And they clothed Him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on Him. And they began to salute Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they were striking His head with a reed and spitting on Him and kneeling down in homage to Him. – Mark 15:17-19
Middle School is a rough time. I remember being made fun of for all sorts of reasons. Middle schoolers have a knack for teasing their classmates. They find clever ways to poke fun at people’s names, obnoxiously transforming mine – “Duncan Hoopes” – into silly variants. I am confident that I made fun of other students – but we tend to bury such memories deep in the recesses of our mind. I certainly recall my own kids coming home from school with tales of being mocked by their peers. Maybe efforts to halt bullying have eliminated this – but I doubt it.
Truth be told, adults can also be brutal. Ever since sin entered the world, people have suffered at the hands of enemies and friends. And it is not just other people who hurt us. Economic woes – inflation, unemployment, interest rates – along with physical maladies from diseases, pandemics, injuries, and aging can all wreak havoc on one’s life. In a fallen world, we expect pain.
Civilization has invested much effort trying to eliminate emotional and physical pain. Scientists offer cures, doctors offer healing, pharmacists offer relief, therapists offer perspectives, entertainers offer distractions, and bureaucrats offer programs. Everyone seems to be clamoring for solutions to problems – or at least to squelch suffering. Over the years, people have turned to religion as a path for avoiding pain, inspiring Karl Marx to call it the opiate of the masses. The notion of using religion to escape suffering in this life is foreign to the Bible.
Christianity does not end pain. The Bible tells us that sin entered the world through Adam and therefore we can expect our bodies to experience decay, pain, and death. God exists whether we believe in Him or not. He commanded us to love Him and our neighbor, whether we believe this or not. He condemns sin, whether we agree or not. He declared the world to be broken by sin. Having faith that a loving God created the universe out of nothing does not suddenly transform the world into having no sin or having no suffering. Quite the contrary, believing in God makes us keenly aware of the horrors of sin: we see more clearly our sin and the suffering of others.
Christianity cannot prevent physical pain. It cannot prevent economic loss. It cannot stop a tornado from destroying a town nor keep cancer from ravaging a body. Most certainly, religion cannot legitimately offer a so-called “prosperity gospel” in which participants are guaranteed enduring financial rewards and avoidance of suffering. Religion does not save. Jesus does.
You might be wondering, even if Christianity does not prevent pain, isn’t prayer a legitimate approach for asking the Creator to restore or protect? Don’t we find examples in Scripture of people requesting and receiving rescue? Of course we do, but these prayers were always answered in accord with God’s will, which means that sometimes pain will be averted, but in a broken world, sometimes God gives us spiritual perseverance instead of physical protection.
We see this as Jesus stood before His mockers. They fashioned a crown of thorns for His head. They whipped Him mercilessly and nailed Him to a cross. Jesus suffered great physical pain. He rose from the dead, conquering death. The Apostle Paul had faith and was still mocked and abused. He suffered but knew that God was in control. All who trust in Jesus will be resurrected one day. The mocking will end and truth will prevail. Do you have faith in Jesus Christ? Then expect pain. Expect mocking. Faith doesn’t prevent suffering; it receives the One who conquered sin and death. Faith lets us see suffering for what it is: brokenness that made our Savior weep. He came to rescue. Be realistic: repent and believe and expect to be mocked – until He returns to restore. “Sorry, I can’t, I’m going to church.” Expect to be mocked.
