Suffering

Suffering enters Scripture in Eden and walks the canon to the new Jerusalem. The UPDV does not present it as a riddle to be untangled but as a plain feature of the world after the fall, a mark of Yahweh's discipline of the sons he loves, the appointed lot of those who follow him, the personal experience of his Servant, and the very thing he undertakes himself in the person of his Son. The same Scripture that piles up the language of trouble — affliction, tribulation, anguish, the cup, the waters, the furnace, the cross — also piles up the language of comfort, of refining, of brief duration, of joint-heirship, and of an end. The witness is unsentimental. Suffering is real, traceable, useful, often endured for the sake of righteousness, sometimes a sentence on impenitence, and finally to be wiped away.

The Common Lot of Man

Job's friend states the principle as bluntly as Scripture states it anywhere. "Man, who is born of a woman, Is of few days, and full of trouble" (Job 14:1). Eliphaz puts the same observation in proverb form: "But man is born to trouble, As the sparks fly upward" (Job 5:7). The cause is named in Genesis. To Adam Yahweh said, "cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you will eat of it all the days of your life; thorns also and thistles it will bring forth to you ... in the sweat of your face you will eat bread, until you return to the ground; for out of it were you taken: for dust you are, and to dust you will return" (Gen 3:17-19). What had been a garden became a place where labor and sorrow are mixed. Naomi names her share of it in the same idiom: "Don't call me Naomi, call me Mara; for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me" (Ru 1:20).

Suffering as the Wages and Witness of Sin

A second strand of texts presents particular suffering as the consequence of impenitence. Yahweh visits affliction on the wicked: "tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who works evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Greek" (Rom 2:9); "Destruction and misery are in their ways" (Rom 3:16); "Fools because of their transgression, And because of their iniquities, are afflicted" (Ps 107:17); "The wicked man travails with pain all his days, Even the number of years that are laid up for the oppressor" (Job 15:20). Where Israel itself disobeyed, the hand of Yahweh became a hand of trouble: "Wherever they went out, the hand of Yahweh was against them for evil, as Yahweh had spoken, and as Yahweh had sworn to them: and they were very distressed" (Judg 2:15). The rich who exploit the poor draw the same warning from James: "Come now, you⁺ rich, weep and howl for your⁺ miseries that are coming upon you⁺" (Jas 5:1).

The Affliction of the Righteous

Yet Scripture is equally insistent that the saints suffer too — and that they should expect it. Jesus told the disciples plainly, "In the world you⁺ have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Paul informed his churches in advance: "that no man be moved by these afflictions; for yourselves know that hereunto we are appointed" (1 Th 3:3); "For truly, when we were with you⁺, we told you⁺ beforehand that we are to suffer affliction; even as it came to pass, and you⁺ know" (1 Th 3:4). The Davidic psalms register the same fact without qualification: "Many are the afflictions of the righteous; But Yahweh delivers him out of them all" (Ps 34:19). And the catalog of Hebrews 11 closes with the heroes who "had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, they were sawn apart, they were slain with the sword: they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated" (Heb 11:36-37).

The suffering is heavy enough to be described in elemental terms. The atom BLESSINGS-AFFLICTIONS gathers the imagery of waters, of cup, of fire. "Save me, O God; For the waters have come in to my soul" (Ps 69:1); "Deep calls to deep at the noise of your waterfalls: All your waves and your billows have gone over me" (Ps 42:7); "Your wrath lies hard on me, And you have afflicted me with all your waves. Selah" (Ps 88:7); "Then the waters would have overwhelmed us, The stream would have gone over our soul" (Ps 124:4); "The waters surrounded me, even to the soul; The deep was round about me; The weeds were wrapped about my head" (Jon 2:5). The cup: "the cup which the Father has given me, shall I not drink it?" (John 18:11); "You have fed them with the bread of tears, And given them tears to drink in large measure" (Ps 80:5); "For I have eaten ashes like bread, And mingled my drink with weeping" (Ps 102:9). The bread of adversity itself: "And though the Lord gives you⁺ the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your teachers will not be hidden anymore, but your eyes will see your teachers" (Isa 30:20).

