The Bible and Suffering in Life
Pastor Tan Thai · Apr 8, 2018
This sermon explores the difficult question of why people suffer, grounded in John 9:1-12 and the teaching of Jesus Christ. The pastor demonstrates that two common responses — blaming others or blaming oneself — are both wrong, and that suffering can carry a divine purpose: so that the works of God may be displayed.
The sermon opens with Vietnamese literary and musical imagery of suffering — from Nguyễn Du's Tale of Kiều to Trịnh Công Sơn's songs — to introduce the central theme: suffering is an unavoidable reality of life. The pastor references the Buddhist tradition and Prince Siddhartha's journey out of the palace to seek an answer to the four noble truths of suffering: birth, aging, sickness, and death. From this starting point, the sermon asks: what does the Bible teach differently about suffering?
The heart of the sermon is John 9:1-12, the account of a man blind from birth. The disciples ask Jesus whether this man's blindness was caused by his own sin or his parents' sin. The pastor analyzes these two common but mistaken responses: blame-shifting (attributing suffering to others or to God) and self-condemnation (believing one suffers because of one's own sin). Both attitudes, the pastor argues, lead to anger, bitterness, doubt, and separation from God.
Jesus rejects both views and offers an entirely different answer: the man was not blind because of anyone's sin, but 'so that the works of God might be displayed in him.' The pastor explains that suffering is not God's direct punishment of individuals, because Jesus Christ has already borne the full penalty for sin on the cross once and for all (Isaiah 53:3-4; Romans 8:1, 38-39). Suffering instead carries a divine purpose: to transform believers into the likeness of Christ, making them more humble, more compassionate, and closer to God.
The pastor uses the image of diamonds formed from carbon under immense pressure deep in the earth to illustrate that believers can only become 'God's diamonds' through trials and hardship. The story of Joseph (Genesis 45:4-5) and Scriptures from James 1:2-4, Romans 8:28, and Joel 2:25-26 are cited to affirm that God can use every circumstance — including suffering — for the good of those who love Him.
The sermon closes with a practical exhortation: do not fall into bitterness or resentment when facing trials, but come to God in faith, just as the blind man walked in darkness toward the pool of Siloam before receiving his sight. The pastor recalls Psalm 30:5 — 'weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning' — and shares the testimony of two former Buddhist monks who came to faith through Acts 4:12, leading an entire extended family of 500 people to the Lord.