More Than An Example: Jesus Our Savior 1 Peter 2:21-25
A few weeks ago we began a new section of Peter’s letter to the scattered exiles who were living in five different provinces of the Roman Empire. In this section we have learned that Peter instructed all of Jesus’ followers to “submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority…” (1 Peter 2:13 NIV). As long as Emperor Nero or the other government authorities didn’t demand they do something which contradicted what God had commanded of them they were to genuinely, sincerely honor and respect them. As the political fires in our own nation heat up, this is incredible insight and guidance for those of us who are followers of Jesus living in the United States.
Next, beginning in verse 18, Peter urged those who were followers of Jesus and slaves to submit to their masters, “not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh” (1 Peter 2:18 NIV). They were not to submit because their master had earned their respect, but they were to submit “in reverent fear of God,” they were to submit because of their love and respect for God and not their master. Since none of us are slaves we took that lesson and applied it to our relationship with our supervisor or boss at work. We are never to undermine or gossip about our supervisor, but we are to show him or her genuine respect and honor because of our love for the Lord. Our respect and submission to those who are over us, either in government or on the job is rooted in our relationship with the Lord and not the character and integrity of those in authority. In our Scripture for this morning, found in 1 Peter 2:21-25, we read,
21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 22 "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." 23 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. 24 "He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed." 25 For "you were like sheep going astray," but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (1 Peter 2:21-25 NIV)
In verse 21, Peter says, “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you…” What does Peter mean when he writes, “To this you were called…” What is “this?” It is pretty obvious isn’t it? We are called to suffer, but what type of suffering is Peter thinking of when he wrote these words? Karen Jobes writes,
The suffering to which slaves, and by extension all Christians, are called is not suffering caused by the human condition, such as illness, aging, and death. Nor is it suffering that is the consequence of one’s own sin and poor judgment, though the same response of trusting in the Lord is appropriate in all such life situations. Peter’s call is to suffer unjustly, to suffer even though one has done nothing to provoke or deserve it, simply because one is living faithfully by Christian values. The challenge of the call does not stop there; Peter further exhorts the Christian to keep on doing good even when unjust suffering continues to be the result. (Jobes, Karen. 1 Peter. pg. 193).
What are we to do when we are treated unfairly, when we are slandered, accused of things we have not done, and had our name drug through the mud by those who want to tear us down and destroy us? I can tell you what most people will do when injustice comes knocking at their door–they will do everything in their power to get back at the person who has hurt them. Some even get a lawyer and try to get all of the money they can from the one who has hurt them. If you are a follower of Jesus, Peter says don’t be surprised when you are mistreated and attacked because you are a follower of Jesus– “to this you were called, because Jesus suffered for you…” So, instead of looking for an attorney who can get back at those who want to tear you down, we are to look up to the One who has gone before us. Peter writes,
21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. (1 Peter 2:21 NIV)
Jesus not only suffered for us, but He has left us an example and called us to follow in His steps. The Greek word for “example,” the word, “ὑπογραμμός” (hypogrammos), means “a pattern or form.” The word was used to describe the way children learned to write their letters and numbers by tracing over them. That is still the best method of teaching a child how to write their numbers and letters today. Just as we learned to write our ABC’s by tracing them over and over again, so we learn to walk through times of suffering by learning how Jesus walked that painful path all the way to the cross. Brian Zahnd writes,
We Christians are a peculiar people. We worship—as incredible as it sounds!—a crucified God. All religions more or less worship some version of a powerful, glorious, triumphant God; but Christians are unique in worshiping a betrayed, tortured, crucified God. This is the original scandal of the Christian faith—the worship of a God who was nailed to a tree! (Brian Zahnd. The Crucified God).
This is why it is so important for you and me to learn about Jesus from God’s Word and not popular Christian culture. The Americanized Jesus is a self-help guru who has come to make your life better, to help you have a happy marriage, compliant, well-behaved children, and a successful career. The biblical Jesus came to suffer and die for those who are so undeserving of God’s grace and then to invite them to take up their cross and follow Him, as a part of His mission to an antagonistic and broken world. Jesus said,
38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. (Matthew 10:38 NIV)
Oh, there are many who call themselves Christians, who say they love Jesus, but Jesus is simply an add-on to the life they want to live. To take up our cross and follow Jesus means to abandon all of our hopes and dreams, all of our earthly aspirations, and say with Isaiah, “Here am I Lord, send me.” It is to say with the apostle Paul,
10 My goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead. 12 Not that I have already reached the goal or am already fully mature, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:10-12 CSB)
This past week I met a new brother in Christ. Alan Wan grew up in China, but today he is living in Dallas, Texas and working with missionaries around the world with the Mission Resource Network. Alan told me that his organization equips missionaries to work in primarily Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist countries. When he listed the countries, which are located around the Mediterranean Sea and the Bay of Bengal, I asked him, “What about China?” Alan said, “The Chinese church is underground, but they are very committed to sharing the gospel and they are self-sufficient. They don’t need our help.”
