“Suffering for the Sake of Christ” 1 Peter
2.19-25, Easter 4A, May ‘20
1.
Grace,
mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. The message from God’s
Word this 4th Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday, is taken from
1 Peter 2:19-25 and is entitled, “Suffering for the Sake of Christ,” dear
brothers and sisters in Christ.
2.
Most
every Sunday School child sooner or later hears about Daniel and his
life-threatening experience in the lions’ den. What may have been missed is why
the king ordered Daniel to be treated in this way. Out of jealousy, Daniel’s
fellow rulers persuaded King Darius to issue a decree forbidding prayers to
anyone except the king. Violators would be thrown into the lions’ den. In spite
of this, Daniel continued to pray to the Lord three times a day. Reluctantly,
Darius had to carry out the punishment. Of course, Daniel was saved from harm,
but for doing a good thing—praying—he suffered.
3.
So,
St. Peter writes in his epistle today for Good Shepherd Sunday about suffering
for the sake of Christ Jesus our Lord. 1 Peter 2:19–25 says, “19For this is a
gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering
unjustly. 20For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you
endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a
gracious thing in the sight of God. 21For to this you have been called, because
Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow
in his steps. 22He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.
23When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did
not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24He
himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and
live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25For you were
straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your
souls.”
4.
“But
if you suffer for doing good. . . . this is commendable before
God.” Peter’s words to the Christian slaves must have upset them. Several
times in his epistle he states that painful treatment is bound to happen not
only at the hands of their masters, but by others as well. In all fairness it just doesn’t seem right,
even to us today. Being good and doing good should result in blessing and
reward. The historian H. G. Wells complained that Christians were
basically selfish, forever looking for God’s favor. They serve him, but not for
nothing.
5.
Living
a decent life in word and deed has its consequences, and many are desirable. Just
as a person can’t separate the wetness from water or the softness from
feathers. Psalm chapter 1 specifically states, “Blessed is the
man . . . [whose] delight is in the law of the
Lord. . . . Whatever he does prospers.” But not always. Job,
for example, “was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil”
(Job 1:1). But Satan was permitted to unhitch the goodness of Job to the
prosperity that resulted from it, only to show the Devil to be wrong, even
though Job lost family, property, and his own health.
6.
“To
this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example,
that you should follow in his steps. . . . When they
hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate” (2:21, 23). Certainly, the abuse suffered by the
Christian slaves must have not been taken lightly. The temptation to lie in
wait and plot revenge could hardly be absent. Peter knew all about that. The
scene in the Garden Gethsemane where he drew his sword in order to defend Jesus
was all too familiar to him (John 18:10 & Matt. 26:51-52).
7.
Nor
did the other disciples find it easy to turn the other cheek (Lk 6:29). When
they went to a Samaritan village to ready things for their Master, they were
not welcomed. So, James and John asked Jesus, “Lord, do you want us to call
fire down from heaven to destroy them?” For this vengeful spirit Jesus
found it necessary to rebuke them (Lk 9:51–55). Even Joseph’s brothers, who had
sold him into slavery, were expecting the worst when they recognized him as the
powerful prime minister of Egypt. His forgiveness and later actions to take
care of them and their families stand out as one of the most magnificent
accounts of undeserved mercy in the Old Testament.
8.
So,
Peter introduces the mistreated slaves to the example of Jesus Christ, who was
merciful and forgiving toward those who abused him—a most striking
demonstration of love. Not only are they to stifle threats of retaliation, they
are to take positive steps in dealing with their tormentors (read 3:9–12). Peter writes in 1 Peter 3:9-12, “9Do not repay evil
for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you
were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10For “Whoever desires
to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips
from speaking deceit; 11let him turn away from evil and do good; let
him seek peace and pursue it. 12For the eyes of the Lord are on the
righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is
against those who do evil.”
9.
It’s
not the way of the world. There are daily instances of refusals to forgive,
much less to forget. For more than 15 years a drunk driver who killed a
16-year-old girl has been sending a check for $1 every week to her parents, who
requested it. The judge had so ordered it. At first the driver wanted to write
all the checks at once, but they refused to settle for that. Then he tried to
send a dollar bill each week, but this also was unacceptable to the parents. The
daughter’s name appears on each check. “At least once a week for 18 years
he’ll remember what he did,” they said.
