Discovering The Jewish Jesus Audio Podcast - Why Do Christians Suffer? | A Baptism of Love

March 27, 2026·24 min·2 clips

Rabbi Schneider reveals the Shulamite bride's radical prayer to let Jesus do whatever he wants with her life.

This episode of Discovering The Jewish Jesus features Rabbi Schneider continuing his series "A Baptism of Love" by examining Christian suffering through the Song of Songs. He focuses on the Shulamite bride's surrender in chapter four as a model for believers. The rabbi analyzes her prayer in verse 4:16, where she invites the north and south winds to awaken her garden for her beloved. He interprets King Solomon as a prophetic representation of Jesus and the bride's yielding as giving God full permission over her life. Schneider cites James and Acts to assert that various trials are necessary to enter God's kingdom and claim one's inheritance. The episode then transitions to chapter five, where Jesus responds to the bride's surrender by entering her garden and inviting others to "imbibe deeply." A key moment occurs when Jesus knocks, presenting himself with hair drenched in dew, which Schneider identifies as the Jesus of Gethsemane. He connects this to Paul's desire in Philippians to know Christ through the fellowship of His sufferings. The bride then experiences a period where she searches but cannot find Jesus, mirroring His feeling of abandonment on the cross. Schneider emphasizes that she remained faithful in praise despite this absence and rejection from her peers, whom he calls the "daughters of Jerusalem." Her passionate praise in Song of Songs 5:10-16, describing Jesus as "dazzling and ruddy," eventually converts her skeptical friends. Schneider explains that Jesus is later described as pastoring his flock, linking intimacy with Him to a life of service. The most surprising claim centers on Song of Songs 6:5, where Jesus tells the bride, "Turn your eyes away from me, for they have confused me." Schneider states this reveals God has voluntarily placed Himself in a position where human love can affect and overwhelm Him. He argues this shows believers possess the power to grieve or bring joy to the Holy Spirit. The teaching concludes that strength and stable joy come from walking in faith and love during difficult circumstances, not from worldly happiness. The tone is pastoral, instructional, and deeply devotional, blending biblical exegesis with personal application and prayer. Listeners seeking a mystical or intimate perspective on Christian suffering and divine love will appreciate this episode. Those preferring strictly historical or non-charismatic Bible teaching might find its allegorical interpretations less compelling.

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Click Here For Full Schedule