In this week’s message, we wrestle with one of life’s hardest questions: Why do we suffer? Through the story of Job, we’re reminded that suffering isn’t always the result of something we’ve done, but that God meets us in our pain, invites us to trust His wisdom, and ultimately points us to the cross and the empty tomb, where Christ entered our suffering to bring lasting hope and victory.

Primary Text

• Job 1–42 — The overall story of Job serves as the foundation for the sermon, with particular emphasis on Job’s suffering, his friends’ speeches, God’s response, and Job’s trust amid suffering.

Key Passages from Job

• Job 1:20–22 — Job’s response to tragedy: he falls down and worships God.
• Job 2:9 — Job’s wife: “Curse God and die.”
• Job 4:7–8 — Eliphaz argues that the innocent do not perish and suffering comes from wrongdoing.
• Job 8:3–6 — Bildad insists God is just and Job’s children must have sinned.
• Job 11:13–15 — Zophar urges Job to repent so God will restore him.
• Job 38:1–7 — God answers Job out of the whirlwind: “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?” This is the sermon’s climactic passage.

Old Testament References

• Psalms 22:1 — “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Referenced both in Job’s suffering and as Jesus’ cry from the cross.

New Testament Themes

While not quoted directly, the sermon repeatedly referenced:

• Jesus’ crucifixion as God entering into human suffering.
• Jesus’ resurrection (the empty tomb) as the ultimate answer to suffering and death.

Additional Biblical Allusions

The sermon also referenced several broader biblical events without quoting specific verses:

• The Exodus and crossing of the Red Sea, noting that Job never mentions these events, suggesting the story may predate Israel’s national history.
• Israel’s Babylonian exile, as the likely period when Job may have been written down.