Historical Examples — Suffering

Mark 5:8UniversalDivine judgment and mercy

Christ's Dominion Over Calamity and the Sorrows That Follow

His words carry three essential truths for the believer.

Christ's prophetic authority

Joseph S. Exell

197 words

Psalms 3:2UniversalGod's unwavering protection amid judgmentFaith tested by circumstance

Help in God When All Seems Lost

His enemies declared, "There is no help for him in God," when Absalom's rebellion consumed his house—the very judgment God had threatened after David's own transgression.

212 words

Acts 7:59Universalthe divinity of Christprayer at death

Stephen's Prayer: Christ as God in the Hour of Death

He invoked the risen Jesus directly: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." This prayer reveals a cardinal truth that transcends doctrinal assertion—it emerges from the believer's lived experience.

208 words

Isaiah 39:25Universaldivine judgmentspiritual blindness

Playing with Fire: Israel's Refusal to Recognize Divine Judgment

Exell's Victorian exposition illuminates two critical spiritual failures.

200 words

Psalms 22:27UniversalGod's mercy under pressureChrist's atoning consciousness

The Ends of the Earth Turn to the Lord

When believers emerge from great temptation and trouble—their faith tested and drawn thin—deliverance brings more than relief from that particular circumstance.

220 words

Revelation 1:21Universalspiritual warfareChrist's victory as pattern for believers

The Overcomer's Throne: Victory Through Christ's Example

First, you must contend against yourself—the main battle rages within your own heart, where affections struggle for dominion.

218 words

Mark 5:84UniversalChrist's substitutionary atonementspiritual abandonment and divine justice

Christ's Ultimate Solitude at Calvary's Darkness

Not the hermit's withdrawal, nor pride's cold refusal, nor sentiment's complaint of misunderstanding.

215 words

Matthew 5:11UniversalChrist's lordshipcovenant devotion

For My Sake: Christ's Supreme Claims on the Believer

All intelligent creatures act from some consideration—money, pleasure, regard for others—yet Christ calls us to a higher ordering of life itself.

209 words

Colossians 4:24Universalsacrificial loveredemptive suffering

Paul's Joy in Suffering for the Church's Sake

The vast region of human sorrow appears to most a dark and dreary desert.

255 words

Psalms 38:11Universalabandonment in afflictionthe failure of earthly friendship

When Affliction Empties the House of Friends

His affliction becomes a wall that separates the sufferer from all comfort.

211 words

Isaiah 35:15Universaldivine mystery and providencetransformation through affliction

What Shall I Say? Walking Softly Through Divine Mystery

Our Lord Himself uttered these same words when His soul was overwhelmed with grief in the prospect of His agonies, bloody sweat, and sacrificial death (John 12:27).

218 words

Matthew 26:63Universalthe power of silencedignity in adversity

The Power of Christ's Silence Before His Accusers

Titus Vespasian, the Roman general, claimed he stood above false reports; if accusations were true, he had more reason for anger with himself than with the relator.

224 words

Romans 5:2-4Universalthe paradox of Christian joy in sufferingthe glory of God as Christian hope's object

The Same Emotion in Sorrow and in Hope

The term signifies the outward expression of exultation, especially in speech and declaration.

Alexander Maclaren

245 words

Mark 5:55Universalpersecution of the righteouscorruption of legal systems

Jesus Before the Sanhedrin: Justice Perverted by Mob Mood

Everything depends upon the prevailing sentiment of the hour.

239 words

Psalms 44:14Universaldivine abandonment and faithfulnessnational shame and spiritual decline

When God's People Become a Byword of Shame

The Hebrew word *mashal* (similitude) carried the weight of mockery—so completely had the nation's condition deteriorated that "a miserable man" would be called "a Jew" in contempt, just as liars were branded "Cretans" and wretched slaves were named "Sardians." This...

190 words

Psalms 129:2Universalperseverance through afflictiondivine protection of truth

The Church's Afflictions from Youth Yet Never Overcome

Our Lord entrusted His gospel to merely twelve apostles—destitute of human learning, worldly influence, and secular power.

213 words

Psalms 56:2Universaldivine sovereigntypersecution

When Enemies Rule from High Places of Authority

His enemies occupied positions of influence and control.

214 words

Isaiah 49:4Universalapparent failure as spiritual testingidentification with Christ's suffering

Labor in Vain: The Prophet's Cry of Apparent Failure

The prophet speaks from profound experience—selected by Yahweh to hold His name pure and unsullied amid the world's defections, yet Israel's history appeared to be labour in vain.

213 words

Isaiah 63:3UniversalChrist's substitutionary atonementdivine isolation in redemption

The Solitary Winepress: Christ's Lone Victory Over Evil

The winepress figure denotes supreme contempt—the Mighty Conqueror compares His victory over enemies to the crushing of grapes beneath His feet.

207 words

Psalms 34:17UniversalGod's attentiveness to the afflictedtrial as spiritual discipline

The Threefold Blessing Hidden in Affliction

When comfort abandons us and earthly props crumble, the soul rises on wings of intercession toward Yahweh.

206 words

John 8:69Universaldivine protectionpersecution for truth

Stones Cast at Truth: When Arguments Fail to Persuade

The Jews, having exhausted rational debate with Jesus, abandoned discourse for violence.

199 words

Isaiah 35:14Universaldivine consolation amid afflictionworldly goods insufficient without God

The Dove's Lament: When Sorrow Strips Away the World's Comfort

The possessions of the world often lighten life's sorrows and increase its enjoyments; the Word of Yahweh itself recognizes prosperity as a subject for gratitude.

227 words

Isaiah 25:11Universaldivine rescueChrist's sacrifice

Christ the Strong Swimmer: Salvation in the Depths of Sin

Isaiah 25:11 presents a figure of Yahweh frustrating the drowning efforts of Moab in the dungpit—a scene that Professor S. B. Driver interprets as divine power subduing iniquity. The homiletic tradition that follows offers this vivid image: God as a...

237 words

Psalms 55:12Universalbetrayal and trustChrist's humanity

The Master's Grief at Betrayal by His Own

The Lord Yahweh endured the unspeakable sorrows and agonies of crucifixion in perfect, marvelous silence—the scourging, the mockery, the nails, the darkness.