Sunday School Lesson: From Death to Life

Purpose:
To explore how new life is God’s answer to suffering and death.

Scripture: Job 38; 42:1-6; Mark 16

For thirty seven chapters God has been silent. But noone else has. Satan spoke boldly that Job’s faith would certainly fail the tests that would be given him. Take away his wealth, his family, all the things that give him power and prestige and surely he will curse God. Job’s wife offered advice to curse God and die. Surely death is better than suffering. Job’s friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar attempt to comfort Job by sitting in silence with him and sharing his pain. At the end of the seven days of silence Job refuses to curse God but does curse the day of his own birth, seemingly questioning the purpose of a life destined to suffer. The friends then enter the dialogue and insist that Job must have sinned in some manner and deserves the punishment and sorrow inflicted upon him. They urge Job to repent and return to a right relationship with God . If only Job will confess his hidden sin and truly repent then God will end his suffering. Job consistently denies any wrongdoing. We must remember that at the beginning of the story even God declares Job to be free from sin:

And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?"
(Job 1:8 ESV)

Job loudly confronts God, demanding God to appear and explain exactly what Job is guilty of. Job becomes increasingly angry with God and his friends. Job begs God to speak and to restore his reputation and integrity. Another friend, Elihu appears in chapter 32 and reinforces the other friend’s arguments. And finally, when it appears that Job will have to suffer eternal silence from God, God speaks. And how does God answer the questions of Job? With questions of His own:

What does Job know about how and what God has created and how God is sustaining that creation?

Who is Job to question and challenge God?


And now, finally, GOD answered Job from the eye of a violent storm. He said: "Why do you confuse the issue? Why do you talk without knowing what you're talking about? Pull yourself together, Job! Up on your feet! Stand tall! I have some questions for you, and I want some straight answers. Where were you when I created the earth? Tell me, since you know so much! Who decided on its size? Certainly you'll know that! Who came up with the blueprints and measurements? How was its foundation poured, and who set the cornerstone, While the morning stars sang in chorus and all the angels shouted praise? And who took charge of the ocean when it gushed forth like a baby from the womb? That was me! I wrapped it in soft clouds, and tucked it in safely at night. Then I made a playpen for it, a strong playpen so it couldn't run loose, And said, 'Stay here, this is your place. Your wild tantrums are confined to this place.' "And have you ever ordered Morning, 'Get up!' told Dawn, 'Get to work!' So you could seize Earth like a blanket and shake out the wicked like cockroaches? As the sun brings everything to light, brings out all the colors and shapes, The cover of darkness is snatched from the wicked-- they're caught in the very act! "Have you ever gotten to the true bottom of things, explored the labyrinthine caves of deep ocean? Do you know the first thing about death? Do you have one clue regarding death's dark mysteries? And do you have any idea how large this earth is? Speak up if you have even the beginning of an answer. "Do you know where Light comes from and where Darkness lives So you can take them by the hand and lead them home when they get lost? Why, of course you know that. You've known them all your life, grown up in the same neighborhood with them! "Have you ever traveled to where snow is made, seen the vault where hail is stockpiled, The arsenals of hail and snow that I keep in readiness for times of trouble and battle and war? Can you find your way to where lightning is launched, or to the place from which the wind blows? Who do you suppose carves canyons for the downpours of rain, and charts the route of thunderstorms That bring water to unvisited fields, deserts no one ever lays eyes on, Drenching the useless wastelands so they're carpeted with wildflowers and grass? And who do you think is the father of rain and dew, the mother of ice and frost? You don't for a minute imagine these marvels of weather just happen, do you? "Can you catch the eye of the beautiful Pleiades sisters, or distract Orion from his hunt? Can you get Venus to look your way, or get the Great Bear and her cubs to come out and play? Do you know the first thing about the sky's constellations and how they affect things on Earth? "Can you get the attention of the clouds, and commission a shower of rain? Can you take charge of the lightning bolts and have them report to you for orders? "Who do you think gave weather-wisdom to the ibis, and storm-savvy to the rooster? Does anyone know enough to number all the clouds or tip over the rain barrels of heaven When the earth is cracked and dry, the ground baked hard as a brick? "Can you teach the lioness to stalk her prey and satisfy the appetite of her cubs As they crouch in their den, waiting hungrily in their cave? And who sets out food for the ravens when their young cry to God, fluttering about because they have no food?
(Job 38:1-41 MSG)


How does Job’s "hearing" and "seeing" God affect him?

Job had not expected to receive this relentless questioning (the questioning goes on for four chapters). Job had demanded answers from God, yet all he had received was questions. Even more shocking was the nature of the questions. Job could not have possibly answered these.

Why is it that Job could not answer God’s questions?

