Learning From What is Lacking in the Sufferings of Christ

There is a strange verse in one of Paul’s letters where he says, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my physical body—for the sake of his body, the church—what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ” (Col. 1:24, NET). I describe it as “strange” because it seems odd that Paul would say there is anything lacking in the suffering of Christ. Jesus suffered a lot, and His perfect sacrifice cleansed sin for all time. There was nothing deficient about it.

Yet, Paul says there was something missing and he had a role in helping the church by suffering in a way that “filled up” what was “lacking in the suffering of Christ.” And other verses indicate we may play a role in that as well.

Learning To Comfort Others

“Why does God allow suffering?” is one of the biggest questions people ask. We won’t tackle that entire question today, but we will talk about one facet of the answer.

Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we may be able to comfort those experiencing any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow toward us, so also our comfort through Christ overflows to you. But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort that you experience in your patient endurance of the same sufferings that we also suffer. And our hope for you is steadfast because we know that as you share in our sufferings, so also you will share in our comfort.

2 Corinthians 1:3-7, NET

Sharing in the sufferings of Christ is directly related to receiving and giving comfort. Much of Christian life is meant to be lived in community, and here we see another example of this. The church (meaning the body of believers) is supposed to give comfort to one another in the same way that God comforts us. Suffering produces patient endurance and it also produces compassion.

I think this might give us a clue as to what Paul meant when he said there was something “lacking in the sufferings of Christ.” Jesus experienced the same types of temptations and sufferings that are common to humans and has deep sympathy for all of us (Heb. 4:14-16). He did not, however, experience every specific type of suffering that human beings can. He has no first-hand experience of pregnancy symptoms, childbirth, or losing a child. He didn’t get to experience growing old and having his body and mind fail him. He didn’t live with the specific stress of global warming, AI, and atomic bombs hanging over his head. Those are things other people in the church can experience, though, and then we can empathize with others going through the same things.

Taking Comfort Into The Future

The more experiences we have, including suffering, the better equipped we are to comfort others and build up the church. Suffering is an uncomfortable way to learn, but it is effective and it is a way that Jesus learned (Heb. 5:8). He’s not asking us to do anything He didn’t do.

Dear friends, do not be astonished that a trial by fire is occurring among you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice in the degree that you have shared in the sufferings of Christ, so that when his glory is revealed you may also rejoice and be glad.

1 Peter 4:12-13, NET

When Jesus returns, we will rejoice that we had the chance to share in the sufferings of Jesus Christ. That seems a strange idea, but perhaps the idea that suffering teaches us compassion for others can help explain why.

The Feast of Tabernacles (Chag Sukkot) begins a week from today. Keeping this Feast with a Messianic mindset points us to the time after Jesus returns when He sets up God’s kingdom on earth for 1,000 years. The “firstfruits” will be spirit beings, part of God’s family and serving alongside Jesus (see “Rethinking Heaven: Capturing A Vision Of The Resurrection“). During that time, scripture indicates that one of the things God’s people will be doing is teaching and working with people who came through the great end time tribulation (see article “What Will God’s People Do In The Future?“).

This isn’t directly stated anywhere in scripture, but I suspect that just like we are comforted now by Jesus’s role as our sympathetic Hight Priest and the empathy of other believers, those people in the future will be comforted by the experience-based empathy of those serving in the Family of God. What we all learn from suffering in our lives today benefits the entire church now, and it will continue to make us more effective and sympathetic helpers in the future.

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