Alan shared with me how Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution, which took place from 1966-1976, banned all religions. Churches were torn down, burned down, or converted into government buildings and church leaders were persecuted. Almost fifty years after the Cultural Revolution ended, many believe the Chinese church is the fastest growing church in the world. How has the growth of the Chinese church happened? Is it because of great megachurches or outdoor festivals? Could it be because of Christian conferences being held all over the nation to help church leaders maximize their growth potential? None of these things is true. The growth is happening because of the underground church that has taken seriously Jesus’ call to take up their cross and follow Him. The believers in China are not shrinking back because of persecution because their eyes are on Jesus, the One who suffered for them, leaving them an example so they might follow in His steps.
While I was talking to Alan he told me about a Chinese pastor in Central China, who pastors what Alan believes in the largest church in China. Pastor Wang Yi is in prison now because he refused to register his church with the Chinese government. The pastor’s arrest has been fuel to the fire of the spread of the gospel by the members of his church.
The same story is being told over and over again all across the world. Two weeks ago we had a couple with us who are missionaries in Amman, Jordan, a country which is 97% Muslim. I wish you could have seen the joy written all over the faces of the Rodebush’s as they told us stories of how they are sharing the gospel and Muslims are coming to know Jesus as Lord and Savior of their life.
In just two weeks we will have Larry Dinkins with us on a Saturday morning. Larry has been a missionary in Thailand for more than 40 years, a country that is 95% Buddhist, with only 1% of the population who are followers of Jesus. You won’t want to miss the opportunity to be with Larry as he shares with us.
These friends of ours know what it means to take up your cross and follow Jesus. He may call you to follow Him to Niger, Thailand, India, or some other country of the world, but most likely He is calling you and me right here to Oklahoma City. The fields are ripe for harvest, but the laborers are few. The opportunities are all around us, Lord give us eyes to see!
When the Lord moves on your heart and mind and you begin to passionately pray for Him to give you opportunities to live out your faith, to share the good news about Jesus with those He places in your path throughout the day, then prepare yourself for rejection and opposition. The question is, “How will you respond when the rejection and opposition comes your way?” Will you stop what you are doing? Will you cry out to God about how unfair it is that you are serving Him and they are opposing you? Or, will you gratefully acknowledge that you are walking in the steps of the One who endured ridicule, scorn, and shame for you? Let’s turn to verses 22-23 and see what we can learn about how Jesus responded to the opposition He faced. Read it with me.
22 "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." 23 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. (1 Peter 2:22-23 NIV)
There are five responses we find Jesus making in these verses. First, Jesus committed no sin. Second, no deceit was found in His mouth. Third, Jesus did not retaliate. Fourth, Jesus made no threats. Fifth, in the face of insurmountable opposition, ridicule, and injustice–Jesus entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.
First of all, Jesus never sinned. In 2022 the American Bible Society conducted a study called “The State of the Bible” in which they asked a series of questions to about 2,600 people in all fifty states. A growing number of those who say they are “engaged with Scripture” stated they believe Jesus sinned while He was living on the earth. Gen Z came in the highest with 38% in agreement that Jesus sinned–nearly one in four people in this demographic believe Jesus sinned. Gen X came in at 37%. 35% of Millennials and Boomers believe Jesus sinned. The oldest age group, the Elders, came in at 26%. I question just how engaged with Scripture these folks are because the Bible clearly teaches us that Jesus never sinned. Let me show you what I’m talking about. In 2 Corinthians 5:21 we read,
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV)
He who never sinned took on our sin, on the cross, so that we might be made righteous before God. In Hebrews 4:15 we read,
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-- yet he did not sin. (Hebrews 4:15 NIV)
Jesus was tempted in every way, just like you and me, and yet He never sinned. He is our sinless Savior and if He had ever sinned He could not be our Savior. The sinless paid the price for those who are sinners so that we could be forgiven and made right with God.