The lament also presses the question of duration. "My soul also is intensely troubled: And you, O Yahweh, how long?" (Ps 6:3); "How long, O Yahweh? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?" (Ps 13:1); "Lord, how long will you watch?" (Ps 35:17); "How long, O Yahweh? Will you be angry forever?" (Ps 79:5); "Yahweh, how long will the wicked, How long will the wicked triumph?" (Ps 94:3); "How long, O Yahweh? Will you hide yourself forever? [How long] will your wrath burn like fire?" (Ps 89:46); "O Yahweh, how long shall I cry, and you will not hear? I cry out to you of violence, and you will not save" (Hab 1:2). Lamentations preserves the same complaint of unrelieved pursuit: "Our pursuers are on our necks: We are weary, and have no rest" (Lam 5:5).

But the same atom that records the heaviness also marks the lightness. Paul writes: "For our light affliction, which is for the moment, works for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory" (2 Cor 4:17); "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed toward us" (Rom 8:18); "though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day" (2 Cor 4:16). And Peter places duration on the smallest scale: "In which you⁺ greatly rejoice, though now for a little while it is necessary for you⁺ to have been put to grief in manifold trials" (1 Pet 1:6); "And the God of all grace, who called you⁺ to his eternal glory in Christ, after you⁺ have suffered a little while, will himself restore, establish, strengthen, [and] firmly set [you⁺]" (1 Pet 5:10).

Yahweh's Compassion in Suffering

Against the affliction Scripture sets the divine sympathy. Yahweh tells Moses, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows" (Ex 3:7). The atom COMFORT-MISERY collects what follows from that hearing. "I will be glad and rejoice in your loving-kindness; For you have seen my affliction: You have known my soul in adversities" (Ps 31:7). "Like a father pities his sons, So Yahweh pities those who fear him" (Ps 103:13). "For in the day of trouble he will keep me secretly in his pavilion: In the covert of his tabernacle he will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock" (Ps 27:5). "For his anger is but for a moment; His favor is for a lifetime: Weeping may spend the night, But joy [comes] in the morning" (Ps 30:5). "Why are you cast down, O my soul? ... Hope in God; for I will yet praise him" (Ps 42:5). "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you will revive me; You will stretch forth your hand against the wrath of my enemies, And your right hand will save me" (Ps 138:7). "This is my comfort in my affliction; For your [Speech] has quickened me" (Ps 119:50).

The Twenty-Third Psalm attributes the comfort to the divine word itself: "Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for [your Speech is with] me; Your rod and your staff, they comfort me" (Ps 23:4). Isaiah extends the same assurance through fire and flood: "When you pass through the waters, [my Speech] will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you: when you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, neither will the flame kindle on you" (Isa 43:2). And the prophetic word repeats Yahweh's identification with the sufferer: "In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bore them, and carried them all the days of old" (Isa 63:9). The voice of consolation begins the second half of Isaiah: "Comfort⁺, comfort⁺ my people, says your⁺ God" (Isa 40:1); and runs through the Servant chapters: "I, even I, am he who comforts you⁺" (Isa 51:12); "For Yahweh has comforted Zion; he has comforted all her waste places" (Isa 51:3); "As one whom his mother comforts, so [my Speech] will comfort you⁺; and you⁺ will be comforted in Jerusalem" (Isa 66:13); "and even to old age, I am he, and even to hoar hairs [my Speech] will carry [you⁺]; I have made, and I will bear; yes, I will carry, and will deliver" (Isa 46:4); "to appoint to those who mourn in Zion, to give to them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness" (Isa 61:3).

