Why do bad things happen to good people?

Why do bad things happen to good people? I know this is a question that gets asked a lot. Especially when bad things happen to people that someone thinks are good.

Maybe someone else thinks the victim is good.
Maybe the victims themselves think they are good.

But seriously –

How often has this ever happened?

How often has a truly good person had something bad happen to them?

One time.

Yes – once.

And for some reason that most people probably couldn’t explain – we call that thing “good”.

Do you know who that one good person was? (is)

Good people – One good person

Yes, one good person out of all the possible good people. Here He is.

The Rich Young Man – Mark

10:17-31 pp — Mt 19:16-30; Lk 18:18-30

Mk 10:17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Mk 10:18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’’”

Mk 10:20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”

Mk 10:21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Mk 10:22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Mk 10:23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”

Mk 10:24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

Mk 10:26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”

Mk 10:27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

Mk 10:28 Peter said to him, “We have left everything to follow you!”

Mk 10:29 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Yes, it’s from the Bible. Therefore, some of you might dismiss this whole thing. That’s certainly your right.

However, that “some of you” hopefully doesn’t include anyone who says they’re Christian.

And for those of us who are Christian, we really should take it to heart. Including the parts we don’t necessarily want to hear. For instance, verse 19.

Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.

Even Jesus asked, “Why do you call me good?”

Well, I can think of one reason why Christians can call Jesus “good”. Someone who’s trying to get Jesus to say something they want to hear, even though it’s against what Jesus taught, doesn’t seem to have the credentials to call Jesus good. But we, as Christians, have some things to point to.

Here’s one of those things – Jesus is good – we are not.

The Baptism of Jesus

3:13-17 pp — Mk 1:9-11; Lk 3:21, 22; Jn 1:31-34

Mt 3:13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.
Mt 3:14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
Mt 3:15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
Mt 3:16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him.
Mt 3:17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Notice what Jesus said about His baptism. It’s not like He needed to be baptized. He’s God! But it had to be done. So He did. To fulfill all righteousness.

Another thing Christians can point to. Jesus is good – we are not.

Unbelief of the Jewish Leaders

Jn 7:45 Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”
Jn 7:46 “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards declared.
Jn 7:47 “You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. 48 “Has any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? 49 No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.”
Jn 7:50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51 “Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?”
Jn 7:52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”

The earliest and most reliable manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53-8:11.

Jn 7:53 Then each went to his own home.
Jn 8:1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
Jn 8:9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
Jn 8:11 “No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Jesus pointed out that not even one of the Jewish leaders was without sin. And then, separately, He also did not condemn the woman.

The third example. Jesus is good – we are not.

Jesus the Great High Priest

Heb 4:14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Heb 5:1 Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. 3 This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people.

Heb 5:4 No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was. 5 So Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him,
“You are my Son;
today I have become your Father.’” 6 And he says in another place,
“You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek.”

Heb 5:7 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9 and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10 and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Notice especially verse 15.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.

We are not “good people” – Jesus is “good people”

OK – hopefully my point is made. We – you, me, and everyone we know – are not good people. Only God is good people. And since Jesus is God, Jesus is good people.

When bad things happen to good people.

So now that we know who the good person is, what happened that was bad?

The Crucifixion – Luke

23:33-43 pp — Mt 27:33-44; Mk 15:22-32; Jn 19:17-24

Lk 23:26 As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. 27 A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. 28 Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ 30 Then
“ ‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!”
and to the hills, “Cover us!” ’ 31 For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

Lk 23:32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

Lk 23:35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”

Lk 23:36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

Lk 23:38 There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Lk 23:39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”

Lk 23:40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

Lk 23:42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’”

Lk 23:43 Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

I wrote the first version of this about twelve years ago – in December 2011. It was originally just titled, when bad things happen. The first line was:

I had a hard time with the title on this one. It was tempting to call it “when bad things happen to good people” –
but that presupposes I’m “good people”. I prefer to leave that to God. I have a much better chance of coming out “good” …

I’m kind of happy to see that even back in December of 2011 – at least I had the sense to not try to claim I was good.

Anyway, back on topic.

Maybe when we read the passage on Jesus’ crucifixion, we think it was a bad thing. Don’t get me wrong here, but there’s a reason why Christians commemorate this crucifixion on a day called Good Friday.

Yes, being crucified, hung on a cross to die after being tortured, is a horrible thing. A bad thing, for today’s topic.

And yet, the day it happened is referred to as Good Friday.

How can such a bad thing be good?

Consider this. Jesus had to die before He could be resurrected – celebrated on Easter. And He had to be resurrected before He could return to Heaven – celebrated on Ascension Day. As Christians, we depend on four critically important events. Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, and Ascension Day. If any of them didn’t happen, there are catastrophic consequences for our hope of an eternal life with God.

That’s how such a bad thing can be good.

Why do bad things happen to good people?

So, that was the one bad event that happened to the one good person. And we see that, in spite of what happened, it was good. Actually, it was because of what happened that it was good. But that’s a much deeper topic. It’s what Christianity is all about. Jesus dying for our sins.

But here’s the thing about supposedly bad things happening to supposedly good people. We saw that the bad thing that happened to Jesus was actually good.

Therefore, at least for Christians, I have a question. When allegedly bad things happen to us, is there maybe some good that’s meant to come from those things? We should all be able to answer that question. Even if we don’t want to face the reality in our own lives, in the middle of our own bad things, the answer is yes. Yes, there may be some good that can come from the bad stuff in our lives.

Think Joseph, sold into slavery and ending up saving Israel because he ended up the second most powerful person in Egypt, preventing mass starvation in the middle of an intense famine. And he’s just one example.

Notice the underlined verses below from the end of Genesis.

Joseph Reassures His Brothers

Ge 50:15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” 16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: 17 ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.

Ge 50:18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.

Ge 50:19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

No, we aren’t Jesus. And we’re not likely to be in a position like Joseph. And yet, if we are children of God, truly trying to follow Jesus, shouldn’t we try to do the same kinds of things when bad things happen to us?

When bad things happen to us, shouldn’t we be looking for a way to turn them into good? Because, after all, we claim to believe God intended these bad things to turn out for good.

That last comment should make us think of the passage below.

More Than Conquerors

Ro 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Ro 8:31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Surely, we want to claim the things Paul wrote about in that passage. Therefore, shouldn’t we also claim, specifically for this topic, verse 28?

Ro 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

And I mean, claim it in its entirety. Including playing our part in God’s plan to bring all things to good. Even when they appear to be bad for us?

And if that’s true, then when bad things happen to us, do we remember Romans 8:28? No matter how hard it is for us to play our part in it? Of course, we are human. We will grieve. We’ll have various reactions to bad things. And yet, aren’t we called to be different, and aren’t we given the Holy Spirit, and don’t we have God’s strength available to us?

How we react, ultimately, can either bring glory to God – or not.

A final thought

Some of you may think this is kind of a brutal message. Or one of just accept whatever comes your way. Maybe that God’s sovereign, all-powerful, and so can do whatever He wants, period, end of discussion.

But it’s not. That would be a weird conclusion for someone who wrote something titled, Ours is not to reason why.

Having said that, the reasoning portion of this is yet to be completed.

I started to write it. It’s going to be titled From why to what to now it makes sense.

Then I realized I need to update this one.

I’ll put a link in here when the reasoning is all done. Hope you check it out. You can either come back here and check – or sign up for email notifications when new things are published using the box at the top right (it may be towards the bottom on cell phones and tablets).