Love can exist in strange places. Victor Frankl was a holocaust survivor who wrote about his experiences in the concentration camps. He wrote about how, in the midst of all the terror, injustice and pain of life in a particular camp, he used to look for a particular man who served the meals in the huts. In the battle for existence it was not only guards against prisoners, it was prisoner against prisoner. This man would only lift his eyes far enough to see the plate he was to place the food on: he didn’t want to see the recipient’s face lest he be tempted to give less if it was someone who had mistreated him, or give more to someone he liked, thus depriving someone else of their share. This cheered Frankl’s heart, as here was fairness in the midst of what could only be called gross unfairness.
If we were visitors at Calvary the day Jesus died, and looked at the scene, would we see love? What would assault our senses would be things like: three execution stakes with writhing, bloodied bodies nailed to them – would we be attracted or repulsed? (when we see him there is no beauty in Him that we should desire Him): hardened soldiers dividing the spoil and gambling over a garment. Would we want to hang around?: sneering, abusing onlookers – would we join them?: crucified thieves hurling verbal abuse at the One on the centre cross.
Perhaps if we observed carefully we might discern love in the devotion of the few women who were there standing afar off. We might detect the words of appeal of the thief who repented. But the overwhelming impression is one of hate, derision, intentional pain and death. Yet the Bible says love was there, manifested in a way incomparable – 1 Jn. 3:16.
But this event illustrates that what is seen played out on the stage of this world’s history, has reasons and purposes that are hidden from sight. So it is when we come to the book of Job – what unfolds in the life of the great man, is as a result of things unseen – beginning with a conversation between God and Satan.
The conversation: They say you shouldn’t talk about anybody behind their back unless it’s good. I’m not sure how hard and fast that rule should be applied, but God followed the rule on this occasion. So God says to Satan, Have you considered my servant, Job? God notices people and so does the Devil. God knows who you are and so does the Devil. God was proud of Job, and may I suggest, is proud of any who seek to do His will in a wicked world. If you’re a faithful Christian, God is proud of you. You are a beloved child with whom He is well-pleased. We speak of a face only a mother could love, and perhaps, as far as the world’s estimation of us is concerned, we are a people only God could love.
Come forward many years from the time of Job and you can imagine God, as it were, saying to the Devil, Have you considered my servant, Jesus? Truly there was none like Him in all the earth. John the immerser acknowledged the righteousness of his cousin before he ever knew his real identity:- you should baptise me, not me you. The Devil would have noticed Jesus too. He’d paid Him some close attention at the time of His birth when certain troubling things had been said of Him, but for 30-odd years now things had settled down and Jesus didn’t seem to be any threat. Now, at His baptism by John and God’s announcement, he knows he needs to pay Him some close attention again.
The first response is trial by external temptation. Satan says, Job’s not so good; take away all the trappings you’ve given him and you’ll see. God steps in to defend Job’s integrity and expresses His faith in him. So God gives permission for Satan to afflict Job’s life. Job loses his possessions and children in a series of disasters, yet he remains faithful to God. Now imagine, as it were, Satan saying to the Father, You think Jesus is pretty good; let me at Him and I’ll show you. You have protected Him from Herod, the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, living in a quiet little backwater called Nazareth away from the public view when all the while you’ve hidden His identity. So the Spirit drives Jesus into the wilderness (so says Mark 1:12) to let Satan at Him. They say that power corrupts, and it can, so Jesus was tempted with the use of newly-acquired power from the Holy Spirit. It wasn’t the only time He was tempted (cf. Luke 22:28): there were temptations to be made King, trials through desertion by friends, and opposition by sinners. Yet in all this Jesus did not sin.
The second response was trial by suffering. Satan says to God after Job proved to be faithful in the trial of his loss, Yes but touch him personally and you’ll see a difference!. God responds with, You can touch him but not kill him. So Job is afflicted with with a disease that poisons his blood and he breaks out in boils all over his body. He’s perplexed, to say the least, but he’s convinced he’s not suffering because of anything he’s done.
I know that the death of Jesus was according to the fore-ordained plan of God, but it’s not hard to imagine Satan wanting to get at Him physically and personally. He’s tried and failed in infancy and in His ministry, but now a wondrous thing happens. God lets Satan at Jesus and we see Jesus nailed to the cross.
Here there was an essential difference. God did not let Satan kill Job. There would have been no point in that. But God gave permission to Satan to kill Jesus if he wanted. Perhaps this was part of the strategy – that such freedom was too much for the Devil to pass up. Freedom has been the downfall of many people, because they have not understood that with freedom comes responsibility. He also didn’t understand that in the death of Jesus it would not mean the end of his adversary: the seed of the woman would bruise his head: that thought had had echoed around in his head for centuries. How and when he knew not. Now, he believed, was his chance to thwart the plan of God, and get rid of his adversary. He didn’t understand that in having Jesus killed there would be victory, not for himself, but for Jesus. He would only bruise Jesus’ heel, as it were (cf. Heb. 2:13,14). If he’d only known in having Jesus put to death he was about to shoot himself – in the head. Paul said of the ancient Jews, that if they had understood God’s wisdom they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory (1 Cor. 2:8). They didn’t understand, because their father, the Devil, didn’t understand. Napolean is said to have stood before a map of the world during his exile, and looking at the red spot that mark Waterloo, said, Were it not for that red spot I would have conquered the world. Satan’s “red spot” is Calvary.
We often think of the trials of Job as two-fold; the loss of children and possessions, and then the loss of health. Then we think of the blessing of God whereby He reversed all that with 10 more children and twice as many possessions as he had before. I suspect that if we were to ask Job what was the hardest part of the trial; whether loss of children, possessions or health, he might say, None of those! You see, there was another trial – the accusations of my friends!
The trial by his friends followed a familiar pattern; Why are you suffering? Must have been something that you did! Only Elihu, the youngest of the friends, showed any restraint and suggested that God has ways and means and purposes that are beyond finding out. Miserable comforters are you all! Cried Job. God agreed with him. Job suffered because God was defending his integrity. Suffering is a complex question and we must not run to hasty conclusions.
Why did Jesus suffer? Why was he rejected of God? Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree, said the law and so His death became a stumblingblock. Some said He was a malefactor, a deceiver, a blasphemer. But Jesus was innocent of all such charges. Even Judas testified to that: I have betrayed innocent blood! Jesus suffered, not for His sins, but for ours! That’s the answer to the question of Jesus’ suffering (2 Cor. 5:20,21).
God blessed Job after his ordeal and so He blessed Jesus after his (Phil. 2:5-11). He gave Job children and so he did Jesus (Heb. 2:10-13).