Lamentations records the same divine reluctance to afflict. "For he does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the sons of a man" (Lam 3:33). The Christian register names Yahweh by his attribute: "Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; who comforts us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, through the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound to us, even so our comfort also abounds through Christ" (2 Cor 1:3-5). The same God comforted Paul through the coming of a brother: "Nevertheless he who comforts the lowly, [even] God, comforted us by the coming of Titus" (2 Cor 7:6). The promise comes by Christ's own mouth: "Don't let your⁺ heart be troubled: believe in God, believe also in me" (John 14:1); "I will not leave you⁺ desolate: I come to you⁺" (John 14:18); "Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace" (2 Th 2:16). The promise reaches into heaven: "the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to fountains of waters of life: and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes" (Rev 7:17).

The Refining Purpose of Affliction

A further strand of Scripture insists that suffering is not idle. Affliction does work — work that nothing else does. The atom catches it under the heading of refining. "For you, O God, have proved us: You have tried us, as silver is tried" (Ps 66:10). "But he knows the way that I take; When he has tried me, I will come forth as gold" (Job 23:10). "and I will turn my hand on you, and thoroughly purge away your dross, and will take away all your tin" (Isa 1:25). "Look, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction" (Isa 48:10). "Therefore this is what Yahweh of Hosts says, Look, I will melt them, and try them" (Jer 9:7). "And I will bring the third part into the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried. They will call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people; and they will say, Yahweh is my God" (Zech 13:9). "and he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver" (Mal 3:3). "that the proof of your⁺ faith, [being] more precious than gold that perishes though it is proved by fire, may be found to praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Pet 1:7); "Beloved, don't think it strange concerning the fiery trial among you⁺, which comes on you⁺ to prove you⁺, as though a strange thing happened to you⁺" (1 Pet 4:12).

The refining is paternal. "And you will consider in your heart, that, as a man chastens his son, so Yahweh your God chastens you" (Deut 8:5). "Look, happy is [the] common man whom God corrects: Therefore don't despise the chastening of the Almighty" (Job 5:17). "Blessed is the [noble] man whom you chasten, O Yah, And teach out of your law" (Ps 94:12). "My son, don't despise the chastening of Yahweh; Neither be weary of his reproof: For whom Yahweh loves he reproves; Even as a father the son in whom he delights" (Pr 3:11-12). "But when we are judged by the Lord, we are chastened, that we may not be condemned with the world" (1 Cor 11:32). "As many as I love, I reprove and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent" (Rev 3:19). Hebrews unfolds the argument at length: "For whom the Lord loves he chastens, And scourges every son whom he receives. It is for chastening that you⁺ endure; God deals with you⁺ as with sons; for what son is there whom [his] father does not chasten? But if you⁺ are without chastening, of which all have been made sharers, then you⁺ are bastards, and not sons. Furthermore, we had the fathers of our flesh to chasten us, and we gave them reverence: and shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits, and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened [us] as seemed good to them; but he for [our] profit, that [we] may be partakers of his holiness. And all chastening seems for the present not to be joyous but grievous; yet afterward it yields peaceful fruit to those who have been exercised by it, [even the fruit] of righteousness" (Heb 12:6-11).

The fruit comes by way of correction in the sufferer himself. "Before I was afflicted I went astray; But now I observe [your Speech]" (Ps 119:67). "Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me; [Yet] your commandments are my delight" (Ps 119:143). "It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all man; and the living will lay it to his heart" (Eccl 7:2). And the Pauline summary takes hold: "And not only so, but we also rejoice in our tribulations: knowing that tribulation works steadfastness; and steadfastness, validation; and validation, hope: and hope does not put to shame; because the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us" (Rom 5:3-5). James is in the same line: "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you⁺ fall into manifold trials; knowing that the proving of your⁺ faith works patience. And let patience have [its] perfect work, that you⁺ may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing" (Jas 1:2-4). The same conviction stands behind the Pauline confession that "we know that to those who love God all things work together for good, to those who are called according to [his] purpose" (Rom 8:28). Sirach voices the wisdom version: "[Sometimes] it is advantageous for a man to be in adversity, And there is a gain that turns to loss" (Sir 20:9); "Accept all that is brought on you, And be patient in changes of your affliction" (Sir 2:4); "In the day of distress it will be remembered to you, As heat on frost, to cause your iniquities to cease" (Sir 3:15). Even Jonah testifies: "And he said, I called by reason of my affliction to Yahweh, And he answered me; Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, [And] you heard my voice" (Jon 2:2).