The reason that Job could not answer the questions is that they were rhetorical; they were actually statements in the form of questions. These particular questions were challenges of Job’s knowledge and wisdom. In effect God is saying to Job, "You don’t know enough to accuse Me of injustice." In a way, God gives Job a dose of his own medicine. Job had challenged God with rhetorical questions, and now it was God’s turn. Job does not receive the answers he was seeking. He actually receives something much greater. He receives divine presence. He receives God’s attention. Can’t we mark the greatest moments of our lives as those when we know that we have God’s complete and undivided attention? Even though Job did not get exactly what he asked for, he got exactly what he needed: a dose of humility. Job seems awed and humbled by his encounter with God. Job also realizes the limits of his own knowledge. This is the way God blesses us most of the time, we may not get exactly what we ask for but we get exactly what we need and it is only in hindsight that we realize that we were asking for the wrong thing or in the wrong way all along. If you were Job and heard these questions from God, how would you react? Job’s response was to repent of the accusations he made against God in the previous chapters:

Job answered GOD: "I'm convinced: You can do anything and everything. Nothing and no one can upset your plans. You asked, 'Who is this muddying the water, ignorantly confusing the issue, second-guessing my purposes?' I admit it. I was the one. I babbled on about things far beyond me, made small talk about wonders way over my head. You told me, 'Listen, and let me do the talking. Let me ask the questions. You give the answers.' I admit I once lived by rumors of you; now I have it all firsthand--from my own eyes and ears! I'm sorry--forgive me. I'll never do that again, I promise! I'll never again live on crusts of hearsay, crumbs of rumor."
(Job 42:1-6 MSG)

Is Job genuinely humble and contrite, or is he just throwing in the towel and admitting that he is no match for God? Is the Job we encounter in these verses a changed man, or is he the same Job of the earlier chapters, but now admitting defeat?

Do you believe that Job sincerely repented of what he had said about God?

Is repentance a complete and instantaneous transformation?

Or is repentance a dynamic process?

Repentance starts with a moment of contrition and a resolve to change. But in the life of any Christian, there are many, many moments of contrition and resolutions to change. As we mature in faith, we discover things about ourselves and about God that we did not know before.

Repentance or metanoia, as it is called in Greek, means a change of mind, heart, and direction. Some changes happen immediately, others take years, even a lifetime.

As Methodists we follow the Wesleyan belief in ongoing repentance. There is the moment of "justification" which is a conversion experience that starts us on our way in Christian life and there is "sanctification" which is a process of ongoing growth in the Christian life. At the point of justification we receive the transforming grace of God. Sanctification is the process of living in light of God’s grace.

We have know way of knowing if Job was sincere in his response to God. But we can look at ourselves and hold ourselves accountable for our own response to God’s love and grace.

We cannot have a lesson on Easter Sunday without reading and celebrating the Good News of the resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus is God’s answer to all questions of suffering and death. Jesus suffered horribly. On the cross, Jesus revealed a God who not only suffers for us, but suffers with us. Jesus knew as well as Job the very real agonies of human suffering. In some ways, Jesus’ suffering and Job’s were similar. Job lost everything, including his children. Jesus was betrayed, deserted, and denied by his closest friends. Both Job and Jesus were righteous men, blameless before God. Both suffered innocently.

The major difference between Jesus and Job is that Jesus died on the cross, while Job’s life continued. Jesus’ resurrection was not a continuation of his earthly life; he was raised to a radically new, unparalleled, and eternal existence. Jesus was raised to live and reign forever with God.

The resurrection proclaims that death is not the end of human existence. Death is not the last word spoken. God brings new life out of death. The tomb, a place of death, was transformed into a sign of new life. Because God raised Jesus to new life, there is no tomb, no suffering, no death, no sadness, no grief, no fear, no anything that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This good news of Easter is almost too good to be true. In today’s scripture from Mark, it is clear that even the disciples only believed when they encountered the risen Christ. We must remember that the stone at Jesus’ tomb was not rolled away so that Jesus could get out, he could have easily walked through the stone had he chosen to. The stone was rolled away so that we could see in and know that death is not the end.


When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could embalm him. Very early on Sunday morning, as the sun rose, they went to the tomb. They worried out loud to each other, "Who will roll back the stone from the tomb for us?" Then they looked up, saw that it had been rolled back--it was a huge stone--and walked right in. They saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed all in white. They were completely taken aback, astonished. He said, "Don't be afraid. I know you're looking for Jesus the Nazarene, the One they nailed on the cross. He's been raised up; he's here no longer. You can see for yourselves that the place is empty. Now--on your way. Tell his disciples and Peter that he is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You'll see him there, exactly as he said." They got out as fast as they could, beside themselves, their heads swimming. Stunned, they said nothing to anyone. [After rising from the dead, Jesus appeared early on Sunday morning to Mary Magdalene, whom he had delivered from seven demons. She went to his former companions, now weeping and carrying on, and told them. When they heard her report that she had seen him alive and well, they didn't believe her. Later he appeared, but in a different form, to two of them out walking in the countryside. They went back and told the rest, but they weren't believed either. Still later, as the Eleven were eating supper, he appeared and took them to task most severely for their stubborn unbelief, refusing to believe those who had seen him raised up. Then he said, "Go into the world. Go everywhere and announce the Message of God's good news to one and all. Whoever believes and is baptized is saved; whoever refuses to believe is damned. "These are some of the signs that will accompany believers: They will throw out demons in my name, they will speak in new tongues, they will take snakes in their hands, they will drink poison and not be hurt, they will lay hands on the sick and make them well." Then the Master Jesus, after briefing them, was taken up to heaven, and he sat down beside God in the place of honor. And the disciples went everywhere preaching, the Master working right with them, validating the Message with indisputable evidence.]
(Mar 16:1-20 MSG)