Sermon WoL 1 Peter 2:19-25 04-30-2023
Intro: Suffering screams aloud the biggest question of faith – WHY? While suffering was never God’s planned mission, he never-the-less gives it his permission – as in He allows it to take place. Back in 1940, C.S Lewis wrote a very challenging book called ‘The problem of pain’, in which he wrote ‘God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.’ As he did with Jesus so he may do with us – draw attention to the sufferer and his message.
God Calls Us into Christ’s Suffering
1. It was an Undeserved Suffering.
1.1 Unjust suffering mirrors the pathway and purpose of Christ. (v. 19) ILL.- Adoniram Judson, the renowned missionary to Burma, endured untold hardships trying to reach the lost for Christ. For 7 heartbreaking years he suffered hunger and privation. During this time he was thrown into Ava Prison, and for 17 months was subjected to almost incredible mistreatment. As a result, for the rest of his life he carried the ugly marks made by the chains and iron shackles which had cruelly bound him. Undaunted, upon his release he asked for permission to enter another province where he might resume preaching the Gospel. The godless ruler indignantly denied his request, saying, “My people are not fools enough to listen to anything a missionary might SAY, but I fear they might be impressed by your SCARS and turn to your religion!” That is true, Christ-like suffering! And it’s something that we American Christians know nothing about! We have definitely not suffered for Christ while witnessing for Him. Perhaps if we’d do more, preach more, witness more, we’d suffer more for His sake! Galatians 6:17 "For I carry on my body the scars of the whippings and wounds from Jesus’ enemies that mark me as His slave." The finest marks anyone can carry on their body are the marks of Jesus. Unjust suffering is Christ-like.
ILL.- Once when Bob Hope received a major award he responded, "I don’t deserve this, but then I have arthritis and I don’t deserve that either."
1.2 He was sinless in his life and thoughts. (v. 21b-22)
For us, he suffered – our Substitute What this verse says is that two things--not just one thing, but two things--were happening when Jesus suffered. One is found in the words, "Christ suffered FOR YOU." When Christ suffered--more than any of us have suffered--he was standing in your place. The word "for" (huper) is a simple word with profound meaning when used with the death of Christ. It proclaims the most wonderful truth known to man. Note this striking truth: it does not mean that Christ died only as an example for us, showing us how we should be willing to die for the truth or for some great cause. What it means is that Christ died in our place, in our stead, in our room, as our substitute. This meaning is unquestionably clear. The idea of sacrifice to the Jewish and pagan mind of that day was the idea of a life given in another’s place. It was a substitutionary sacrifice. The idea of sacrifice is often in the very context of the words, "Christ gave Himself for us" (Ephes. 5:2).
He was bearing your sins so that your condemnation became his and he took it away from you. The sufferings of your life in Christ are NOT condemnation for sin, they are discipline for holiness (1 Peter 1:6-7; Hebrews 12:3-11). The sufferings of Christians are not divine condemnation. That is precisely what Christ bore "for us" (1 Peter 2:24; Gal. 3:13). And that's why our sufferings come just as often from doing what's right as from doing what's wrong. It is not divine condemnation; it is divine CALLING!
For us, he suffered – our Example. = Note the word example. Christ has left us an "example" (hupogrammon). The word means the pattern of some picture or letter that a teacher gives to the pupil. The pattern is to be copied or reproduced. The idea is that an exact copy is to be made; every detail of the pattern is to be reproduced. The exhortation is that we are to be an exact copy of Christ; we are to follow the pattern of Christ in every detail.
epakolouthçsçte = The word "follow"is the picture of a guide leading us along a most difficult and rocky path, so difficult that we must actually put our feet in his footprints. We are to follow Christ step by step, moment by moment, and day by day. The whole of this letter from Peter is addressed to a church, which is being subjected to a constant pattern of suffering, injustice and social exclusion. Yet this whole letter is encouraging the church to submit, to be living sacrifices, live humbly and live for the purposes of God. Rejoice that you participate in sufferings and be commendable to bear the pain of unjust sufferings.
Has there ever been a time when this is further from the way of the world? A world when we are expected to put rights of the individual before duty, or service to others. A world where people chase ambulances to ensure accident victims claim large compensations. A world where doctors live in the threat of being sued as they try to heal and save lives. A world where the church is often seen as an irrelevant, hypocritical, homophobic institution.
Peter invites us to live under the pain of unjust suffering for one reason. It is the way of God. ‘To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.’ God IS involved in our suffering.
1.3 He did not sin in his words. (v. 22b)
App: The influence of Christ’s life on us means that we will not shirk the responsibility to speak the truth – even if it draws us into the line of fire. We may have to take “suffering” as a part of the testimony, but see how it leads us alongside him? Believers are called to suffer for Christ. What does this mean?
= Any person who follows Christ—who lives a pure and righteous life—is going to be rejected by the world. The world wants little to do with these. People want to live like they want and to do their own thing. Therefore, they ridicule, mock, ignore, abuse, bypass, ignore, and persecute anyone who lives a strict life of purity and righteousness.
= Any person who lives a self-denying life—who sacrifices all he is and has to meet the needs of a lost and dying world—is going to be rejected by the world. People are not willing to live unselfish and sacrificial lives to meet the needs of the poor, starving, diseased, and lost masses of the world. People want more and more comfort and recognition, possessions and pleasure, money and property. Therefore, they want little to do with a person who sacrifices and proclaims a message of sacrifice.