Secondly, no deceit was found in His mouth. The Greek word translated as “deceit” in our Bibles is the word “δόλος” (dolos) and it means “deceit; treachery, or cunning. The word was most often used to reference some kind of trap or trick. When we deceive we are making a deliberate attempt to mislead or bait someone by using lies and deception. Maybe you have heard of the marketing scheme called “bait and switch” where you see something online that grabs your attention, but when you receive it in the mail it doesn’t turn out to be what you thought you were getting. William Barclay writes this about the word “dolos.”
It describes the quality of the man who has a tortuous and a twisted mind, who cannot act in a straightforward way, who stoops to devious and underhanded methods to get his own way, who never does anything except with some kind of ulterior motive. It describes the crafty cunning of the plotting intriguer who is found in every community and every society." (Barclay, William. Barclay Daily Study Bible. 1 Peter).
There was no deception that ever came from Jesus. What you saw and what you heard was the truth. He was not some snake-oil salesman riding into town to boost His bottom line and impress the crowd. Jesus called His disciples together after two of them asked Him if they could sit one on His right hand and the other on His left when they got to heaven. Jesus used that as an opportunity to teach His disciples what following Him truly looks like in everyday life. Jesus said,
45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45 NIV)
Those who want to follow in Jesus’ steps will never use deceit to better themselves, but instead they will humble themselves and serve others for His glory and their blessing.
Third, Peter tells us, “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate;” It is important to know that as Peter writes about Jesus’ life and the way He responded to the injustice done to Him, he has in the back of his mind something written by Isaiah more than 700 years before Jesus was born. Isaiah 53 is called the prophecy of the Suffering Servant. As you read through the chapter you can so easily see how Jesus so beautifully and perfectly fits the description of the One who would come one day. Karen Jobes says that Peter emphasizes the verbal aspect of the Servant’s behavior that was embodied by Jesus. Jesus’ speech was not deceptive, He didn’t speak abusively at those who insulted Him, and He didn’t use threats.
Do you remember the picture we get from the gospels of Jesus hanging on the cross? There was lots of activity surrounding Jesus that day. Matthew tells us,
38 Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!" 41 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42 "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.'" 44 In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him. (Matthew 27:38-44 NIV)
Luke tells us that Jesus looked down from the cross that day, and with all of those insults being hurled at Him while they mocked and ridiculed Him and He said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34 NIV)
Fourth, we read that “when he suffered, he made no threats.” It is a great temptation when we are suffering injustice at the hands of those who desire to harm us, to lash out and get back at them, to make them pay for the suffering and sorrow they have caused us. I know what I am talking about. Many years ago there was a man who started attending BCC and through the course of time he became upset because I wouldn’t kick a man out of the church who had committed a crime many years earlier, while he was a teenager, and had gotten off because he came from a wealthy family. The man was now sixty years old and his life had been changed by Jesus in an undeniable way. The man who was upset with me started calling members of the church and saying all kinds of horrible things about me. He even called my house and shared those horrible accusations with Connie and one of my sons. I have never wanted to fight so bad in my whole life. I didn’t hunt him down, but I did call every church member I heard that he had called and assured them I didn’t do those things they were told. Then, one day, I called Arlene Meier. Arlene said, “Mike, you need to stop spending your time calling us and get back to doing what the Lord has given you to do. Those of us who know you and love are not fazed by what he has said and those who don’t know you and love you–your phone call won’t make any difference.” And that’s the last phone call I made.
Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane praying when Judas and a large crowd of men carrying swords and clubs came to arrest Jesus. Our friend Peter pulled out a sword and cut off the ear of one of the men, the servant of the High Priest. Peter wasn’t going to allow the injustice to happen to Jesus, but Jesus told Peter,
52 "Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. 53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?" (Matthew 26:52-54 NIV)
“I don’t need your sword Peter. I could call twelve legions of angels to fight for Me.” But He didn’t, and why He didn’t call that army of angels to rescue Him was because God’s hand was at work in the injustice. I want you to know that looking back on that horrible experience I had, I can now see that God was at work to humble me, He was drawing me to Himself, and reassuring me through Arlene that I needed to stay the course in serving Him regardless of what others did or said about me.
