The New Testament never says that the cross and resurrection ended suffering. It says they decided the outcome. The usual picture is D-Day and VE-Day: the decisive battle has been fought and the result is certain, but the war grinds on until the end, and people still die in it. Christians live between the two days. Jesus said plainly that in this world his followers would have trouble, and in the same breath that he had overcome the world (John 16:33).
As for the delay, Peter faced the same question in the first century and answered that the Lord is not slow but patient, not wanting anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9). Every year of delay is a year in which the door stays open. That is mercy, not absence.
The already and the not yet
Jesus has been given all authority (Matthew 28:18), yet Hebrews observes that at present we do not see everything subject to him; but we do see Jesus, crowned with glory because he suffered death (Hebrews 2:8-9). Paul says Christ must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet, and the last enemy to be destroyed is death (1 Corinthians 15:25-26). The kingdom is here in seed and will be here in harvest.
Suffering was promised, not abolished
Jesus told his followers to expect persecution (John 15:20), that they would weep while the world rejoiced (John 16:20), and that the one who follows him takes up a cross. Paul's life was one of beatings, shipwrecks and prison, and he saw it as sharing in Christ's sufferings (Philippians 3:10, Colossians 1:24). The faith does not promise exemption; it promises presence, purpose and an end.
God is not a spectator
The Christian answer to suffering is not an argument but a person. God did not explain pain from a distance; he entered it, was betrayed, tortured and killed, and cried out why have you forsaken me? (Mark 15:34). Whatever else is true, the one who asks us to trust him through suffering is understood as sharing human suffering rather than standing outside it. Hebrews says he is able to sympathise (Hebrews 4:15).
Suffering is not meaningless
Paul does not say all things are good, but that in all things God works for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28), and that present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory to come (Romans 8:18). Joseph said to the brothers who sold him: you intended to harm me, but God intended it for good (Genesis 50:20). The cross itself is the supreme example of the worst thing becoming the best thing.
Why the delay
Three reasons are given. Patience, so that more may be saved (2 Peter 3:9). Mission, because the gospel must first be preached to all nations (Matthew 24:14). Growth, because the church is being prepared, as a bride for a wedding (Ephesians 5:25-27, Revelation 19:7). Jesus also said that no one knows the day or hour, and that the point is to be ready rather than to calculate (Matthew 24:36-44).
The end is fixed
Revelation 21:4 promises that God will wipe every tear from their eyes; there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. Paul says creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay (Romans 8:21). The resurrection of Jesus is the evidence that this is not wishful thinking: one man has already come out the other side of death with a body that will not die again. The rest of the story follows from that.
Sources and reading notes
Scripture references identify the passages behind the explanation. New Testament and available Old Testament links open the site's World English Bible reader. The prose here is commentary and paraphrase, not a continuous quotation from a named modern Bible translation. References outside the selected collection can be checked in another Bible.
- Catholic Catechism, paragraphs 456–483: Incarnation, humanity and divinity (a primary statement of this tradition, not a neutral historical verdict).
- Dale Martin, Yale: From Stories to Canon (a historical-critical treatment of Gospel sources).
- Dale Martin, Yale: The Historical Jesus (historical method and its limits).
Primary historical references in the collection include Josephus, Antiquities 18.3.3 and 20.9.1; Tacitus, Annals 15.44; and Pliny, Letters 10.96. Their dates and purposes differ. Josephus's longer Jesus passage requires special textual caution. These sources do not independently establish Christian supernatural claims.
Scripture references support the explanation; they do not make every historical interpretation settled. See our method and review status.