Understanding God's Purpose in Suffering and Hope

We tend to focus on the evil and suffering in the world, often overlooking the potential for evil within ourselves. This introspection can lead us to a deeper understanding of our own nature and the nature of God. [00:01:11]

John, who spent time with Jesus, would say, I know it's a big emotional thing. I know it's a big emotional question. I'm not sure I can sort it out for you, all I can tell you is this. I saw God, and I saw evil. I saw a good God and I saw evil and they can coexist but it's nothing like you might imagine. [00:04:04]

The God in a body that I saw did not eliminate evil. He actually, and he didn't even eliminate the evil in me. He loved me. And then he went to work eliminating the evil in me. [00:04:06]

Jesus believed that bad things could happen to good people and it does, not only does it not disprove God, but somehow it underscores the existence of God? Sickness for the glory of God. As John would say, yes, but we're just getting started. [00:10:19]

Jesus finishes the statement this way, "so that", because there’s a purpose, "so that God’s son," Jesus, "may be glorified through it." In other words, this is amazing, this sickness, this evil, and this particular sickness and evil and I think that's why Jesus manufactured this particular sign, it was a sickness or a disease or an evil or a bad thing found in nature. [00:10:40]

Jesus actually loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. And why does he tell us this? Because it doesn't look like he does. He said, now don't, don't check out too soon. Jesus actually loves these people. But wait a minute, Lazarus is sick and somehow it's for the glory of God and this isn't making sense and John's like, look, I know, I know, it was confusing to us too, believe me. Just hang with me. [00:12:05]

Jesus leaves Jerusalem and goes just a little bit of a distance away to where people would know where he is and knew what he was, and they would know what he was up to. And Jesus performs a sign, in fact as we're gonna discover and this is what makes this story so disturbing. Jesus actually manufactures a sign in that community so that no one would have any doubt he is who he claimed to be. [00:08:07]

Jesus says, you'll die, but you won't. Because Jesus could not have been any more clear in this moment. That death is simply a door. That death is simply a transition. And then he looks at her and I think he smiled. And he sees the pain and he sees the confusion and he sees where theology meets the real world and he sees that this is a person, they've had relationships. [00:26:53]

Jesus condenses, Jesus condenses all of eternity into the span of a single afternoon. Jesus takes all of eternity and he condenses it to the span of this single afternoon. The pain, the disappointment, the fear, the anger, the unanswered prayer, the faith anyway, the tears of God and then finally, the resolution. [00:32:05]

The light had come into the world for the benefit of the world. The light had come, this was such indisputable evidence it turns out. That those who were willfully blind, decided they finally had to step in and do something. So much so that they called a meeting back in Jerusalem. [00:38:20]

For God so loved this evil world. For God so loved the evil people in this world, that he sent His perfect son, the light of the world, so that by placing your faith in him, we would not be lost to God, but could have the very life Jesus came to promise and to give. [00:41:15]

John would say, I'm nobody special. I'm just a bystander. And why God allowed me to live in the days when the light of the world was in the world to brighten up the world, I do not know. But I know you have to hear my story, because if you'd seen what I saw, you'd believe what I believe. [00:41:35]