The Sufferings of Christ

The deepest layer of the topic is the suffering of Yahweh's Servant himself. Isaiah names him in advance: "He was despised, and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and as one from whom men hide their face he was despised; and we did not esteem him" (Isa 53:3). "I gave my back to the strikers, and my cheeks to those who plucked off the hair; I did not hide my face from shame and spitting" (Isa 50:6). "Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, struck of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was on him; and with his stripes we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and Yahweh has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isa 53:4-6). "And they made his grave with the wicked, and his tomb with the rich; although he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth" (Isa 53:9). The Davidic Psalter gives the same voice: "Reproach has broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: And I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; And for comforters, but I found none" (Ps 69:20). And Zechariah preserves the question put to him: "And one will say to him, What are these wounds between your arms? Then he will answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends" (Zech 13:6).

The Gospel narratives carry forward the description. Mark records his sighs: "and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and says to him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened" (Mark 7:34); "And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and says, Why does this generation seek a sign?" (Mark 8:12). John records his tears: "Jesus wept" (John 11:35); "When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews [also] weeping who came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled" (John 11:33); and Luke records his weeping over the city: "And when he drew near, he saw the city and wept over it" (Luke 19:41). His soul was burdened: "Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this cause I came to this hour" (John 12:27); "When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in the spirit, and testified, and said, Truly, truly, I say to you⁺, that one of you⁺ will deliver me up" (John 13:21). In Gethsemane the burden was visible: "And he was in great distress, and was praying urgently, and his sweat became like drops of blood falling upon the ground" (Luke 22:44). His humiliation is summarized by Paul as a self-emptying: "but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient [even] to death, yes, the death of the cross" (Phil 2:7-8); "For you⁺ know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your⁺ sakes he became poor" (2 Cor 8:9). His own word over himself was this: "For I say to you⁺, that this which is written must be fulfilled in me, And he was reckoned with transgressors: for that which concerns me has fulfillment" (Luke 22:37).

He was despised by his own. "And many of them said, He has a demon, and is insane; why do you⁺ hear him?" (John 10:20); "And the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things; and they scoffed at him" (Luke 16:14); "The multitude answered, You have a demon: who seeks to kill you?" (John 7:20). He was struck and mocked: "And when he had said this, one of the attendants standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, Do you answer the high priest so?" (John 18:22); "And the men who held [Jesus] mocked him, and beat him" (Luke 22:63); "And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, offering him vinegar" (Luke 23:36). At Golgotha the railing continued: "And those who passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ha! You who destroys the temple, and builds it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross" (Mark 15:29-30); "Let the Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, that we may see and believe. And those who were crucified with him reproached him" (Mark 15:32). And the crucifixion itself: "And they crucify him, and part his garments among them, casting lots on them, what each should take" (Mark 15:24); "And when they came to the place which is called The skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left" (Luke 23:33); "The soldiers therefore, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part; and also the coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout" (John 19:23). The cry from the cross was the cry of Psalm 22: "And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani? Which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34).

