Lesson 10: God's Sovereignty and Christian Suffering, Part 3

1 Peter 4:12-13 - “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed.”

The verses from the last lesson and above are just some examples throughout the Bible declaring that yes, Christian, we are going to encounter suffering in this world. In fact, one of the most obvious examples to me is Jesus! You know, the One we are following as Christians, the Suffering Servant? Is it not strange that we say on the one hand we are a "follower of Jesus" but yet we resist "following" the same path He took? We want to follow a different path. We want to listen to those "false teachers." We want a path without suffering. We want one with a comfortable cross.

But you might be thinking, "Jesus had to come here and suffer and die for our sins. But surely not His followers." Well, take a look at the Apostles. They followed Him. Did they have to suffer? Did they experience pain? Take a look:

James, brother of John, was beheaded.
Thomas was run through the body with a lance.
Simon, brother of Jude, was crucified in Egypt.
Simon the Zealot was crucified.
Mark was burned and buried after being dragged through the streets.
Bartholomew was beaten, skinned alive, crucified, then beheaded.
Andrew was crucified.
Matthew was killed by a spear.
Philip was stoned and then crucified.
James was thrown off the Temple and then clubbed to death.
Peter was crucified upside down.
Paul was beheaded.
Luke was hanged upon an olive tree.
Jude was shot to death by arrows.
Matthias was first stoned, then beheaded.
Barnabas was stoned to death.
John was put into a cauldron of boiling oil but survived and later died a 'natural' death.


The first followers of Jesus suffered for being Christians. No padding on their cross! You might think, they were the Apostles, that was the early Church. They were experiencing some rough treatment because the Church was just beginning; you expect that sort of thing. But today things are much different. Take a look at modern-day Christians. there are more Christians today losing their lives for Jesus’ sake than ever before in history! One of the amazing effects about the suffering these first disciples endured was that their suffering actually becomes proof that Jesus’ life and death and resurrection were real and true. There are many skeptics today who say that the Bible is just a story, but then they cannot explain why someone would be willing to die for something that was not true.

Why does a Christian have to suffer? Why is God allowing this? Jesus is about to do something incredible with our suffering! Something magnificent! He is about to turn us from a run-away-Jonah-believer into a strong-as-Samson-Christian"

* How does the suffering of someone else who remains joyful through it encourage you to be strong in Jesus too?