 40:5-10 KJV
We have reached a critical time in this world’s history. God is calling us to a higher level than simply believing in a set of doctrines. May God help us to see and understand that higher calling.
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