For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust
suffering because he is conscious of God. 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.
To this you
were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example,
that you should follow in his steps.
"He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his
mouth." 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.
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. For you were like sheep
going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your
souls. (NIV)
When you read
through the gospels it is good to not only listen to the words of Jesus, but to
also just think about and reflect on how he did things. Think about the story of the disciples going
through a storm on the
The Shepherd is Amazing
I. See How He Goes to
the Tree
Peter’s letter
for today reflects back on the wonderful and amazing way that Jesus responded
to all of these injustices that he went through; especially at his arrest and
trial. It’s not only amazing what He did
do, but also what He didn’t do. "He
committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." 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.
Think about
how Jesus was constantly bombarded with questions and accusations throughout
his ministry. When he healed people who
had suffered under a life long sickness or disability, he was accused of being
a Sabbath breaker. When he went to
spread the good news of salvation with tax collectors and well known sinners,
he was accused of condoning immoral behavior and even being a drunkard. When he gathered a following for himself he
was accused of trying to lead a rebellion against the government, which he
never even talked about. When he chased
out demons he was accused of being demon possessed. What terrible crimes was Jesus committing to
have such accusations against? He was
healing the sick, raising the dead, reaching out to the lost, and chasing
demons out from people. Who wouldn’t get
angry at such terrible behavior? I speak
in jest, of course.
This only
intensified and came to a head then at Jesus’ trial - where all of these
accusations were thrown at him at once.
Imagine for a minute that you were accused of stealing money at work or
cheating on a test - when in reality you had never cheated or stolen
anything. Isn’t your initial reaction to
be full of anger and rage at the people who make such accusations? Isn’t your natural reaction to vigorously
defend yourself? Jesus responded in a
completely different manner. He didn’t
get angry. He didn’t vigorously defend
Himself. In retrospect Peter reflects on
this and is amazed at HOW Jesus responded.
Think about
what Peter did. When Peter was accused
of knowing Jesus, he vigorously denied the truth - even calling down curses on himself. When Abraham
was asked who Sarah was, on two separate occasions he deceitfully called her
his sister in order to save his own life.
But in the midst of FALSE accusations Jesus was different. “"He committed no sin, and no deceit
was found in his mouth.” No
deceit? Let’s put it in context. John 18:2-8 Judas came to the grove,
guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and
Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons. Jesus, knowing all
that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”
“Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back
and fell to the ground. Jesus didn’t
lie about who He was. He wasn’t afraid
of telling them the truth. When he was
arrested and Peter struck off Malchus ear, what did Jesus do? He healed Malchus ear immediately and told
Peter to put his sword away. He did not
retaliate in any way. Who of us wouldn’t
have at least let Malchus suffer there for a while?
Later on,
Jesus stood trial before Caiaphas, Herod and Pilate. The lies and accusations came one after
another. Yet when Caiaphas charged him
under oath to confess if He was the Christ or not, Jesus spoke the truth. Matthew 26:64 “Yes, it is as you say,”
Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of
Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of
heaven.” Here again Jesus did not lie or hedge the truth. He said in plain language, “yes, it is as you
say.” Consider also how Jesus stood
before Pilate. Matthew 27:12-14 When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he
gave no answer. Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are
bringing against you?” But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to
the great amazement of the governor.
As Peter said, Jesus “did not retaliate.” He even went beyond this. He prayed for their forgiveness.
Why didn’t
Jesus speak up and do something? He was
on His way to the tree. He himself
bore our sins in his body on the tree.
When you “bear” something, it means you are lifting it up. When you decide to move or change the
furniture around in your house, you have to be careful in what you choose to
lift and how you choose to lift it based on the size and shape of the object
you are lifting. Some things are more
difficult than others. Jesus allowed
these men to falsely accuse him so he could go to the cross and “bear” our
sins.
How do you “bear”
a sin? We all certainly know how to
commit a sin. We know how to be
sin. But how in the world could Jesus
lift sin and then “bear” it? In an
interesting movie called “the
Isn’t it
interesting how Peter says this? He says
that Jesus bore our sins in his ON THE TREE.
When all is said and done you could say that our destiny revolves around
three trees. The devil used the Tree of
Knowledge of Good and Evil to bring evil and sin on us, condemning us to
hell. Jesus used the tree of the cross
to take that punishment of death and hell on His shoulders instead. God promises us that when all is said and
done, through faith in Christ, covered in the blood of Christ, we will be able
to partake of the third tree - the Tree of Life. Revelation
Today is Good
Shepherd Sunday. What better Shepherd
could we have than one who is willing to put His life on the line and to even
die and go through hell under the wrath of God so that we could live forever in
heaven? Jesus knew what He was coming to
earth to do as He took on a body. He
knew what would happen on the tree. He
went there and He lifted up sin, suffered death, and went through hell; all for
us sheep.
II.
See How Difficult it is to Follow Him
Yet there is
something else about this Shepherd that might make many sheep pause before following into the Promised Land. Christ suffered for you, leaving you an
example, that you should follow in his steps.
What? Did he say “example”? Did he say “follow in his steps?” Where is the escalator straight to
heaven? Where is the Garden of Eden here
on earth? Where are the wings that I am
supposed to grow so that I can fly straight up to heaven? Are you meaning to say, Peter,
that I can’t go straight to heaven; that I am supposed to also suffer as
He did? That is exactly what Peter is
saying. It follows in line with all of the Scriptures. It goes back to Psalm 23 where King and
Shepherd David said that the Good Shepherd leads us through the valley of the
shadow of DEATH. It follows in line with
Paul who warned the early congregations that “we must go through many
hardships to enter the
In context,
Peter is writing this letter to slaves.