Fifth, in the face of insurmountable opposition, ridicule, and injustice–Jesus entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly. It is so important that you and I understand what Jesus did when He “entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.” The Greek word translated “entrusted” is “Παραδίδωμι” (paradidomi) and it means “to surrender someone or something to another; especially to an authority.” This Greek verb is in the imperfect tense which means Jesus continually entrusted Himself to God; He never stopped entrusting Himself to God. Pastor Scott Harris at Grace Bible Church in New York writes,
He trusted that the Father’s will was best even though it included being treated so unjustly. To some that sounds like being passive, but it is not. It is a very active commitment to give Himself over to God’s will despite the personal suffering involved in doing so, and in Jesus' case, He was very aware that the suffering was part of what was necessary to bring about the redemption of the very sinners that were crucifying Him. He responded out of love for the Father and His plan of redemption, and out of love for the people He was about to redeem with His own blood as Peter will describe in verse 24. (Harris, Scott. The Example of Christ.)
If you are a follower of Jesus then it is imperative that we entrust ourselves, every moment of our lives to the Father who judges justly. Let’s take a look at our last two verses for this morning found in 1 Peter 2:24-25.
24 "He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed." 25 For "you were like sheep going astray," but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (1 Peter 2:24-25 NIV)
Once again, Peter saw Jesus as the fulfillment of the prophecy of the promised coming Suffering Servant who would take on the sins of His people so they might be forgiven and made right with God.
In Leviticus 16, God gave His people a visual demonstration of a spiritual reality. God had Aaron take two goats. One goat was chosen who would be killed and his blood sprinkled on the Mercy Seat in the temple as a sacrifice for the sins of the people. God had Aaron take another goat and lay his hands on the goat’s head while he was confessing all of the sins of the people of Israel, transferring the sins of the people to the goat. After confessing the people’s sins, Aaron would have someone lead the goat out from the people and out into the wilderness. It was a visual of God taking our sins from us, but what was merely a visual demonstration in the Old Testament became a living, breathing reality in Jesus. Jesus bore our sins on the cross and He has carried them away so that we have the opportunity to be made right with God.
I was talking to one of our Muslim friends who has been attending BCC for some time now. We were talking about the common people that we find in the Bible and the Koran. He said, “We believe in Jesus too.” I told my friend that Jews, Muslims, and Christians all believe in Jesus, but for us, as followers of Jesus, there is a point at which Jews and Muslims stop their belief and that belief is the central teaching for us Christians. Jews believe Jesus lived and that He died, but He was not the Messiah and He didn’t rise from the dead. Muslims believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, that He did many miracles, and that He will return again, but they don’t believe Jesus died on the cross or that God raised Him from the dead. For all of Jesus’ disciples throughout the ages, the belief that Jesus gave His sinless life for sinners like you and me on the cross so we could have the opportunity to be reconciled, forgiven, and made right with God, this is the heart of the good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches that the “wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23).
That God raised Jesus from the dead so that death would be defeated for all of Jesus’ followers, this is central, a non-negotiable for us who follow Jesus. This is what sets Christianity apart from every other religion in the world. In the other religions we must work to live righteously in order to be pleasing to God, but in Jesus, God has come to us. Edmund Clowney wrote,
If our death does not confront us with the wages of sin, then his death must. That such a price was paid–by the Son who gave His life, by the Father who gave His Son–is the measure of the measureless love of God. (Clowney, Edmund. 1 Peter. pg. 93)
Jesus is the measure of the measureless love of God. Oh my friend, There is no greater need in your life than forgiveness. You may have messed up big time and know that there are those you have hurt who will never forgive you. They will hold what you have done against you until your dying day. You need to know there is One who will forgive you, who is longing to forgive you and cleanse you of what you have done so you no longer have to carry that burden any longer. He will take your burden, He will take your guilt and shame, and He alone can do it because He is the Perfect Savior. Won’t you turn to Him this morning and confess your need of His cleansing grace and mercy? Won’t you surrender your broken, tattered, sinful life and accept His cleansing power? Paul prayed for the people of Ephesus that they might know “how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and that they might know that love which surpasses knowledge…” (Ephesians 3:18-19). That is my prayer for you this morning. If you would like to become a follower of Jesus please come forward and we will all celebrate your decision together.
Mike Hays
Britton Christian Church
July 28, 2024
