Following Christ Through Unjust Suffering

1 Peter 2:18–25

Big Idea: Christ’s suffering provides both our example and our salvation.

Peter has been explaining what it looks like for Christians to live faithfully as exiles in a watching world. He has called believers to resist sinful desires, live honorably among unbelievers, and submit to governing authorities for the Lord’s sake. Now Peter continues this discussion of submission by applying it to an especially difficult situation. He speaks to servants who were living under the authority of masters, including masters who treated them unjustly.

This raises an important question for every Christian: How should we respond when we are treated unfairly? It is relatively easy to respect someone who respects us or show kindness to someone who is kind to us. The difficulty comes when we are mistreated, insulted, falsely accused, or made to suffer for doing what is right. Peter's answer ultimately takes us to Jesus. Christ does not merely tell us how to suffer faithfully. He suffered before us, and his suffering did more than provide an example. Through his suffering, he accomplished our salvation.

The reality of unjust suffering (v18-20)

Peter begins, “Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect.” The servants Peter addresses lived under the authority of masters and often possessed little ability to change their circumstances. Peter's concern here is how Christians should live faithfully to God when they find themselves under authority, especially when that authority is unjust.

Peter makes the command especially difficult when he says they should submit “not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.” If Peter had only told them to submit to good and reasonable people, that would be understandable. Instead, he specifically includes those who are unjust. The Christian's responsibility before God is not ultimately determined by the character of the person exercising authority. We cannot say, “I will behave like a Christian as long as everyone else behaves the way they should.”

Peter explains, “For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly.” That phrase “mindful of God” is important. The believer lives with an awareness of God even while experiencing mistreatment. He remembers that God sees what is happening, God knows the truth, and ultimately his responsibility is to God. The Christian can remain faithful when people are unjust because he knows that God is not.

Peter is not saying that all suffering is commendable. He asks, “For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure?” There is a difference between suffering because we have done something wrong and suffering because we have done something right. Sometimes we experience the consequences of our own foolishness and call it persecution. If I lie and people stop trusting me, I am not suffering for righteousness. If I treat people badly and they do not want to be around me, I am not being persecuted for following Jesus.

Peter is talking about something different: “But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.” You do what is right, you suffer because of it, and you continue doing what is right. That is Christian endurance.

Application

One of our natural responses to mistreatment is to believe that someone else's sin gives us permission to sin in return. They insulted me, so I can insult them. They embarrassed me, so I can embarrass them. They were cruel to me, so I can be cruel back. Peter reminds us that the behavior of another person does not determine our responsibility before God.

This does not mean that Christians pretend evil is good or that abuse should be hidden. There are appropriate ways to seek protection and justice. Peter's point is that mistreatment never gives us permission to abandon faithfulness to God. When you are mocked for your faith, falsely accused, or treated badly for doing what is right, remember that God sees. The question is not simply, “How are they treating me?” but “How can I remain faithful to God in the way that I respond?”

The example of Christ’s suffering (v21-23)

Peter now gives us the ultimate example of suffering faithfully: “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.” Suffering for doing good is not necessarily evidence that something has gone wrong. Christians follow a Savior who was himself rejected and suffered unjustly.

Peter then draws from Isaiah 53 to describe Jesus: “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.” No one has ever suffered more unjustly than Jesus. We may sometimes suffer for something we did not do, but none of us can claim complete innocence before God. Jesus could. He never sinned. There was no deceit in him, yet he was betrayed, falsely accused, mocked, beaten, spit upon, and crucified.

Peter wants us to pay particular attention to the way Jesus responded. “When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten.” Jesus did not respond to insult with insult. He did not respond to suffering with threats. This does not mean Jesus was powerless. The one being mocked was the Son of God. He possessed all authority, yet he refused to retaliate.

Instead, Jesus “continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.” This is the key to understanding how Jesus endured unjust suffering. He trusted his Father. The people around him judged him unjustly, but he knew the Father never would. He did not need to take vengeance into his own hands because he knew that ultimately justice belonged to God.

Application

Nothing comes more naturally to us than wanting to defend ourselves. We want people to know when we are right. We want to correct every false accusation, win every argument, and sometimes make the person who hurt us experience some of the hurt they caused us. We can replay conversations in our minds thinking about what we should have said or what we could do to get even.

Peter tells us to look at Jesus. He was reviled and did not revile in return. He suffered and did not threaten. He entrusted himself to the One who judges justly. Following Jesus means learning to place justice in God's hands.

Romans 12:19

Refusing revenge does not mean that what happened does not matter. It means that we trust God with justice. We do not have to answer every insult or personally make everyone pay for what they have done to us. We can continue doing good because God sees and God judges justly.

