Our Savior's Example in Suffering
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He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When 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.
1 Peter 2:
I. Christ Suffered Without Sinning.
I. Christ Suffered Without Sinning.
He committed no sin,
He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.
This is hard for us to comprehend. As redeemed sinners who battle the flesh daily, hour by hour, minute by minute we cannot imagine committing no sin. Not that we want to commit sin, but we know the reality of the natural man and women that lives within us.
It is also hard to understand remaining sinless when suffering comes. What is the old saying “adversity doesn’t build character it reveals it.” We see it happen all the time in others and in ourselves. Trouble comes and we respond in one of two ways, sinfully or biblically.
We respond with anger or a Christlike attitude .
We respond with hate or with humility.
We respond with mercy or with malice.
We respond with loathing or with love.
You get the picture. But when Christ suffered,
He committed no sin,
It was by His sinlessness that Jesus qualified Himself as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. However, our salvation requires two aspects of redemption. It was not only necessary for Jesus to be our substitute and receive the punishment due for our sins; He also had to fulfill the law of God perfectly to secure the merit necessary for us to receive the blessings of God’s covenant. Jesus not only died as the perfect for the imperfect, the sinless for the sinful, but He lived the life of perfect obedience required for our salvation.
Jesus Christ was born without sin. This is why his virgin birth is so important. He could not be born through Adam, because he would have inherited the same sin nature we inherited.
Jesus lived a sinless life for 33 years on this earth. He committed no sin as a child, but instead taught the Scriptures with authority.
Jesus suffered a unjust, cruel, sacrificial death and committed no sin. Consider all that happened leading up to the cross.
The Jewish leaders plotted against Jesus
Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him.
Matthew
2. Judas betrayed Jesus
Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself. But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money.” So they took counsel and bought with them the potter’s field as a burial place for strangers. Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.”
3. Judges unjustly accused and tried Jesus
Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered. And Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat with the guards to see the end. Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death, but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward and said, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.’ ” And the high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your judgment?” They answered, “He deserves death.” Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him, saying, “Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?”
Matthew 26:
4. Jesus Cruel and Unjust punishment by the Roman Soldiers.
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him. As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross. And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. Then they sat down and kept watch over him there. And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.
Matthew 27
Yes through all of this, Jesus committed no sin,
Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him.
John
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
When Christ suffered we He committed, not one evil thought, not one unrighteous action or attitude, not one vengeful response. Jesus suffered perfectly as our substitute.
Dan Doriani explain it this way,
1 Peter The Model of Christlike Service
Peter lived with Jesus all day for three years. If Jesus had grabbed tasty morsels of fish for himself or exploded in frustration at his thickheaded disciples, Peter would have known. But Peter never saw Jesus stray in deed or word. He never got upset unjustly, never made a bad decision, never got a laugh at another person’s expense. His proper self-interest was never tainted by selfishness.
Why is this so important? For to this you have been called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you and example to follow in His steps.
Notice not only did Christ suffer without sin,
II. Christ Suffered Without Lying.
II. Christ Suffered Without Lying.
He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.
Peter continues to explain the perfection of Christ’s suffering. It may just be me, but there is imagery here of someone opening Christ’s mouth and inspecting it, looking for lies, looking for anything they can find to accuse and convict Christ. But Peters says there was none to be found. No matter how hard you look, no matter how thorough you examine you will never find any deceit in Christ mouth our coming out of the mouth of Jesus.
Even in the midst of suffering Jesus Christ maintained holy talk, pure communication, He spoke without sinning. He spoke with truth and grace. He speech was seasoned with salt and provided light to all who would listen. But one thing He could never be condemned of was a lying tongue and untruthful talk.
Peter not only witnessed Christ truthful speech for three years. He is also pointing us back to Christ fulfillment of
And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Isaiah
Christ not only suffered without sin he suffered while maintaining perfectly honest speech. How hard is this for us to grasp? Suffering can cause us to say things that are rude, mean, hateful, dishonest, and full of hypocrisy. We struggle with maintaining perfectly honest speech. If you look in our mouth hard enough you will find it.
That is why I am never excited about going to Dr. Crowe’s office. Every time he examines my mouth he finds all of my issues. He says,
You used to use tobacco didn’t you.
You have a big chip in your front tooth.
