TEXT:
‘So be on guard; then you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing. Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’ (2 Peter 3:17-18 NLT).
Today’s Teaching has studied the words: Faith, Precious and Submission. The last word in this series is “Suffering”. There are plenty of references to this subject in the Bible, not just those mentioned by Peter. Rather than try to cram everything into one teaching, we will look at this subject in two parts. Firstly, the suffering of Christ and secondly, the suffering of the Christian.
1. The Suffering of Christ
A. This was prophesied by the Old Testament prophets – ‘This salvation was something the prophets did not fully understand. Though they wrote about it, they had many questions as to what it all could mean. They wondered what the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about, for he told them to write down the events which, since then, have happened to Christ: his suffering, and his great glory afterwards. And they wondered when and to whom all this would happen’ (1 Peter 1:10-11 TLB).
One well-known prophetic Bible passage about the suffering of Christ is, ‘Yet it was our grief he bore, our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, for his own sins! But he was wounded and bruised for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace; he was lashed—and we were healed!’ (Isaiah 53:4-5 TLB). It was this prophecy that puzzled the Ethiopian chancellor and led to an encounter with Philip the evangelist, which resulted in his conversion to Christ and baptism in water (See Acts 8:26-39).
The Jews were looking for a Messiah who would be powerful enough to evict the occupying Roman army, so they were not prepared for the One who came to suffer, even though their own prophets had prophesied that very thing.
B. He was persecuted by the world, the religious authorities and the devil – ‘This is the kind of life you’ve been invited into, the kind of life Christ lived. He suffered everything that came his way so you would know that it could be done, and also know how to do it, step-by-step. He never did one thing wrong, Not once said anything amiss. They called him every name in the book and he said nothing back. He suffered in silence, content to let God set things right’ (1 Peter 2:21-23 MSG).
Jesus had power and authority over all of them, yet He allowed them to do to Him what they wanted, to fulfil the will of God. That’s why He prayed, ‘Not My will, but Yours be done’ (Luke 22:42).
Even Pilate trembled when Jesus said to him, ‘”You haven’t a shred of authority over me except what has been given you from heaven. That’s why the one who betrayed me to you has committed a far greater fault.” At this, Pilate tried his best to pardon him, but the Jews shouted him down’ (John 19:11-12 MSG).
The religious authorities tried to convict Jesus through the testimony of false witnesses. In the end, it was because Jesus spoke the truth when answering the question, ‘Are you the Christ?’ (Mark 14:61-62), that they found the evidence they wanted to crucify Him.
The devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness but lost that battle. Demons cried out in fear when being cast out, ‘Have You come here to torment us before the time?’ (Matthew 8:29 NLT), such was His power and authority over unclean spirits.
Despite having power over everyone and everything, Jesus suffered at their hands to bring about our salvation. What a wonderful Saviour!
C. Jesus, through suffering, purchased for us our salvation – ‘‘Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit’ (1 Peter 3:18 NLT).
Jesus suffered once to achieve salvation for all people, for all time. He endured it to save us. We suffer, sometimes daily, because we are saved, but His suffering was the only way to save us.
Self-inflicted suffering such as flagellation, when people whip themselves to identify with the sufferings of Christ, does not glorify God. Jesus took on our punishment so we would not have to. He reminded the two depressed disciples trudging along the road to Emmaus, ‘Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day’ (Luke 24:46).
Jesus was the perfect sacrifice that resulted in glory and honour for both the Saviour and the sinner. The Bible says, ‘But we do see Jesus—who for a while was a little lower than the angels—crowned now by God with glory and honour because he suffered death for us. Yes, because of God’s great kindness, Jesus tasted death for everyone in all the world. And it was right and proper that God, who made everything for his own glory, should allow Jesus to suffer, for in doing this he was bringing vast multitudes of God’s people to heaven; for his suffering made Jesus a perfect Leader, one fit to bring them into their salvation’ (Hebrews 2:9-10 TLB).
Peter wrote, ‘I am a witness of the sufferings of Christ’ (1 Peter 5:1). At first, he denied ever knowing Jesus, but repented and thought, if Jesus could endure suffering, so could he. And he did!
James wrote, ‘Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray’ (James 5:13). If prayer doesn’t allow you to escape suffering, it will keep you faithful in it, for the glory of God!
In Part 2, we will study “The Suffering of the Christian”.
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