The apostles read the cross as design, not as accident. "For it was fitting for him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings" (Heb 2:10); "though he was a Son, yet learned obedience by the things which he suffered" (Heb 5:8); "Therefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people through his own blood, suffered outside the gate" (Heb 13:12). The prophets had been straining toward this: "searching what [time] or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did point to, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that should follow them" (1 Pet 1:11). Peter and Paul both make the substitution explicit. "For hereunto were you⁺ called: because Christ also suffered for you⁺, leaving you⁺ an example, that you⁺ should follow his steps" (1 Pet 2:21); "Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you⁺ to God; being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit" (1 Pet 3:18). The high priestly fellow-feeling is a theological consequence: "For we do not have a high priest who can't be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but one who has been in all points tried like [we are, yet] without sin. Let us therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace to help [us] in time of need" (Heb 4:15-16).

Suffering for the Sake of Christ

What was true of the Master is held out as predictable for the disciple. "Remember the saying that I spoke to you⁺, A slave is not greater than his lord. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you⁺" (John 15:20); "They will put you⁺ out of the synagogues: yes, the hour comes, that whoever kills you⁺ will think that he offers service to God" (John 16:2); "But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you⁺, and will persecute you⁺, delivering you⁺ up to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you⁺ before kings and governors for my name's sake" (Luke 21:12). Paul restates it as a principle of Christian existence: "Yes, and all who would live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution" (2 Tim 3:12). And the Beatitude pronounces the blessing: "Blessed are you⁺, when men will hate you⁺, And when they will separate you⁺ [from their company], And reproach you⁺, And cast out your⁺ name as evil, For the Son of Man's sake" (Luke 6:22).

The summons attached to the prediction is the cross. "And he called to him the multitude with his disciples, and said to them, If any man wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Mark 8:34). Luke supplies "daily": "And he said to all, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me" (Luke 9:23). The same call lay behind the call to the rich man: "go, sell whatever you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me" (Mark 10:21). When persecution is endured for that name it becomes joint-heirship. "and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with [him], that we may be also glorified with [him]" (Rom 8:17); "Even as it is written, For your sake we are killed all the day long; We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter" (Rom 8:36). Paul names the same fellowship as the goal of his own knowing: "that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed to his death" (Phil 3:10). And Paul folds the Colossian church into the same accounting: "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your⁺ sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church" (Col 1:24). The privilege is named: "because to you⁺ it has been granted in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer in his behalf" (Phil 1:29). So is the perseverance: "if we endure, we will also reign with him: if we will deny him, he also will deny us" (2 Tim 2:12).

Peter assembles the same vocabulary in his pastoral letter. "For what glory is it, if, when you⁺ sin, and are buffeted [for it], you⁺ will take it patiently? But if, when you⁺ do good, and suffer [for it], you⁺ will take it patiently, this is acceptable with God" (1 Pet 2:20). "But even if you⁺ should suffer for righteousness' sake, blessed [are you⁺]: and don't be afraid of their fear, neither be troubled" (1 Pet 3:14). "but if [a man suffers] as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God in this respect" (1 Pet 4:16). "If you⁺ are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed [are you⁺]; because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you⁺" (1 Pet 4:14). "but insomuch as you⁺ share in Christ's sufferings, rejoice; that at the revelation of his glory also you⁺ may rejoice with exceeding joy" (1 Pet 4:13). And to the Thessalonians the suffering itself becomes evidence of God's reckoning: "[which is] a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God; to the end that you⁺ may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you⁺ also suffer" (2 Th 1:5).

