John 16:33 I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”

What happens when our suffering rises above the level of what’s normal, or expected, or what makes sense? Or when our suffering is so unjust, that it causes us to question our faith, or the goodness of God?

His death was necessary for our salvation, for our redemption.
(John 1:29; Revelation 5:12; Romans 5:8)
But in the events leading up to his death, there’s a lot of awful stuff that’s happening here that doesn’t seem to be necessary.

Unnecessary suffering is at times a necessary part of the human experience.
Matthew 26:47-50: Jesus is betrayed
Matthew 26:56: Jesus is deserted
Matthew 26:57-68: Jesus is spat at, beat, slapped, mocked
Matthew 27:15-26: Jesus whipped by leather cords
Matthew 27:27-31: They dressed him as king, beat and mocked him, and then stripped him
Matthew 27:38-44: Insults, mocking, taunting
- Jesus’ death may have been necessary; the added violence and suffering was not.

Unnecessary suffering is at times a necessary part of the human experience.
- This statement can either be a really big downer, or it can be incredibly freeing
- As a downer, it’s almost a resignation to an evil world doing evil things. We aren’t immune to it.
- As a freeing statement, we realize that in some seasons of life, we couldn’t have done anything different and were powerless to change it. And Jesus loves us and sees us through it.
Hebrews 10:11-14 Every priest stands day after day ministering and offering the same sacrifices time after time, which can never take away sins. But this man, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God. He is now waiting until his enemies are made his footstool. For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified.

Unnecessary suffering is at times a necessary part of the human experience.
- But…As Isaiah prophesied about the Messiah:
Isaiah 53:4-5 Yet he himself bore our sicknesses, and he carried our pains;
but we in turn regarded him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities;
punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds.