Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People? (Part 5)

Being a good person- a case study

This is the fifth in a multi-part series on what the Bible says about why bad things happen to ‘good’ people. You can read Part 1 here.

Originally, this was planned to be just a 4 part series.  But as I’ve been writing, some really good questions have been asked, so I will continue to write. One of those good questions I’ve been asked is ‘what is the point in trying to be good, if bad things can still happen’?  And as I’ve been digging in scripture to try and make sure we look at this as comprehensively as possible, the life of John the Baptist seemed like a helpful place to look next.  In this article, we’ll look at his life and what it helps us understand about bad things happening to (relatively) good people.

These questions start out so fair because they begin with a truth- we can’t be good enough to earn God’s blessings. As we looked at earlier in this series, this is because God’s standard for goodness is perfection.  Not just perfection in what we do, but in what we say, even in our thoughts and our hearts.  No one is able to meet that standard.  Even though that first statement is true, it’s not all of the story. We can’t be perfectly good, but we can honor God with our lives.  We see this in the way God talked about Job which we explored in Part 4.  As we cross into the New Testament, we see this with the life of John the Baptist (JTB).

John the Baptist is in some ways the NT version of Job.  Jesus says of JTB:

Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.

Matthew 11:11a (ESV)

John the Baptist is known as ‘the Baptist/Baptiser’ because his ministry is to baptize people and encourage them to turn away from their sin in preparation for Jesus’s ministry.  He lives his life in a way that is set apart.  He is even the person who baptizes Jesus himself!  Jesus has proclaimed him the G.O.A.T.-  best ever when it comes to human beings, yet his life ends in pain.  He is put in jail unjustly.  And then he is beheaded.  Definitely not the simplified ‘good things happen to good people’ assumption we talked about in Part 1.

So John the Baptist, gives us an example of someone who is held up as really good.  The best of men as called out by Jesus. But JTB himself acknowledges that his goodness does not even compare to Jesus.  Even he does not meet God’s perfect standard. 

John the Baptist says himself:

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and  fire. 

Matthew 3:11 (ESV)

John the Baptist’s ministry was baptizing people and calling them to repent before Jesus started His public ministry.   JTB also had people following him called disciples (not the exact same group of those later known as Jesus’s 12 disciples.)  JTB and his disciples seemed to wrestle with this same question we’ve been exploring when John was put into prison.  They seem to be wondering how could this bad thing happen to this good man? They seem to conclude, incorrectly, that maybe Jesus isn’t as powerful as He seems? Maybe He isn’t truly the Messiah, because if He was, He would surely free JTB, right?  Some of John the Baptist’s disciples come to Jesus’s disciples and ask about this:

Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples  and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 

Matthew 11:2-3 (ESV)

It seems as though JTB and his disciples are almost asking, ‘Hey?  If it’s really you, Messiah, um… You know Your boy JTB is in prison?  Are you the Messiah or should we look for someone else to fix this?”  And similar to the response we see God give Job, Jesus doesn’t answer their question directly by saying “Yes, I am the Messiah.  But you have some misunderstandings about what that means.”  Instead He points them to some of the prophecies about Himself including Isaiah 29:18.  With the prophesies, He is showing that yes, He is the Messiah.  But He also doesn't promise to immediately go and free John the Baptist.  Instead, He uses the prophecy- the truth in God’s Word, to both encourage JTB that He is the Messiah and to point him to the true hope that is promised in the prophecy. There is a type of freedom Jesus will bring, that is even better than being released from earthly prison.  With this prophecy, Jesus foreshadows the Good News of His Gospel.  

And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

Matthew 11:4-6 (ESV)

John the Baptist’s disciples may have walked away a little confused.  They may not have understood the prophecy and how Jesus was relating it back to Himself.  At the time JTB’s disciples approached Jesus, He was talking to a crowd of people.  And similar to what we see God say to Job’s friends, Jesus points out to the crowd that the bad things JTB is experiencing are not due to something exceptionally sinful that JTB has done.  Jesus acknowledges the relative goodness of JTB among people.  Jesus at the same time leaves JTB in prison.  He won’t let the crowd’s takeaway be that John the Baptist brought this upon himself. And at the end of verse 11, Jesus points at something more- true goodness is still to come.  Even the best of human goodness, as seen in JTBs life won’t be able to compare with the goodness to come for those who are trusting in Christ. The least of Christians has more goodness than the greatest of people because they are covered by Jesus’s goodness. 

As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.  What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written,

“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,

who will prepare your way before you.’

Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 

Matthew 11:7-11 (ESV)

Just like Abel, John the Baptist’s life seemed to end in defeat.  He was killed unjustly.  Beheaded by King Herod.  JTB’s followers went and told Jesus that he’d died and Jesus withdrew to be by Himself.  But God, in His providence, uses this moment of grief to set up the situation for the greatest of Jesus’s miracles so far. The crowds of people follow Jesus when He steps away after John’s death. Eventually they end up in a place where they are hungry and have no food.  Jesus feeds over 5,000 with just 2 fish and 5 loaves.  The sequence of events set off by JTB’s death allows Jesus’s power to be displayed at an entirely new level.

Although the king regretted it, he commanded that it be granted because of his oaths and his guests.  So he sent orders and had John beheaded in the prison.…

When Jesus heard about it, he withdrew from there by boat to a remote place to be alone. When the crowds heard this, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a large crowd, had compassion on them, and healed their sick.

When evening came, the disciples approached him and said, “This place is deserted, and it is already late. Send the crowds away so that they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”  

“They don’t need to go away,” Jesus told them.“You give them something to eat.”

“But we only have five loaves and two fish here,” they said to him.

Matthew 14:8-9; 13-17 (CSB)

In the moment, JTB’s life looked like one of loss and defeat.   He lives a life of being set apart.  He fasts.  He calls people to repent. He is killed unjustly.  His life looks from the outside like failure. Some may have said, ‘what was the point of him trying to be good?’ But as so often is the case in the Kingdom of God, things are different than they seem.   

John the Baptist’s calling was to be a type of new Elijah.  To prophesy about Jesus.  To point people to Jesus. Before he was ever born, this was the prophecy over JTB’s life. And God did just that with his life and with his death.  When JTB’s followers came to Jesus asking if He really was the Messiah, they thought the biggest blessing Jesus could give JTB would be to free him from his earthly prison.  To vindicate him before Herod and the people.  To give him a good earthly life.   But God’s plan to save JTB was so much bigger than rescuing him from Herod.  Jesus did free JTB from the prison of sin and one day, as with all who trust in Christ, JTB will be rescued even from death.  

What looked like something that was only bad- JTB’s unjust death, it turns out, God was using for good.

Thank you for reading.  This is the fifth in a multi part series on what the Bible says about why bad things happen to ‘good’ people. You can read Part 1 here.

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This copy in this article was written by a real person, me 🙂, not AI.

For true hope and joy,

~m