The Apostolic Pattern

The atom SUFFERING FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS SAKE catalogs the working out of these principles in life. "and our hope for you⁺ is steadfast; knowing that, as you⁺ are partners of the sufferings, so also are you⁺ of the comfort" (2 Cor 1:7). Paul recites his own list: "in labors more abundantly, in prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in deaths often" (2 Cor 11:23); "Of the Jews five times I received forty [stripes] less one" (2 Cor 11:24); "Therefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions and distresses, for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor 12:10); "And he has said to me, My grace is sufficient for you: for [my] power is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest on me" (2 Cor 12:9); "in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fasts" (2 Cor 6:5); "Even to this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling-place" (1 Cor 4:11); "and we toil, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure" (1 Cor 4:12); "We are fools for Christ's sake, but you⁺ are wise in Christ; we are weak, but you⁺ are strong; you⁺ have glory, but we have dishonor" (1 Cor 4:10); "being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things, even until now" (1 Cor 4:13); "[we are] pressed on every side, yet not straitened; perplexed, yet not to despair" (2 Cor 4:8); "pursued, yet not forsaken; struck down, yet not destroyed" (2 Cor 4:9); "For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh" (2 Cor 4:11). Paul names himself "the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you⁺ Gentiles" (Eph 3:1); "the prisoner in the Lord" (Eph 4:1); "for which I am an ambassador in chains" (Eph 6:20); "in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the good news" (Phil 1:7); "so that my bonds became manifest in Christ throughout the whole Praetorian Guard" (Phil 1:13); "for which I am also in bonds" (Col 4:3); "Remember my bonds. Grace be with you⁺" (Col 4:18); "in which I suffer hardship to bonds, as a criminal; but the word of God is not bound" (2 Tim 2:9); "persecutions, sufferings; what things befell me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: and out of them all the Lord delivered me" (2 Tim 3:11). And he asks the same fellowship of his protégé: "Therefore don't be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but suffer hardship with the good news according to the power of God" (2 Tim 1:8). Onesiphorus is praised because he "often refreshed me, and wasn't ashamed of my chain" (2 Tim 1:16).

The pattern reaches forward through the early Christian witness. The Epistle to Diognetus describes Christians in just these terms: "They love all, and are persecuted by all" (Gr 5:11); "They are unknown and are condemned; they are put to death, and made alive" (Gr 5:12); "Doing good, they are punished as evil; being punished, they rejoice as being made alive" (Gr 5:16); "The soul when ill-treated in meats and drinks is made better; and Christians when punished increase the more day by day" (Gr 6:9); "Do you not see those thrown to the wild beasts, that they might deny the Lord, and not overcome?" (Gr 7:7); "Do you not see that the more they are punished, the more others multiply?" (Gr 7:8); "Then you will marvel at those who for righteousness' sake endure the temporal fire, and will call them blessed, when you have known that fire" (Gr 10:8). Hebrews names the same posture in the older saints: "choosing rather to share ill treatment with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season" (Heb 11:25); "accounting the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt: for he looked to the recompense of reward" (Heb 11:26); "partly, being made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, becoming partners with those who were so used" (Heb 10:33); "Let us therefore go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach" (Heb 13:13).

The Witness of the Prophets and the Saints

The same Scripture catalogs the suffering of the prophets, the kings, and the witnesses before them. James points to the line: "Take, brothers, for an example of suffering and of patience, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord" (Jas 5:10). John the Baptist was bound and beheaded: "For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold on John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias" (Mark 6:17); "And right away the king sent forth a soldier of his guard, and commanded to bring his head: and he went and beheaded him in the prison" (Mark 6:27). Joseph was put in the prison of Pharaoh (Gen 39:20). The faithful prophet Micaiah was struck on the cheek and committed to prison: "Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and struck Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way did the Spirit of Yahweh go from me to speak to you? ... Thus says the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace" (1 Kings 22:24-27). Asa imprisoned the seer who reproved him: "Then Asa was angry with the seer, and put him in the prison-house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people at the same time" (2 Chr 16:10). Jezebel sought the life of Elijah: "So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I don't make your soul as the soul of one of them by tomorrow about this time" (1 Kings 19:2). Zachariah the son of Jehoiada was stoned in the courts of the temple: "And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of Yahweh" (2 Chr 24:21). Of the same line Jesus said, "from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary: yes, I say to you⁺, it will be required of this generation" (Luke 11:51). Sirach memorializes Jeremiah in the same idiom: "Because they persecuted him, And from the womb he was a prophet, 'To pluck up, to break down, and to destroy, And likewise to build, and to plant,' and to strengthen" (Sir 49:7).

