Suffering and Death in the Bible

It has been very useful to me to look at the way the Bible talks about homicide, and to think through some of the modern arguments for euthanasia and abortion and related matters. But so much of this topic is painful to even talk about. It relates to real people dealing with what may be the most difficult issues they will face in their families.

And so it was actually the last part of this study, the part that we’ll talk about today, that may have impacted my thinking the most. It’s just a brief look at what the Bible has to say about death and suffering, and how our modern world so often misses the boat completely when it comes to these topics.

Because, after all, there has been an elephant in the room in this discussion. What if someone is suffering? I mean, really suffering. Does that give anyone the right to kill that they would not otherwise have? Whether we’re talking about abortion, or euthanasia, or suicide?

Let’s start by talking about death. As Christians, we believe that to die is to go and be with Christ – we do in fact go on to a better life. (If we’re true believers, that is. God forbid that we risk passing through death when we’re not sure!)

But even though, as Paul says, “to die is gain” for a believer, that does not mean that death in itself is a “good”.

The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

1 Corinthians 15:26

What is death? The enemy.

What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?

Psalm 30:9

We have a special purpose in this life. Even an older person who is bedridden can, in most cases, praise God and pray for their family. And that is a beautiful and powerful ministry.

Throughout the Bible, death is judgement. Death is a terrible thing. Yes, as believers we know that the Good Shepherd will guide us through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. God is always with us, even as we die. We’re not afraid of death, because we know that our Lord Jesus is waiting on the other side to receive us. But we don’t desire death itself. Personally, I would like to be here when Jesus returns, if that is His will.

Death is an enemy.

But what about suffering? There’s no doubt that suffering can be a terrible thing to go through. Some of us have experienced more suffering than others. And we don’t want to see anyone else suffering.

We know that our Lord has great compassion for those who suffer.

When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.”

Matthew 8:5-7

Jesus didn’t hesitate to go and help someone who was suffering. Neither should we.

But the apostles and prophets are actually examples to us of suffering, and their example may surprise us. Paul says in Colossians 1:24 – “…I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake…” In fact, we are commanded to share in suffering. “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus” 2 Timothy 2:3.

And we know that suffering actually has a purpose.

…we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Romans 5:3-5

Listen carefully to what Paul says here:

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison…

2 Corinthians 4:17

Do we really understand that?

Paul is explaining that the suffering that we encounter in this life is light, compared with the reward. He’s not saying that suffering will be easy and no big deal. But in comparison … yes! Every affliction has a purpose. The world says it’s all by chance. Even some Christians claim that some suffering is beyond God’s control. But no, the Bible teaches that God has purpose even in our suffering.

We don’t seek suffering and death. But suffering is actually something that God uses in our lives. May God give us the grace to accept suffering, if it makes us more like the Lord Jesus. And remember, for a Christian, all suffering is temporary. Sickness is temporary. Old age is temporary.

How might this transform the way in which we live?

We can trust God to choose the time of our death. For ourselves, for an unborn baby, for an old man, for a disabled person, for someone with a mental illness.

And in fact, we help one another to avoid death where possible. We want everyone to have every chance to accept Christ as their Saviour. We want everyone to have the privilege to praise Him in this life, to know Him in this life. Even if all we can do is pray to Him from our sick bed. And that is a powerful service.

And what if someone has advanced dementia? Do you believe that God can still use that person? Do you believe that God may have something to teach us as we care for that person?

And is it possible that the heart of that person can still respond to God? If an unborn baby can respond to God, maybe that person can as well.

We accept suffering as a gift from God. We don’t avoid it at all cost. We recognize that it always has a purpose, and that, for believers, it is always temporary.

However. And this is very important. We should never be hasty to allow suffering in our life or the life of someone else when God has provided a way to avoid it. And obviously here I’m talking about ethical means that would be in line with God’s Word. And I’m not suggesting we accelerate the natural process of death, as we already discussed. What I am saying is that we should seek to alleviate suffering in this world when we are able to do so.

Why am I even mentioning something that seems so obvious? Because some people, even in God’s Name, have permitted or even encouraged suffering because they see that suffering has a good purpose in the Bible. Yes, suffering is good when God permits it in the life of the believer. But we see the compassion of our Lord as our example. We should do all we can to minimize suffering when God provides a way.

What do we say to the young girl who finds herself to be pregnant – who is terrified and thinks that her life is over? We don’t encourage her to murder her baby. We love them both. We serve and help them both.

When someone is sick, we don’t simply tell them that they deserve it, or that God wants them to suffer. We provide medicine. We pray for them. We bring them food.

As the body of Christ, when one member suffers, we all suffer. We bear one another’s burdens. And in the end, we look to Christ to carry our burdens.

As Christians, we don’t minimize the reality of suffering and death. But we do know that there is hope in suffering and death. We admit that we often have not valued the life of another as we should have. But we look to the Lord to give us strength to truly serve one another.

May God truly transform the way that we see the people around us, even when they are young, old, sick, or disabled. May we have an attitude of love and service toward them.

Additional Resources

• Got Questions has a couple of brief articles that address some of these topics – What does the Bible say about euthanasia / assisted suicide? and What does the Bible say about abortion?
• Living Waters has a couple of interesting documentaries on abortion: “180” Movie and 7 Reasons

(Since I originally developed these materials in Spanish, note that the above resources are also available in Spanish.)