What Did Jesus Do for Sinners?

1 Peter 3:13–22 ESV

Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:13-22

Belgic Confession Lesson: Articles 20-21

Sermon Title: What Did Jesus Do for Sinners?

           The question, “What Did Jesus Do for Sinners?” is what Belgic Confession Articles 20 and 21 answer. Those articles give us this full picture of what and how God the Father was communicating when he sent Jesus. Then Jesus, what did he do, what was he able to accomplish? Maybe for some of us, the words we read stirred up in us feelings that are similar to when we read through the Lord’s Supper formulary. As I think back to how I witnessed and participated in the Lord’s Supper growing up—there can be a somber sadness to thinking about what Jesus did, the pain and agony that he went through. 

But I think we can also see these words as a beautiful description of what God did and Jesus did. Yes, it’s regrettable that he had to suffer even a little bit. Yet he did that for me and you and for every believer. That I and we cannot and will not ever have to pay one bit beyond the pains of this life to experience the joy of salvation is remarkable. This is truly the greatest sacrifice that could ever be made. I believe the Belgic Confession proves again to not be a dusty, antiquated document, but a confession that does lead us to worship God more and more.

           Before we read from 1 Peter 3, listen again to some of the ending of Article 21: “Therefore we rightly say with Paul that we know nothing ‘except Jesus Christ, and him crucified’; we ‘regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord.’ We find all comforts in his wounds and have no need to seek or invent any other means to reconcile ourselves with God than this one and only sacrifice, once made, which renders believers perfect forever.” 

           Brothers and sisters in Christ, at the heart of what God has done for everyone who puts their trust in him is to give us an atoning sacrifice. Atoning means that it fixed things, it made amends between us and God because of the existence of sin. We see that all the way back in the Garden that sin has so corrupted things that Adam and Eve felt shame in their nakedness. We see how God banished them from the wonderful and plentiful Eden. We see as a result of eating that fruit there was a curse on humankind. Adam and Eve had not just done wrong, but all these consequences now entered in.   

           In order for there to be any hope, any greater future—redemption and restoration, two words that we cling to in our faith, things needed to be repaired. God required something very specific. As we seen in the Heidelberg Catechism before and as we’ve looked at the two natures of Christ here recently, it took a perfectly obedient and sinless God-man. That is who Jesus is! But existing is not enough. No, as we stated earlier, he had to bear the punishment, receive the justice of God made known, he had to suffer in body and soul the horrible punishment required by our sins. God required, and we needed on our behalf, a sacrifice, a substitute—it is given on behalf of others. In today’s terms, you think of a sacrifice fly or bunt in baseball; a player hits one of those to advance a runner in front of him, even though he is going to be out. Jesus as a sacrifice was necessary because we as sinners cannot take the place of other sinners. He was given for us.

           Our Scripture that we read from 1 Peter 3 recognizes the sacrifice of Christ as “once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” We have to be clear about what Jesus’ action accomplishes—Jesus does not die for Jesus, Jesus dies for you and me. This was necessary; this is the heart of the gospel as I was referring to in Galatians this morning. We can think of joyful passages like John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” We feel good about that verse, but the substance of what Jesus was saying refers to the excruciating experience that he would go through on the cross. In the action of one man the punishment of many would be satisfied. 

           This is the foundation for everything else in this chapter, and that we will look at now. If you want to hear more about what Jesus’ sacrifice means, just read through 1 Peter—it is a common theme for this book. We start here though because this is the key that Peter gives us to consider in our own experience of suffering. What should the believer think about, what ought to be our mindset when we face persecutions of various kinds?

           To build upon what we’ve been hearing so far, we recognize that the model of Jesus is someone suffering for a good result. Jesus died on the cross that our punishment could be upon him, satisfied, and thus are we freed to salvation. A horrible thing for him to go through, and yet it means a wonderful result for us. 

           Yet we get into one of these tricky passages. What are we to take away from verses 19 and 20, did Jesus on Holy Saturday when his body was in the tomb but maybe his Spirit is alive go to hell or the place of the dead, and save people who didn’t turn to the Lord in Noah’s day or other times? We are told he preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago. Is there a second chance after our earthly death for some people or all people? Does the suffering and anguish of his death not only win believers in years to come, but also have an effect for past people?

           That’s one possible explanation. Another commonly given among commentators is that he preached to fallen angels. Not just humans but the fallen angels are able to be preached to. On this point, Warren Wiersbe points out though that the Greek word used in verse 19, we see it as “preached” is a word that is often taken to mean “proclaim” rather than the word often used around evangelism. Jesus, made alive, is going and testifying to the truth to those who are fallen. Others suggest that the timing of Jesus’ death and resurrection is not most important, but simply to say Jesus’ Spirit, the one who redeems people from their sins was in Noah in his day.       

