Yet, undeniably, our all-powerful God permitted the Holocaust to
occur. We do not believe or even dare to think that God brought
the Holocaust as a judgement upon the Jewish people, as some
have claimed. However, while God may be all-powerful, He has
also endowed humanity with the freedom to make choices that
sometimes bring about frightful results. For some reason beyond
our comprehension, God allowed Hitler and his minions to act
in the most reprehensible manner without obviously intervening
on behalf of His chosen people and the millions of others who
suffered at the time. God was there, but so was man, capable
of great evil. Why did God not put a stop to the attempted
destruction of the Jewish people? This is a mystery beyond our
ability to understand that we might never be able to solve.
So, where was God during the Holocaust? Was He merely
standing on the sidelines, helplessly wringing His all-powerful
hands? Based upon our understanding of God’s capacity and
willingness to suffer on behalf of and with His people, we assert
that He was suffering alongside those mercilessly murdered by
the enemies of the God of Israel. It is one of the most compelling
characteristics of the gospel—our God suffers with us and for
us. He allows mankind to make choices. Sometimes they are
evil choices with terrible consequences. And He bears those
consequences with us. Calvary teaches us that God loves us and
suffers for us and with us for a higher purpose we might never
understand in this life.
This idea is exemplified by the response of the Savior to the death
of Lazarus and the mourning of his family and friends. When
Jesus visited Bethany after Lazarus had been dead for four days,
the Messiah encountered a community grieving the death of a
brother and friend. The Apostle writes:
When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who
came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit
and was troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?” They
38 | Never Again: A Holocast Remembered