Jeremiah himself supplies the most extended self-portrait of a suffering prophet. "O Yahweh, you know; remember me, and visit me, and avenge me of my persecutors; don't take me away in your long-suffering: know that for the sake of your [Speech] I have suffered reproach" (Jer 15:15); "Then Pashhur struck Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper gate of Benjamin, which was in the house of Yahweh" (Jer 20:2); "And the princes were angry with Jeremiah, and struck him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe; for they had made that the prison" (Jer 37:15); "Then they took Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchijah the king's son, that was in the court of the guard: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire; and Jeremiah sank in the mire" (Jer 38:6); "Now at that time the king of Babylon's army was besieging Jerusalem; and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard, which was in the king of Judah's house" (Jer 32:2); "They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and have cast a stone on me" (Lam 3:53). The exiles bear the same testimony in Daniel: "And he commanded mighty [prominent] men who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, [and] to cast them into the burning fiery furnace" (Dan 3:20); "Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions" (Dan 6:16). Even before such treatment came scorn. "When the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and handsome" (1 Sam 17:42); "Michal the daughter of Saul looked out at the window, and saw King David leaping and dancing before Yahweh; and she despised him in her heart" (2 Sam 6:16); the rebuilders of Jerusalem heard the same kind of mockery: "they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that you⁺ do? Will you⁺ rebel against the king?" (Neh 2:19); "What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they leave themselves alone? Will they sacrifice? Will they make an end in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, seeing they are burned?" (Neh 4:2). And Job named the same condition under the patriarchs: "I am as one who is a laughingstock to his fellow man, I who called on God, and he answered: The just, the perfect man is a laughingstock" (Job 12:4); "They have gaped on me with their mouth; They have struck me on the cheek reproachfully: They gather themselves together against me" (Job 16:10).

The Davidic Psalter gives the same voice to the persecuted just. "O Yahweh my God, in you I take refuge: Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me" (Ps 7:1); "My times are in your hand: Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me" (Ps 31:15); "All your commandments are faithful: They persecute me wrongfully; help me" (Ps 119:86); "Many are my persecutors and my adversaries; [Yet] I have not swerved from your testimonies" (Ps 119:157); "[SHIN] Princes have persecuted me without a cause; But my heart stands in awe of your words" (Ps 119:161); "I am small and despised; [Yet] I don't forget your precepts" (Ps 119:141); "For the enemy has persecuted my soul; He has struck my life down to the ground: He has made me to dwell in dark places, as those who have been long dead" (Ps 143:3). The atom's apocalyptic close gathers the same souls under the altar: "And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the Speech of God, and for the testimony which they held" (Rev 6:9); "And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them: and [I saw] the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the Speech of God ... and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years" (Rev 20:4); "Don't at all fear the things which you are about to suffer: look, the devil is about to cast some of you⁺ into prison, that you⁺ may be tried; and you⁺ will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful to death, and I will give you the crown of life" (Rev 2:10).

The same ancient violence has its later echoes. The Maccabean record preserves one such scene: "And they took the spoils of them for a booty, and they cut off Nicanor's head, and his right hand, which he had proudly stretched out, and they brought it, and displayed it near Jerusalem" (1 Macc 7:47).

