The Suffering Savior

While all four gospels tell us the same life-changing message of Jesus, each writer viewed the same facts through the lens of their own heart and eyes, and therefore, they each wrote from a different perspective. Mark focused on the physical suffering Jesus endured to obtain our eternal salvation.

In Mark 8:31, Mark said Jesus “began to teach them that it was necessary for the Son of Man to suffer many things and to be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and to be killed, and after three days to rise.” Since Mark’s writing coincided with the destruction of the Jewish Temple in 70 A.D., perhaps Mark’s motivation was to encourage those  first-century Christians to remain strong in the face of the persecution and martyrdom they were experiencing.

The primary message of Mark’s gospel is clear. Just as Jesus’ physical suffering was the means of our reconciliation with God, physical suffering may also be the means of our effective witness to others. While it is not always in our purview to understand, it is still imperative that we trust His plan, for God assures us that the hardships we are called to endure today, for His honor and His glory, will not be in vain.

Many prophesy watchers believe the persecution of Christians in the last days of the church will equal, in not exceed, that of the first days. Sadly, that truth is not preached in most churches. In fact, most Christians today don’t believe a loving God will allow us to suffer, but they will soon face their error. That was the intended timeless truth of this series of sermons, “The Suffering Servant,” We pray that the Holy Spirit has guided your learning to that important truth.

Please feel free to pass these sermons on to those you believe would be interested in hearing them, and as always, let us know how we can be an encouragement to your spiritual growth.