10.
We
as Christians in America are seeing some threats to our own religious freedoms
in the midst of our Covid-19 Pandemic. Unclear
restrictions make inconsistent enforcement by government nearly inevitable.
This is especially true when local officials have an agenda and see an
opportunity to take advantage of a crisis to crack down on groups they don’t
like, including religious ones. For instance, during the month of April in
Charlotte and Greensboro, North Carolina, Christians were arrested for praying
outside abortion clinics, even though they were obeying local distancing orders.
11.
Also,
in the month of April, the mayor of Louisville, KY, attempted to bar a church
from holding a drive-in service, where congregation members were socially
distancing themselves. A federal judge sided with the church, writing in his
opinion that, “On Holy Thursday, an American mayor criminalized the communal
celebration of Easter.” Kristen
Waggoner, vice-president of the Alliance Defending Freedom, has said that her
organization is receiving about 100 calls a day from churches and other
ministries about COVID-19 related issues, asking for help in understanding and
complying with federal, state, county, and municipal orders. The
most important thing to remember, as Waggoner stated is that First Amendment
rights can’t be suspended permanently. This is why the threat from New York
City Mayor Bill de Blasio to permanently close some churches even after the
crisis is ridiculous.
12.
“He
himself bore our sins in his body on the tree.” During World War I, German citizens living in
England were directed by their Kaiser to join the German army in Paris. While
one of the citizens was wondering what to do, he spoke about the situation with
an acquaintance. One thing led to another until he came out with an offer of a
large sum of money if the acquaintance would take his place. He accepted the
offer, went to Paris, and joined the German troops. Only a few days after his
arrival he was killed by a French shell. Back in England the man who paid him
to take his place reasoned, “In the eyes of the law, I am dead. Germany has
no further claim on me.”
13.
So
too, Jesus became our Substitute and, as we heard last Sunday, paid the
full price for our sins, his precious blood, his very life. We are no longer
slaves to sin, no longer slaves by fear of death, no longer held captive by the
devil (Heb 2:14–15). They have no claim on us.
The full significance of Christ taking our place as our substitute could
hardly be better expressed than in the words of Martin Luther: “He sent His
Son into the world, heaped all the sins of all men upon Him, and said to Him: ‘Be
Peter the denier; Paul the persecutor, blasphemer, and assaulter; David the
adulterer; the sinner who ate the apple in Paradise; the thief on the cross. In
short, be the person of all men, the one who has committed the sins of all men.
And see to it that You pay and make satisfaction for them’” (Luther’s
Works, 26:280).
14.
Christ’s
willing self-submission was the way in which he redeemed the human race. Peter
refers three times to Isaiah chapter 53, the great story of the Suffering
Servant of the Lord, whose humble self-sacrifice brought life and healing to
all who believe in him. He bore our sins in his body on the tree—and this not
only to give us forgiveness but so that we might die to sin and live for
righteousness. This is the mystery of the process of sanctification—as we
grow in faith and understanding, our lives become more Christlike. Our own
troubles and sufferings are transformed from misery into ministry.
15.
Peter’s
final words in chapter 2 comfort suffering Christians who might think that
their sufferings prove they have been abandoned. When we come to faith, Jesus
accepts a solemn responsibility toward us. He commits himself to be our Good
Shepherd, that is, the one who takes
responsibility to guide, protect, and feed his sheep. He is also our overseer, the one who watches over
Israel, who never slumbers nor sleeps, the one who will bring us from this sad
world to a better one of his own making.
16.
Having
been released from the guilt and burden of sin and all its consequences, we are
still living in a world hostile toward God’s people. Because of the inheritance
for which we wait, we will, having been raised with Christ, set our “minds
on things above, not on earthly things” (Col 3:2). “Since Christ
suffered in his body, [we] arm [ourselves] with the same attitude, because he
who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, [we do] not live
the rest of [our] earthly [lives] for evil human desires, but rather for the
will of God” (4:1–2). Amen. Now the peace of God that passes all
understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus until life
everlasting. Amen.
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