Patience and Resignation under Suffering

Because suffering is appointed and refining, Scripture commends a posture under it. Paul commands the Romans to be "rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing steadfastly in prayer" (Rom 12:12). Hebrews exhorts: "For you⁺ have need of patience, that, having done the will of God, you⁺ may receive the promise" (Heb 10:36). James names the husbandman as the model: "Be patient therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Look, the husbandman waits for the precious fruit of the earth" (Jas 5:7); and Job himself: "Look, we call blessed those who endured: you⁺ have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord, how the Lord is full of pity, and merciful" (Jas 5:11). Abraham is named as one who "having patiently endured, he obtained the promise" (Heb 6:15). The Thessalonian church becomes Paul's exhibit: "so that we ourselves glory in you⁺ in the churches of God for your⁺ patience and faith in all your⁺ persecutions and in the afflictions which you⁺ endure" (2 Th 1:4). And John writes from his own banishment: "I John, your⁺ brother and copartner with you⁺ in the tribulation and kingdom and patience [which are] in Jesus" (Rev 1:9); "Here is the patience of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus" (Rev 14:12); "and you have patience and did bear for my name's sake, and did not grow weary" (Rev 2:3). Sirach matches the temper: "The longsuffering man endures until the [proper] time, And in the end joy will appear" (Sir 1:23). Jesus himself names the discipline at the heart of it: "In your⁺ patience you⁺ win your⁺ souls" (Luke 21:19).

The waiting posture has a Hebrew lineage: "Rest in Yahweh, and wait patiently for him: Don't fret yourself because of him who prospers in his way" (Ps 37:7); "I waited patiently for Yahweh; And he inclined to me, and heard my cry" (Ps 40:1); "Yahweh is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him" (Lam 3:25). And the resignation of Job is the model the Christian register honors: "But he said to her, You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips" (Job 2:10).

"Let Us Not Faint"

The atom records, alongside the call to patience, a parallel call against weariness. Paul writes: "Therefore I ask that you⁺ may not faint at my tribulations for you⁺, which are your⁺ glory" (Eph 3:13); "And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we will reap, if we do not faint" (Gal 6:9); "Therefore seeing we have this service even as we obtained mercy, we do not faint ... though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day" (2 Cor 4:1, 16). The word to those who comfort one another in suffering follows: "But he who prophesies speaks to men edification, and exhortation, and consolation" (1 Cor 14:3); "so that on the contrary you⁺ should rather forgive him and comfort him, lest by any means such a one should be swallowed up with too much sorrow" (2 Cor 2:7); "Therefore comfort one another with these words" (1 Th 4:18); "Therefore exhort one another, and build each other up, even as also you⁺ do. ... admonish the disorderly, encourage the fainthearted, support the weak, be long-suffering toward all" (1 Th 5:11-14). The Thessalonian word to those bereaved is in the same hand: "But we would not have you⁺ ignorant, brothers, concerning those who fall asleep; that you⁺ do not sorrow, even as the rest, who have no hope" (1 Th 4:13); "for this cause, brothers, we were comforted over you⁺ in all our distress and affliction through your⁺ faith" (1 Th 3:7). Jesus' own words steady those near the breaking point: "Don't be afraid, only believe" (Mark 5:36); "Do not weep" (Luke 7:13). And the wisdom literature counsels that mourning be measured: "Make bitter your weeping and passionate your wailing, And make mourning such as befits him, For a day or two to avoid scandal, And be comforted for your sorrow" (Sir 38:17); "Then let your heart be no more occupied with him, Dismiss the remembrance of him, [yet] remember [your] end" (Sir 38:20); "When the dead is at rest, let his memory rest; And be consoled when his soul departs" (Sir 38:23); "By a spirit of might he saw the latter end, And comforted the mourners of Zion" (Sir 48:24). The same Sirach also reminds the comforter to be longsuffering: "Nevertheless with the lowly man be longsuffering, And do not let him wait for alms" (Sir 29:8). Joseph, having long suffered himself, kept this office: "Now therefore don't be⁺ afraid: I will nourish you⁺, and your⁺ little ones. And he comforted them, and spoke kindly to them" (Gen 50:21).

The End of Suffering

The whole motion of the topic ends in the consummation. The redeemed are the ones who "come out of the great tribulation, and they washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Rev 7:14). The Lamb in the throne shepherds them at last. "the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to fountains of waters of life: and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes" (Rev 7:17). And the new Jerusalem closes the book on the topic: "and he will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, anymore: because the first things are passed away" (Rev 21:4).