1 Peter 3:17,18
Suffering Like Jesus

1. It is better to suffer for doing good than evil
   1. If suffering should be God's will
      1. Like last week where Peter says, even if (for some unfathomable reason) they should ridicule and even physically assault you because you are eager for good — even then you are (still) blessed (3:14)
      2. So this week, same kind of grammar (optative) — if (unlikely as it sounds) suffering should be God's will for you, then make it your aim to suffer for good rather than evil.
      3. He is not, I remind you, suggesting that suffering is a remote possibility
         1. He has already admitted they are grieved by various trials (1:6)
         2. He speaks of their "maligning you as evildoers" as a foregone conclusion (2:12, 3:16)) and urges you to do good in order to silence them (2:14) and to be ready to explain your hope (3:16)
         3. He says they shouldn't be surprised that they're undergoing such a fiery trial (4:12) and says they are suffering "according to the will of God" (4:19)
         4. And his closing benediction promises eternal glory "after you have suffered awhile."
      4. In this, Peter is solidly in the NT tradition
         1. Jesus — In the world you have trouble
         2. Paul — All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
      5. But by speaking this way, he admits that there is something unfathomable about the will of God in allowing the righteous to suffer (but says we should expect that because that is the pattern left by Jesus).
   2. Then make it your aim to suffer for good
      1. Peter says, as long as you have to suffer, it's better to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
      2. Suffering, then, is a given. He's not offering a third option in which you can do right and not suffer. That's not being held out.
      3. But rather, he's saying there is a difference in types of suffering
         1. If we tell our children, "If you disobey, I'm going to spank you. But if you obey . . . I'm still going to spank you," it hardly seems worth their while to obey. They say, forget it then, I'll just do whatever I feel like.
         2. He writes to those who see all suffering as a sign of God's disfavor. He must disabuse them of that notion
         3. But contrary to that intuition, Peter says, that all suffering is not equal. It's better to do right than wrong, even though you may not notice a difference in the outward result in this life.
      4. He writes to the subjects of the Roman governors — oppressed, taxed, unenfranchised
         1. You could get an early start on your kingly status in Christ by fomenting revolution or rebelling in quieter ways like cheating on your taxes since the gov't doesn't have a right to it anyway.
         2. But those who do that will deserve whatever punishment the gov't hands out
         3. Peter says it's better to receive the identical punishment and not deserve it. Why?!
      5. He writes to slaves, some of whose masters beat them harshly
         1. The temptation is to escape or get together a slaves' rebellion and murder the master (who deserves it after all) or at least to pilfer from the cash box and gossip about what a lousy master he is. (Are we so different today?)
         2. But when the master finds out and beats you, what reward do you have?
         3. Peter says its better to receive the same severity of beating without deserving it. Why?!
      6. He writes to wives whose unbelieving husbands ridicule their religion and mistreat them because of it
         1. The temptation is to talk back, to tell that man just what you think of his fatheaded superstitions — to be as abusive as you can in return
         2. But it's better to endure such abuse silently, not vindicating yourself or trying to get out of your subordinate position. Why?!
      7. Why is there a dime's worth of difference between suffering for doing good or for doing evil? The philosophers could never answer that question; but Peter can.
2. For Christ also suffered as a righteous man
   1. Christ himself suffered even though righteous
      1. Take a moment to savor the strangeness of that thought — Christ suffered
         1. Here is a mystery that the prophets strained to understand, that angels longed to look into
         2. How can a righteous man suffer? What is he suffering for?
         3. What had he done to deserved that crown of thorns and the whip biting into his back? Why should nails pierce his hands and feet? Why should he hang there on the cross, every breath an agony, ridiculed by men, deserted by his friends, cut off from his Father's fellowship?
      2. Christ suffered for sins
         1. His own? Certainly not!
            1. "For the transgressions of my people," Peter means
            2. It was the righteous for the unrighteous
         2. He took the sins of his people on himself and bore the punishment for them. But he did not deserve that punishment; we did.
         3. So here he is, held up as an example of being punished for crimes he didn't commit.
         4. And Peter says, if we must suffer, we should suffer the way Christ did, as a righteous man, unjustly accused
      3. He suffered once
         1. Once for all
            1. Why should you suffer for your own sins when Christ has suffered for them? Can they get any more paid for that way?
            2. You've been freed, rather from having to suffer for your sins; so live as free men, doing what is right and fearing nothing.
         2. Once, and now it's over
            1. This gives you an eschatology, a hope.
            2. If you suffer like Christ, suffering will not be the final word for you either
   2. And our salvation was the aim of his suffering
      1. He did this that he might bring his people to God
         1. He (obviously) didn't do this because he enjoyed it.
         2. But he had an aim that is very close to our hearts.
         3. The Father had set his love upon a people whose hearts were far from him
         4. Jesus suffered that this gap might be closed and we should stand in the presence of God and live.
         5. Were you worth it? You know better than to think so.
         6. Oh the deep riches of the grace of God in Christ!
      2. Just as the salvation of our detractors is our aim (e.g. 3:1)
         1. We hope they will glorify God in the last day in a positive sense (2:12)
         2. So we entrust those who hate us to a righteous judge by crying out "Father forgive them!"
3. And he died but was raised again
   1. Christ suffered the ultimate penalty and was rewarded with eternal glory
      1. He was "put to death in the flesh"
         1. His mortal body gave up his spirit and he was laid in a grave
         2. He died, even though he was a righteous man, the ultimate paradox (for death is only for the wicked)
         3. His enemies had done everything that was in their power to do; they had killed his body and thus removed him from the realm of this present world.
         4. If Christ suffered even to the point of death, shall we not be willing to suffer (when we have not yet resisted even to the point of shedding blood in our struggle against sin)?
         5. What can they do to us that is worse than what they did to Christ?
         6. And if Christ was willing to do this on behalf of those who were God's enemies, may we not suffer at the hands of our enemies without hating them or wishing them ill?
      2. But if he'd remained dead, the only testimony we'd have is that Christ suffered and died because he deserved to (and so should we). None of this example means anything without the resurrection.
      3. But he was "made alive in the spirit"
         1. Doesn't mean "his soul stayed alive even though his body was dead"
         2. The word Peter uses always refers to the resurrection of the body.
         3. Jesus died with respect to this decaying world and this mortal life
         4. He was raised again imperishable with glory. He cannot die again. He will never suffer. The words "Jesus wept" are in the past; he will never weep again. The victory is his; eternal life has been gained!
         5. We can follow his example with confidence because suffering was not the final word for him.
   2. His example is our assurance
      1. Christ suffered even to death and was resurrected to glory.
      2. Nothing the world levels against us can take away that hope of resurrection.
         1. Do not fear what man says about you
         2. Do not fear what man can do to you
         3. If suffering should be God's will, then suffer like Christ (righteously)
         4. For in this way you will remind yourself and one another of the hope of glory and you will testify of that to those who don't believe.
      3. No judgment of men can affect the judgment of God which has already been made in Christ.

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