Sermon by Pastor Robert Green, Sunday, 2011, Yr. A, No. 876, vacation, Ascension Evangelical
Lutheran Church, W.E.L.S., Harrisburg, Grace Through Christ, Lewisburg, PA, based on 1 Peter 2:19-25
If one child gets a bigger piece of candy than another one does, what do you expect to hear? "It's not fair." "It's not fair" is spoken as if there is some cosmic scheme that demands and ensures that everything is fair. “It’s not fair” is based on the thought that no one ought not to suffer unjustly. While children will complain when even little things are not fair, serious things in life can be very unfair. Like when someone is past over for a promotion only because the other one is younger or when because of the misbehavior of one person a whole group is punished or when someone is falsely accused of crime. How should a Christian handle unjust suffering?
In his First Letter, Peter was writing to Christians who were suffering horribly because of severe persecution by the Roman Empire, which resulted in many Christians being killed or enslaved. Evil laws gave the most brutal powers to slave masters. The context of the reading for today is Peter's admonition to Christian slaves to obey their masters and to graciously suffer unjust punishment from them. Peter had good reason to write to Christians about the suffering of slavery because in the first century by the far the single largest class of Christian converts was slaves. For the most part the wealthy and free were more interested in courting favor from Roman Emperors and so would not convert.
While writing to Christian slaves, Peter also addresses how Christians are to endure suffering. Llisten to God's admonishment to you to walk In the footsteps of the Shepherd of your Soul! Who graciously suffered unjustly for you; that you might graciously endure unjust suffering! Hear the words of 1 Peter 2:19-25: "For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. 20 But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 22 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” 23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls."
Walk In the footsteps of the Shepherd of your Soul!
- Who graciously suffered unjustly for you;
Peter says in part, "But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.”Peter gives you the reason Christians are to endure suffering for doing good in saying Christ suffered for you and he points out Jesus left his life of obedience and suffering to you as an example. Literally, the word for example here means to have a drawing that would be placed under another sheet and traced. It is how ancient children learned to draw the Greek alphabet. Christ left you his pattern of suffering so that you could copy it by walking in his footsteps. God calls the believer to endure suffering for doing good not to be saved, but because you have been saved.
The pattern, this example, Christ gave you is his ownunjust suffering and death.Peter masterfully puts the issue of suffering unjustly into perspective, by showing us the greatest unjust suffering the world has ever seen. When you experience unjust suffering think about Christ. Jesus suffered in many ways. For one thing, he, as the Most Holy God, suffered by taking on human flesh and blood to live among sinners, most of whom had no spiritual understanding or faith, for thirty-three years. Then the suffered the most unjust of all deaths, his spiritual death; suffered not because he deserved it, but only because he bore all your sins upon the tree of the cross.
Take note of how did Jesus reacted to this most unjust suffering. Did he as the most powerful God that he was and is use his powers to destroy those who made him suffer? Did he scorn them? Absolutely not! Listen to what Peter says,“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” 23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly." Rather than complain about the unjust treatment he received at the hands of leaders of Israel, the Roman governnor and his soldiers, as well as his own people deserting him, Jesus said, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they are doing." He did not retaliate or make threats, he simply suffered in silence. Jesus entrusted or committed himself to God when he said, "Father into your hands I commend my Spirit."
What does this have to do with you? By and because of Christ's unjust suffering, you who once were separated from God because of sin, have now returned to your Good Shepherd and the Overseer of your souls. Now you are called to be like him who in the face of the greatest unjust suffering imaginable, instead of making threats or complaints, endured the suffering and then committed himself to his Father, his Judge who judges justly. He left revenge and justice up to God the Father. This is the pattern and example you are to follow! But who can say they have acted like Christ in the face of unjust suffering. We all have sinned in this, but thanks be to our Savior we have the complete forgiveness of sins.
- that you might graciously endure unjust suffering!
In the face of unjust suffering, God also wants you to endure with the grace unjust suffering that may come your way, without complaint, and to entrust all matters into the hands of your Father in heaven, who judges justly. Jesus died to save you and so that you might die to sin and live for righteousness. You died to sin only because of the grace that Jesus had for you in taking away your sins by unjustly suffering the penalty for every one of them and giving you new life through faith in him. Once you came to faith, you died to sin in the sense that your sinful nature no longer controlled you. Now you live in righteousness in the sense that you now are spiritually alive in Christ and can try to live a God-pleasing life. To live for righteousness means living for God and not for yourself, to live to do what is God-pleasing instead of what is self-pleasing. God gives you every reason to do so, telling you, ""by his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls."
How are you to live for righteousness? One way is how you live your life in the face of unjust suffering. As Peter says, in the verses before the reading for today: "Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. 13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. 16 Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. 17 Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king. 18 Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh." God wants you to show the same gracious, undeserved love, especially when enduring unjust suffering, to all around you so that they may be lead to glorify God as they listen to why you live as you do.
Peter defines grace for us in this reading. Where the NIV translation says, "For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscience of God," the Greek more literally says, "for this is grace, if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscience of God." Grace literally means having undeserved love or favor for someone. The NIV translation tries to capture that picture by saying it is commendable if a man bears up under unjust suffering out of his conscience of God. Being consience of God means knowing God and what God wants. When someone endures unjust suffering he or she acts in grace, for a person endures unjust suffering this way out of love for God and for all others. To according to what God wants of us is an act of grace and is commendable before God. It is most gracious to live like Christ and not retaliate or threaten those who unfairly treat you.
Peter points that it is not much to your credit if you suffer justly for doing wrong. He says,"But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it?" After all, then you are getting what you deserve. But if you endure suffering for doing good, then it is commendable, again gracious, before God. Though not one of us can truly act gracious this way, at most we can only try our best, God will look upon our efforts at enduring unjust suffering and call it a gracious act before him. Why act so graciously? Because, as Peter says, "to this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps."
God did not call you to be selfish, to be worried about justice in this life, or to do everything you can to avoid unjust suffering. He does not want to hear you cry, "It's not fair!" Rather, he wants you to accept what comes in life knowing that he has graciously suffered in your place to give you eternal life. That does not mean that we are to go out seeking unjust suffering, or to never act to rightly avoid suffering, but what it means is that when suffering comes your way, and it is not fair, to remember what the Lord did for for you, and then be gracious in how you deal with that suffering. All of this is done for the sake of the Kingdom of Christ, that in all you do, you might advance the kingdom.
After all, when you endure unjust suffering graciously, that might lead someone watching to ask why giving you the pleasure and opportunity to tell about Jesus and his unjust suffering for them. Instead of crying, "It's not fair" the next time you suffer unjustlywalk In the footsteps of the Shepherd of your Soul! Who graciously suffered unjustly for you; that you might graciously endure unjust suffering! To God be all glory, amen!