40 Days Blog - Day 30
The readers know that Paul is in jail, and are concerned. What can they do to support him here? They have sent Epaphras to assist and are keen to hear more. Paul takes the ‘Jesus is first’ approach we read yesterday, and answers them in a surprising way.
“
I rejoice in my suffering…”
Wait, what? Rejoice? Surely, he means he can bear it, or it’s not as bad as it could be.
No, he rejoices, because Jesus was first. Paul recognises he is following Christ. Just as Jesus was the first to suffer for His people (His church), so those who seek to advance the church will suffer as they follow Him. The word “
lacking” (
v24) is not saying that Jesus’ suffering was insufficient in some way. It is showing that Jesus left room for suffering by others. There is plenty to go round.
For Paul the reason for suffering is sharing the gospel. His role is to plant churches, win people to Christ, and teach them how to live for Him. He is an apostle, a teacher, a missionary.
Note how new and different this mission work is to the readers. Since Abraham, God has had a chosen people. While anyone could come to God (and outsiders did), there has always been a special people, who have been favoured by God.
At the death of Jesus, the curtain separating the people from the presence of God was torn in two. The way was no longer barred. The rules and restrictions of the Judaic law were fulfilled in the death and resurrection of Christ. Paul is writing to a group who have a mix of Jews and Gentiles. Gentiles! Not previously God’s chosen people, but now part of His family.
A mystery that has been hidden, is now revealed. The salvation that Old Testament believers could see only through signs and shadows, has been shown in full to the people of God. Christ is dwelling in Jews, and Gentiles.
So, Paul’s struggle is not the struggle of jail. His struggle is to tell more and more people about Jesus. He proclaimed the gospel on his journeys, during his trial, and sailing on a prison ship. Now in jail in Rome, he is still proclaiming Christ.
One reason Paul had to go to jail, is that it meant he had to write down his teaching. Paul liked share Jesus verbally with those in front of him. But Jesus would have His word shared more widely, so Paul had to be tied down, to get it in writing.
A Prayer
Help us, Lord, to remember that there is more going on than we know; that Your plan is being worked out even when we can’t see it. Give us the grace to remember, that our pain in this life fulfils Your purpose, whether we see it or not. It is easy to say, Lord, when things are easy. And hard to truly believe when things are tough. Give us the grace to bear what comes, the faith to bring our complaint to You and the strength to tell others that the Lord has done great things for us.
Amen.
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