You have receding gums.
You have a cavity in number 28.
You have a shadow starting in 18.
I am like come on man quit looking....
But Peter says, when Christ suffered there was no deceit found in His mouth no spiritual decay, no remnant of sin, nothing but the pure, divine Word of God every came out of the mouth of Christ!
Why is seeing Christ suffering without deceit in his mouth so important?
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.
:2
Are you starting to see the theme?
David cries out,
Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.
Psalm
Peter has shown us so far that Christ;
Suffered without sinning
Suffered without lying
Next Peter explains,
III. Christ Suffered Without Reviling.
III. Christ Suffered Without Reviling.
When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten,
When 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.
When 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.
Peter wants us to see here that Christ did not respond in the same way in which he suffered. Christ suffering was physical, mental, verbal, and spiritual. He experienced suffering the redeemed will never know. We will never be forsaken by the Father the way Christ temporarily was, we will never truly cry out Father why have you forsaken me. Praise God for that. But we may experience the verbal abuse, the reviling that Christ received.
This word revile means,
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 33.393 λοιδορέω; λοιδορία, ας
to speak in a highly insulting manner—‘to slander, to insult strongly, slander, insult.’
Dr. Edmond Heibert notes,
Bibliotheca Sacra Volume 139 What He Did Not Do (vv. 22–23a)
This verb, which denotes the hurling of insulting and abusive language at an opponent,
Dr. Heibert goes on to give NT examples of some of the insult people slung at Him during is life and ministry.
Bibliotheca Sacra Volume 139 What He Did Not Do (vv. 22–23a)
They said “he was possessed with a devil. They called him a Samaritan, a glutton, a wine-bibber, a blasphemer, a demoniac, one in league with Beelzebub, a perverter of the nation, and a deceiver of the people.”
Consider for a moment how intense these insult were before and during the crucifixion. It was like the language and threats cranked up to a 10....To the point the crowd was screaming “Crucify Him, Crucify Him.”
Jesus received these slanderous insults from the so called “people of God” and the “pagans.” Jesus was mocked, made fun of, and accused of blasphemy. All of these allegations and insults were false and had no merit. However, those with around Jesus witnessed this verbal abuse, this reviling.
Jesus received these verbal attacks with grace, truth, and love. He showed mercy to the men who ridiculed and reviled Him.
Spurgeon Commentary: 1 Peter Exposition
Even when they jested at Him, His only reply was the prayer, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). For every curse He gave a blessing. You cannot be Christians if this spirit of love is foreign to you. You say, “We endorse the confession.” I do not care. You must love your enemies or you will die with the Creed in your throats.
Again what is the point of application for us?
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.
He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.
We must follow in the steps Christ, we must not revile when reviled against. Quick comebacks are not a fruit of the Spirit! Sarcasm and Slanderous insults are not a fruit of the Spirit. We must not think that because someone slanders us that we have the right to return the insult.
He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.
Not only did he not offer retaliation in return, He did not threaten those who were about to crucify Him!
Christ example in responding to reviling doesn’t stop there,
Peter writes, “when he suffered, he did not threaten,”
Not only did he not offer retaliation in return, He did not threaten those who were about to crucify Him!
Let’s think about this for a minute, Jesus Christ, the God-Man, The Son of God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, The one who Holds the office of Prophet, Priest, and King recieved unjust vial verbal abuse to the point of suffering and he did not threaten.
If anyone has the right and ability to threaten those who abuse Him it is Jesus Christ! He has the purity to judge and the power to execute judgment. But instead of calling down legions of angels to slay his accusers He prayed for their forgiveness, he offered salvation to those who crucified Him Peter says in His sermon at Pentecost.
Bibliotheca Sacra Volume 139 What He Did Not Do (vv. 22–23a)
While the linear action in the verbal forms may again be understood of His habitual conduct, the Passion scenes seem clearly in view. He was subjected to severe physical sufferings: He was struck in His face, crowned with thorns, beaten with a reed, savagely scourged, forced to bear His own cross, and crucified, the most painful method of execution ever devised. Yet through it all He never threatened retaliatory retaliatory revenge on His tormentors, nor even predicted that they would be duly punished for it.
Peter get’s specific when following Christ’s example on this one.
Do 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.