           However we would interpret it, and I think Wiersbe’s point of proclaiming to the prisoners rather than evangelizing which doesn’t fit with other passage is likely helpful, Jesus’ intent for people to know him and understand who he is, is a piece of his suffering. To see someone who was known to be innocent, go and be put to death, there must be something bigger going on. That he would willingly participate in all that the crucifixion involves, not saving himself during the trial, not calling down angels, but suffering shows us Jesus’ commitment to the Father but also our good. He does this not for himself; Jesus is not twisted and an enjoyer of pain, no, he suffers for doing good. In that suffering, though, he may continue to minister.   

           We have been looking at Jesus as the one who endured this for good, not evil. Now we move onto our next point in seeing this as a model for us. Christians can suffer, and we might even take it a step further, looking to 2 Timothy 3 verse 12, “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” This can seem strange, but how can it be the case? Peter is telling us, because there are those in the world, particularly those at the beck and call of the devil who harm those who are eager to do good, who cause suffering to those who do right, and who try to frighten and scare us from our faith. Suffering is intended to separate us from our hope. 

           This is vital for us to consider in our world today. Here in the United States we love our freedoms, and I hear complaining and urging against any infringing of that. That can have a place in society, and yet also, as Peter’s saying, we ought not to be afraid of possible persecution. Looking back through history, we can find abundant accounts of Christians who were stoned, burned at the stake, put into the arena with wild animals. In modern times, we hear of kidnapping and various types of abuse, firing squads, decapitations, continued crucifixions. All of it seems horrible and unimaginable for many of us, and yet this is the reality that Christians live with in various parts of the world. They can be persecuted with these types of sentences; not for real, harmful crimes but because they believe in Jesus and refuse to back down from their faith.

           One source I looked at estimated that there have probably been around 70 million martyrs in the history of the church, and in recent history there are about 100,000 Christians killed annually.  That number is debatable based on the criteria being used, and it is only a fraction of 1 percent of the world population, but that’s still a lot of people who are suffering for the kingdom. That is a lot of people when faced with pain and harm and the potential of death, choose to remain committed to Christ. “It is better, if it’s God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.”  

           I talk about persecution tonight in the light of the sacrifice of Jesus, because Scripture is telling us our reason to not fear or be frightened is because Jesus went through those circumstances. Persecution is unjust, but it is reality that the Christian faith, the true way of salvation is under attack. If we were to find ourselves in such a situation, we might be afraid, and yet, has God given us a steadfast spirit? Believing in Jesus Christ is all that can save us, all that can remove the guilt of our sin, all that provides hope of the resurrection. Are we blessed in such a way that no matter what might happen, we would hold dear to the gospel message or would we shun it? 

           That leads us to the final point, an instruction for us to be active in. Verse 15, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” The NIV and King James uses the word answer, the ESV and New Revised Standard Version a defense; in Greek, the word there is apa-lo-gia, you might hear in that our English word, apology. This is where the study of apologetics comes from, how do we defend and reason our faith? 

           Classes on this can be good, but I think if we have the first part of the verse, then we should be able to have a basic answer. If Christ is set apart as Lord in your heart, and as the passage finished, if you understand him to be risen and ascended to God’s right hand where all things are in submission to him, do you have a reason for your faith. God has sent his anointed one, and he is the one who leads your heart. Jesus came and died on the cross, and he, the righteous, died for me, the unrighteous. I receive salvation by believing and trusting in him. Where is my hope? What is my reason for standing through suffering? Because no one else can offer me this.

           In order for us to fortify this in our lives, to enable us to stand up against potential suffering, we have to be dedicated to God’s Word. By coming together for preaching, for teaching, by reading it on our own or with our families, by memorizing it if we so choose. The crucifixion remains merely an event without our studying what Jesus did for us on that cross. To deepen the knowledge in our minds, but also the knowledge in our hearts, that we are drawn into the love of God—that is strengthens us to stand firm if suffering comes. 

Many of us here tonight likely have routines by which we engage Scripture, but this is why we must continue to encourage others to know God’s word as well. We are reminded continually of what God has done, of what he offers to us, of the righteousness that he desires in our lives, and the perseverance that he by his Holy Spirit offers to us. We cannot stand against persecution on our own.

           I’ll close tonight by reading into the opening verses of 1 Peter 4, “Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather the will of God.” The will of God appropriately reminds us that God loves and has saved us, the will of God is that we would walk with him, enjoying all that he has given to us. So let us rest in the testimony of the cross and be filled by God’s word. Amen.