Remember the point: Christ has given us a great call—to follow Him and to suffer for Him and His cause even as He suffered for us. What is His cause? To love God supremely by living a holy life and to love the lost and dying of the world by meeting their desperate needs.
2. It was a Unique Suffering
2.1 Calm response in the face of cruelty proves his love. (v. 23a)
First, He was reviled, but He did not rail back at the attackers. The picture is that He was cursed, blasphemed, ridiculed, mocked, and railed at; but He bore it all willingly and voluntarily. He did not have to bear it. He was the Son of God, and He could have stopped everyone in their tracks. But He had come to save them, not to condemn them.
2.2 Compassionate comprehension of sin’s effect confirms his complete control. (23b) Second, He suffered, was abused, beaten, pushed around, and crowned with a crown of thorns; but He suffered it willingly. He did not even threaten the unbelievers and persecutors. Jesus had a choice to make, as he turned his face towards Jerusalem and chose to suffer unto death on the cross at Calvary. Peter had a choice to make, as he followed in the footsteps of Jesus and chose the path of suffering, right up until he died, reputedly also on a cross. I am so conscious that there is so much more that could be said about suffering, and from those that are so better qualified than I to talk about it.
2.3 Committed steps led him to the cross. (v. 23c) Third, He committed Himself to God knowing that God would vindicate Him. He knew that God judges righteously and fairly; therefore, He committed His life into the hands of God. The word "committed" (paredidou) means to hand over; to deliver into the hands of. Jesus Christ handed over His life to God; He delivered His life into the hands and keeping of God. Again, He did not have to suffer death, for He had the power to stop it all. But He had come to save men; therefore he willingly suffered, committing His death and cause into the hands of God. He knew that God would raise Him up and prove His claim to be the Son of God, the Savior of the world. Perhaps this insight is the most important for us to grasp hold of. John Stott, once said "I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross" God is not a god who is immune from suffering. Through the cross, Jesus is reconciling the world to himself.
App: Only one human being could carry the cross with this care and concern. He was not fighting a cause, he was conquering sin like a king. Jesus suffered in all the ways we suffer. He doesn’t just know about suffering – in modern street-language ‘Jesus does suffering.’ Knowing that God is there with us in suffering helps. If you like, in the words of the theologian, Moltmann, "it removes the suffering in suffering." We are not alone in pain.
Those who nailed Jesus to the cross intended it for evil – to take a life; but God intended it for good – the saving of many lives. God IS involved in our suffering. Do we believe that? So we too are called to embrace suffering in the way that Jesus did. Including the most difficult form of suffering – that which is unjust, not fair and wrong.
But like the art of cross carrying, Peter is not just talking about normal suffering here (if there is such a thing), or suffering in which we have to endure because there is no way out of it. He is actually inviting us to take a positive step by accepting unjust suffering, presumably a type of suffering where we can decide not to accept it, or to complain about it, or be resentful concerning it. I wonder in what circumstances today I might choose to suffer, or endure, for doing good?
3. It was an Unselfish Suffering
3.1 Jesus didn’t seek to spare his own life, but ours. (v. 24)
ILL.- Someone asked C.S. Lewis, "Why do the righteous suffer?" "Why not?" he replied. "They’re the only ones who can take it." Romans 8:18 "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." 2Cor. 4:16-18 "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory thatfar outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 1 Cor. 2:9 "However, as it is written: No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him."
3.2 Jesus has become our security. (v. 25)
So this is our calling, Peter says. Not to hurt back, not to plan to hurt back. And not to seethe with bitterness because you're not allowed to hurt back. So you can see this is not a simple rule to keep. This is a miracle to be experienced. It's a grace to be received. And it is the only way that many marriages can survive and flourish. Spouses can hurt each other worse than anybody else. And how many are consumed day and night with indignation and "justified" self-pity and numbing frustration that they are doing RIGHT and all they get is pain.
So where does this miracle come from? The overarching answer is found in verse 19: For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. The miracle happens--the grace comes--when we are conscious of God. It comes by reckoning with God. Including God in the equation of your relationship. What are we to think when we think of God in such situations of unjust hurt? The answer is given in verse 23: he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.
That is, he handed over to God the whole situation including himself and those abusing him and the hurt done and all the factors that made it a horrendous outrage of injustice that the most innocent man who ever lived should suffer so much. He trusted it all into God's hands as the one who would settle the matter justly someday. He said, "I will not carry the burden of revenge, I will not carry the burden of sorting out motives, I will not carry the burden of self-pity; I will not carry the burden of bitterness; I will hand all that over to God who will settle it all in a perfectly just way and I will pray, "Father, forgive them they don't know what they do" (Luke 23:34).
Conclusion: God uses suffering to draw us to Christ, and then to lend authority and authenticity to our “faith story.” Through suffering he uses us for his good purposes.
Do you believe, do you trust, that God sees every wrong done to you, that he knows every hurt, that he assesses motives and circumstances with perfect accuracy, that he is impeccably righteous and takes no bribes, and that he will settle all accounts with perfect justice. This is what it means to be "conscious of God" in the midst of unjust pain. If you believe this--if God is this real to you--then you will hand it over to God, and though nobody in the world may understand where your peace and joy and freedom to love is coming from, you know. The answer is God. And sooner or later they will know.