But if we stop here, we miss the greatest truth in this passage. Jesus is more than our example. If Jesus only showed us how to suffer, we would still be lost. We do not merely need someone to show us how to live. We need someone to save us from our sin.

The victory accomplished through Christ’s suffering (v24-25)

Peter says, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree.” This is the heart of the gospel. The suffering of Jesus was not merely an example of an innocent man being treated unjustly. Jesus suffered for a purpose. He bore our sins.

Peter continues drawing from Isaiah 53, where the suffering servant is described as being pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities. Isaiah says, “the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Peter tells us that this was fulfilled in Jesus. Jesus did not go to the cross because of his sin. He had none. He went to the cross because of ours.

This is what makes the injustice of the cross so incredible. The sinless One suffered for sinners. The righteous One took the place of the unrighteous. Jesus bore in himself the judgment our sins deserve. The cross was not simply an example of sacrificial love. It was a sacrifice for sin.

Peter tells us why Christ did this: “that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.” Jesus did not die merely to change where we will spend eternity while leaving the rest of our lives untouched. He died to free us from the guilt and power of sin. This connects with everything Peter has been saying throughout the letter. We have been born again, redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, and called out of darkness into his marvelous light. The gospel both forgives us and transforms us.

Peter continues, “By his wounds you have been healed.” He explains this healing in the next verse: “For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” Our greatest problem is not simply that difficult things happen to us. Our greatest problem is that because of sin we have wandered away from God.

This is especially important in a passage about being sinned against. It is easy to divide the world into innocent people and wicked people when someone has wronged us. Peter brings us to the cross and reminds us that although there are times when we suffer because of the sins of others, we are also sinners who need grace. We do not simply need God to deal with the sin around us. We need him to deal with the sin within us.

That is exactly what Jesus has done. He bore our sins in his body on the cross. By his wounds we are healed. We were wandering sheep, separated from the God who made us, but through Christ we can be forgiven and brought back to our Shepherd.

Application

This is what separates Christianity from simply trying to become a better person. Christianity does not begin with, “Follow Jesus' example and try harder.” If that were the message, none of us could be saved. Jesus committed no sin, but we have sinned. There was no deceit in his mouth, but we have lied. Jesus refused retaliation, while we become angry over far smaller things. If Jesus were only our example, his perfect life would simply reveal how far short we have fallen.

But Jesus is not only our example. He is our Savior. The One whose steps we have failed to follow is the One who bore our sins. The gospel is not that we become enough like Jesus that God finally accepts us. The gospel is that Jesus did what we could never do. He lived the righteous life we have failed to live, died the death our sin deserves, and rose from the dead. Our salvation rests in what Christ has done.

If you have never trusted in Christ, the answer to your sin is not simply promising that you will do better. Turn from your sin and trust in the Savior who bore sin on the cross. The wandering sheep can be brought home. The guilty can be forgiven. Those separated from God can be reconciled to him because Jesus suffered in the place of sinners.

And for those who already belong to Christ, the gospel gives us the strength to follow his example. We can forgive because we have been forgiven. We can show grace because we have received grace. We can refuse to repay evil with evil because Christ has shown mercy to us. We can entrust ourselves to God because we belong to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls.

Conclusion

Peter begins this passage with a difficult reality: sometimes you can do what is right and still suffer. Faithfulness to God does not guarantee that everyone will treat you fairly. You may do good and be misunderstood. You may tell the truth and still be falsely accused. You may show kindness and receive cruelty in return. You may follow Christ and discover that following him costs you something.

Peter does not promise that faithfulness will remove suffering. Instead, he points us to Jesus. Christ shows us how to suffer faithfully. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten. He entrusted himself to the One who judges justly. So when we are mistreated, we can follow in his steps. We do not have to allow someone else's sin to become an excuse for our own. We can continue doing good and entrust ourselves to God.

But Peter does not simply tell us to look at Jesus and imitate him. He tells us to look at Jesus and trust him. The suffering of Jesus accomplished something our suffering never could: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree.”

Jesus is not merely the innocent sufferer who shows us how to respond when people hurt us. He is the Savior who suffered in our place. We were the wandering sheep. We were separated from God by our sin. But Christ bore our sins so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds we have been healed, and through him we have been brought back to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls.

So when you suffer unjustly, remember Jesus. Follow his example by refusing sinful retaliation and entrusting yourself to the God who judges justly. But even more importantly, trust in what Jesus accomplished through his suffering. The Savior who left us an example is the same Savior who bore our sins and brought us back to God.

Christ’s suffering provides both our example and our salvation.