According to one commentary, slaves in the 1st Century still
had certain legal protections where they could acquire property, marry, and
even by their freedom over time. Yet
these were still people who were forced through war or inescapable poverty to
put themselves under someone else and call them their
masters. A slave is a slave no matter
how you slice it, and it isn’t fun no matter how many “rights” you may
have. Peter also mentions that they
could be beaten. Yet it is to Christian
slaves that Peter says, “it is commendable if a man
bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. 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. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving
you an example, that you should follow in his steps.”
The natural
question I have is, “why would someone have to suffer for being conscious of
God?” Think about it. People who are “conscious of God” consider
what God wants in the way they work. God
wants us to be kind, forgiving, generous, straight
forward with people. He wants us to be
hard workers and sacrificial - just like Jesus was. Who on earth would be opposed to or persecute
their employees being kind, forgiving, generous, hard working and honest? How about greedy employers who are driven by
their sinful natures to only make money?
How about selfish supervisors who want us to skip corners so that the
bottom line looks better than it really is?
Think for
instance of the car salesman who works on commission. He is told by his employer to try and push “extra
insurance” for his car that is already covered under the warranty of the car
company. If he is straight forward with
his customer he will tell him that the insurance isn’t needed. However, as a result of his honesty he will
not get a bonus and his company will note that he is not selling the insurance
he is told to. So he gets a bad review
for being honest and forthright with his customers. I know of two specific instances within our
own congregation where employees were fired because they refused to follow what
the “company” immorally wanted them to do.
In these cases Christians are not called on to rebel or try and get
revenge. Instead, they are called on to
speak the truth in love. They are called
on - like sheep - to follow the Shepherd - and bear up under the pain of unjust
suffering as they do the Godly thing.
When you are trying to do the right thing according to your God given
conscience you will be sometimes be accused of not
having the best interest of the company.
To this you were called - to suffer while trying to do the loving and
right thing.
When Jesus was
called to the cross, these were not easy steps to take. He sweat drops of
blood knowing where the path would lead him - down the pathway to bear
hell. Yet what were the very last words
that Jesus uttered from the cross? “Father,
into your hands I commit my spirit.”
In one last act of faith, after having been deserted by the very Father
Jesus loved, Jesus entrusted himself to him who judges justly. Jesus was convinced that God would see His
good work of dying for the sins of the world and accept that sacrifice, no
matter what all the other people were saying about Him. Jesus was right. In the end, God received Jesus’ soul into
heaven and raised Jesus body from the dead and exalted Him to be King and Ruler
of the Universe. In the end Jesus
achieved His accomplished purpose - having paid for sins once and for all.
It is not an
easy thing to follow in the steps of the Shepherd. Are you ready to make that sacrifice? Are you ready to take on that ridicule? Are you even ready to die? Is it just too hard or too risky - especially
with all of the bills you have due - to actually do the kind thing, the
generous thing, the hard working thing, in spite of what anyone else
thinks. Entrust yourself to him. You were like sheep going astray, but now
you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. Just think, if
Jesus loved you so much that He died for you, He will not lead you into a place
that will not benefit you eternally.
Peter calls Him the Shepherd and Overseer of your SOUL. Trust Him to know what He is doing. Trust Him to know where He is going. If honesty leads you down the path of
ridicule, so be it. If hard work beats
your body to exhaustion and death, so be it.
If straight forwardness leads you to a loss of job and poverty, so be
it. Even though your suffering doesn’t pay for any sins, it is still “commendable
before God.” Even if the world is
able to judge you with injustice, in Christ God will judge you with complete
justice. As long as you know that you
the Good Shepherd died for your sins and that you are serving the Good Shepherd
and that God will raise you from the dead to eternal life with Christ, it makes
you willing to entrust yourself to Him.
He can lead you into a garbage dump.
He can lead you into poverty. He
can lead you into jail. He can lead you
through a seeming hell, knowing that in the end - there is heaven.
There was a
father who parked at the local store in order to go shopping with his son. It was snowing heavily out and there was
heavy traffic. He said to his son, “follow me.” The son
looked at his father’s feet and footsteps within the snow and thought to
himself, “those are some big steps to follow.” One by one the father walked, and the son did
his best to take big leaps from one step to the next. Before he knew it, his foot slipped on an ice
patch and he fell down in the snow and started crying. He had failed his father and gotten his new
pants all wet and dirty. Instead of
yelling at him, the father immediately stopped, picked him up, brushed him off,
and comforted the boy. Hand in hand he
then guided the boy through the snow into the store.
Like little children lying in the snow, as we look at the
Shepherd, we realize how amazing He is as He goes to the tree and how
impossible the task of trying to follow in His footsteps it is. There is no way to follow Jesus through an
insurmountable drift of sin; without deceit, without retaliation, doing what is
right at every turn and juncture with a perfect faith that God will work it out
for good. We fall flat on our
faces. Yet as we lay here wallowing in
our sins, we experience what a wonderful Shepherd we have. The resurrected Jesus comes back to us, picks
us up with His blood stained hands, renews our faith and raises us to
life. He gives us a clear path to
follow, knowing how exhausting it is. In
spite of our weakness, as His sheep he still calls us to follow through pain,
suffering and even death; seeing that the Good Shepherd has amazingly broken
through the