Understanding Pain
Dictionary Definition:
- A highly unpleasant physical sensation caused by illness or injury.
- Example: “She’s in great pain.”
- Synonyms: Suffering, agony, affliction, torture, torment, discomfort, soreness.
- Great care or trouble.
- Example: “She took pains to see that everyone ate well.”
- Synonyms: Care, effort, trouble, labor, exertion, struggle.
Verb Usage:
- To cause mental or physical pain.
- Example: “It pains me to say this.”
- Synonyms: Hurt, ache, burn, throb, sting, cause discomfort.
Types of Pain
- Acute pain: Sudden and short-term.
- Chronic pain: Lasts for a long period.
- Breakthrough pain: Occurs between doses of pain medication.
- Bone pain: Associated with bone damage (e.g., from cancer).
- Soft tissue pain: Related to damage or inflammation in organs or muscles.
- Nerve pain: Caused by nerve damage.
- Referred pain: Felt in a different area than its source.
- Phantom pain: Felt in a limb that has been removed.
- Total pain: Includes emotional, social, and spiritual components.
Pain is a unique experience. Accurately describing it helps medical professionals find the best treatment. Indicate the location, nature (sharp, dull, burning), severity, and timing.
What Does the Bible Say About Pain?
Pain appears over 70 times in Scripture. Its first mention is in Genesis 3:16, where God tells Eve that pain in childbirth will increase as a consequence of sin. Adam and Eve’s disobedience brought pain, suffering, and death into the world (Romans 5:12).
Yet pain, though unpleasant, can be a gift. It warns us when something is wrong. Spiritually, it tests and shapes our faith, as James writes:
“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance” (James 1:2-3).
Paul also speaks of God’s grace in pain:
“My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Jesus died for our sins, to bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18). Through Him, we have the hope of a pain-free eternity:
“He will wipe away every tear… there will no longer be any death… mourning, crying, or pain” (Revelation 21:4).
Pain should remind us of sin’s consequences and God’s immense grace in sending Jesus. His suffering and crucifixion are unmatched in pain and purpose.
The Suffering of Jesus Christ
Jesus left the glory of Heaven and came to earth as God’s only begotten Son. He is the Word (John 1:1-3, 14), the Creator of all things (Genesis 1:1). Yet, the world did not recognize Him (John 1:10), and even His own people rejected Him (John 1:11).
Despite being God, Jesus humbled Himself. He endured pain starting from His incarnation:
- Conception by the Holy Spirit: Mary endured scorn and suspicion (Matthew 1:18-21).
- Birth in a manger: No room at the inn; Jesus was born among animals, in unsanitary conditions.
This is the unimaginable pain and humility the Creator bore to save humanity.
Jesus: The Word (Logos)
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).
- The Logos (Word) is God active in creation, revelation, and redemption.
- According to early Church Fathers like Irenaeus, John wrote his Gospel to affirm Jesus’ divinity against false teachings like those of Cerinthus.
Jesus, as the Word, was not merely with God but was God. All things were made through Him. His mission was not only to reveal truth but to offer salvation through His life, death, and resurrection.
The Fall of Man and the Entrance of Pain
God created the world, the Garden of Eden, and mankind with perfection and purpose (Genesis 1). Adam and Eve had access to everything except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Disobedience brought spiritual death and separation from God:
“In the day you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17).
Tempted by the serpent, they sinned. Their eyes were opened, and they hid from God (Genesis 3:1-8). As a result:
- Eve would suffer in childbirth.
- Adam would toil painfully.
- The ground was cursed.
- Mankind was driven out of Eden.
This act introduced pain, sorrow, and death into the world. Yet even here, God promised redemption (Genesis 3:15).
The Incarnation and Mission of Jesus
Prophets foretold His birth (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6). Matthew confirms Jesus was born of a virgin, fulfilling prophecy (Matthew 1:22-23).
From the beginning of His life, Jesus experienced pain and rejection. Mary, pregnant with Jesus, endured social shame. Joseph nearly left her. Their journey to Bethlehem ended with no place to stay. Jesus was born in the humblest of settings.
These early sufferings were only the beginning. Throughout His life and especially at the cross, Jesus bore the full weight of humanity’s sin and suffering. He did so willingly, to bring salvation to all who believe.
Luke 2:6-7
6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
No one in their right mind today would choose to have their baby in a manger. But that’s where Jesus Christ was born—the price for the sins of all mankind began in that humble setting. It was part of the deep pains He endured for the sake of the world.
No amount of gratitude, love, or appreciation from humanity can match the suffering Jesus went through. Nothing can compensate for it. His pain was beyond measure—unnecessary by human standards—but He went through it so that we, who believe in Him, might be set apart to do His will.
That includes keeping His appointed feast days as He commanded in Leviticus 23, and observing the 7th-day Sabbath, which was established in Genesis 2:1-3, reaffirmed in Exodus 20, and clarified in Mark 2:27-28.
Imagine the pain Jesus must have felt growing up among His own people, who didn’t believe in the Holy Spirit conception—even though it was written in the Torah. He likely endured constant reproach, abuse—physical and mental—and rejection. All of this began even as a baby, when King Herod sought to kill Him.
Matthew 2:1–23
1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:
15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.
17 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying,
18 In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.
19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
20 Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life.
21 And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.
22 But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:
23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.
Even as a baby, the pains of Jesus’ life caused His parents to flee their hometown and country. They had to hide in a foreign land, suffering alongside Him because of who He was.
He Lived in Suffering for 30 Years
Jesus lived with these pains for thirty years, all to save humanity. To truly understand the depth of His suffering, you need to read all four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. His public ministry lasted only three and a half years, but His pain was lifelong.
These sufferings were not random; they were prophesied long before, beginning in Genesis 3:15:
“I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