How do we do this? How do we receive slander, false accusation, and maybe even verbal abuse in light of Christ example and Peter’s command?
Remember the prophecy of
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
Sometimes it is best just not to open our mouth, to remain silent, to be as meek as lamb and receive slander with silence!
Peter is about to shift from three negative aspects of Christ’s suffering, what he did not do, to a positive, what he did do in the midst of His suffering.
Peter tells us,
IV. Christ Suffered While Perfectly Trusting
IV. Christ Suffered While Perfectly Trusting
but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
Do see the contrast, in the midst of suffering Jesus did not sin, He did not deceive, He did not revile or threaten, but continued entrusting himself....
As Jesus went through the most brutal and undeserved suffering one can imagine he remained silent and defenseless as a lamb. Even when we know and he know He is a strong and powerful lion. Think of the book of Joshua in a Christophany Jesus appeared as the Captain of the Lord’s army.
In Revelation Jesus says,
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
The apostle John says,
Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
Revelation 1:12-16
We could go on an on and show the strength, power, might, and authority of Jesus in the book of Revelation.
But the point is while he was suffering on this earth as our Savior, as our Example he did not use His own authority, but trusted in the will, power, and wisdom of the Father. He continued trusting, this was an ongoing faith. An ongoing trust and belief that God the Father would ultimately care for not only Him but all those who would trust in Him. The sufferings of Jesus has a greater purpose and He knew that, primarily Peter says, because of the just Judge he was trusting himself too.
but continued trusting himself to him who judges justly.
Jesus didn’t have some unfounded faith. He was not trusting in something or someone he was not sure of. He was trusting in someone he was in perfect union with His Father!
Dr. Greg Welty explains God’s purpose in the suffering of Jesus,
“In the Bible, God aims at a great good: the redemption of his people by the atonement of Christ. The death of Christ on the cross is repeatedly set forth in the Bible as that which turns aside the wrath of God for all who trust in him. Jesus lived the perfect life we ought to have lived, and died a death for sin that we ought to die for our own sins. Based on this perfect atonement for sin God freely forgives the sins of all who trust in Jesus. Because Jesus is divine, Jesus’s sacrifice has infinite value before God. Because Jesus is human, Jesus’s sacrifice is appropriately on behalf of his fellow humans, who owe God a life of perfect obedience and who are liable to God’s just judgment because of their sin. The cross is God’s perfect solution to our worst problem imaginable, and so one might think that God’s aiming at the highest imaginable good we could receive.”
Jesus knew perfectly that his suffering was the definite plan of the perfectly just Judge! He knew that sin had to be atoned for. He knew this was God foreordained plan of salvation for His people. So Jesus continually gave His life over to the Father. He continued trusting in Him was was perfectly righteous, perfectly loving, and perfectly just. Jesus was not worried about Him changing His mind, He was not worried about God not doing what He had said He would do, by raising Him from the dead. He did know that this would be a time of agony and suffering, but Jesus also knew that it would be a time of great good and glory for God the Father!
Do you ever think about that? What your suffering means, what God may be doing in the midst of our “light afflictions.”
Think for a moment about a more modern day example Adoniram Judson. During his mission to Burma he lost children, he lost wives, and spent time chained in prison suffering chains, hunger, and pain. He had know idea what God would do through him and his service. But he continued trusting. Although he went through some dark days, he continued he service in Burma through years of not seeing any converts, until finally the Just Judge began to cause folks to be born again.
Dr. Akin writes, “Adoniram would live to see about seven thousand people baptized in Burma by the time of his death, and sixty-three congregations were established under 163 missionaries, native pastors, and assistants. Today Myanmar Baptist convention has more than 600,000 members in 3500 plus churches. All of this goes back to the work of God accomplished through the Judson.”
Do you think Adoniram had any idea what God was doing through his suffering?
Do you see how he continued entrusting himself to the one who judges justly?
How can we ensure we suffer in the footsteps of Christ?
And not sin,
And not lie,
And not revile or threaten,
But continue entrusting ourselves to the one who judges justly!
"It is true greatness of spirit to despise the most of those things which set you usually on fire one against another; especially being done after a Christian manner...Oh that there were less of the spirit of the Dragon, and more of the spirit of the Dove amongst us!"-R. Leighton