In the name of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, dear friends, Life isn’t always fair. You know this, right? Sometimes we might feel quite strongly that the wrong people have all the advantages while the right people and this always includes us(!)—are just trying to get by as we suffer disadvantages of all kinds.
At other times it’s not just a feeling, we literally suffer at the hands of others and we don’t like it, so we strike back or retaliate with words or spread gossip about them. Even if we do nothing outwardly, sinful anger burns inside of us. We can find many ways to try to ease our suffering by making others suffer too. If you’ve done this, you’ve no doubt found that it really doesn’t work. It doesn’t take your hurt away and it even makes you feel worse. If you are a child of God, you end up with the added burden of knowing you have sinned against God and the other person
Our sinful nature doesn’t handle suffering well. Today our Savior shows us the proper way to view suffering He also shows us a way to handle suffering. The Apostle Peter points to Jesus, our Good Shepherd, so that we can specifically learn about
SUFFERING FOR DOING GOOD
1. The Good Shepherd Shows the Way
2. The Sheep Follow the Good Shepherd
When it comes to SUFFERING FOR DOING GOOD, Jesus, the GOOD SHEPHERD, SHOWS THE WAY for his sheep. Vengeful thoughts, words that pay back wrong with wrong, accusations against God when we suffer, sinful complaining…these kinds of things prove that we are just as God says we are like sheep going astray We are like sheep wandering away from their shepherd. It could be that you have not thought about this as being such a big deal, but these sins are as damning as any other. But there is hope. There is hope when we look to Christ, our Good Shepherd, the One who shows the way. God says: you were called to do this (to suffer), because Christ also suffered for you, leaving youan example so that you would follow in his steps.
There are plenty of non-Christians who would agree that Jesus was a good person whose life is worthy mimicking you know, the kindness, gentleness, reaching out to the poor... But God says that he is more than that. In this context of suffering, Peter explains why: He did not commit a sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When he was insulted, he did not insult in return. When he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself carried our sins in his body on the tree so that we would be dead to sins and alive to righteousness. By his wounds you were healed.
God saw perfection in Jesus There wasn’t one time God the Father expected something from him and didn’t get it. He was the fulfillment of the prophet Isaiah’s words that are quoted here. “He did not commit a sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” And that wasn’t just for his growing up years or just during the time when he was out there in the public eye preaching and teaching. His sinlessness went from his birth in Bethlehem right through his suffering and death in Jerusalem!
SUFFERING FOR DOING GOOD Jesus knew that like no one before him and no one since. We’ve all been cautioned about talking in “absolutes ” Kids shouldn’t accuse their parents, “You never let me… ” Husbands and wives ought to be very careful about accusing the other of “never” doing this or “always” saying that. But we can use absolutes when it comes to Jesus.
I am absolutely certain that no one could ever know SUFFERING FOR DOING GOOD like Jesus did. He always did good in his Father’s eyes. And not just good, but great, the best. But don’t those words seem inadequate when describing Jesus? When God tells us that his Son committed no sin, then we reach for words like blameless, immaculate, faultless, perfect, holy
That’s what he had to be for us. If it were only for our sins somehow involved with suffering—smoldering anger at those who wrong us when we don’t deserve it, lashing out in revenge, using our mouths to complain a lot but not so much for calling out to God for relief if we were perfect in every way other than these sins, Jesus would have still have had to live and die for us to pay for those.
Jesus was willing to live that life and endure suffering unimaginable to make that payment and bring eternal life to the world. Amazing love moved him to bear the suffering inflicted on him by people and to submit to a torturous death on the cross. Even worse was the suffering he went through when his Father turned away from him in disgust over the world’s sin that was draped over him as he hung there dying.
Can you even imagine the cold darkness that is left when being banned from the presence of God? Jesus suffered all of this to save us. That’s how much he loves you and me. This was SUFFERING FOR DOING GOOD to the extreme.
We can review Christ’s life and remember how he remained sinless in spite of Satan’s temptations, in spite of rejection by family who knew him well enough that they should have realized who he was, in spite of the insults and unbelief of the religious leaders who had no excuse for their ignorance or their actions, in spite of being sentenced to death by a Roman ruler who found no fault with him.
All of this was completely unfair. But no deceitful words, no retaliatory words, no threats, no striking back. What did he do? Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.
In enduring suffering as he did, our Good Shepherd accomplished our salvation, and he SHOWS US THE WAY to handle suffering with trust that God judges what is best and necessary for us, while also trusting that God is the one who will repay those who have caused our suffering.
Jesus, our Good Shepherd, has called us to follow his example in SUFFERING FOR DOING GOOD. The Lord makes a distinction between the reasons for our suffering: For this is favorable: if a person endures sorrows while suffering unjustly because he is conscious of God. For what credit is it to you if you receive a beating for sinning and patiently endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and endure it, this is favorable with God.
God is talking about SUFFERING FOR DOING GOOD. If we’re being honest with ourselves, we have to admit that there are times we suffer, and we deserve it. We had it coming because we did something dumb or careless or sinful. We made the trouble ourselves; enduring those hardships is not SUFFERING FOR DOING GOOD. Let’s not pretend that we’re something special for the way we buck up under the difficulty or think that God is even remotely proud of us for our endurance. Nothing could be further from the truth.
For example…
If we drink and drive, and we suffer fines, losing our license, jail—that’s our fault.
If we offend God by misusing his gift of intimacy and we end up with guilt or some medical problem or something else we brought that suffering on.
If we mouth off to mom or dad and we get grounded, we have no one to blame but ourselves.
When we sin and suffer for it, we get no credit for it with God. It’s actually the opposite. Our sin angers God. What should happen is that our suffering makes us think about our sin, which in turn causes us to look to our Good Shepherd who suffered for us. As a shepherd leads his sheep back from their wandering, Jesus leads us back from our sinful wandering and forgives us. There is nothing commendable in that suffering, only repentance and reliance on Jesus’ forgiveness.
But when we are doing good things pleasing God with how we think and what we do and the way we talk—and we somehow suffer for that, that’s a different story.
If we suffer by losing a starting spot on our sports team because we tell the coach
“I can’t make Sunday morning practices or games because I go to church,” that is favorable with God.
If we suffer ridicule because we speak up about the truth of God’s Word, that is favorable with God.
If we’re suffer insults because we say that Christ is the only way to heaven, that is favorable with God.
If our church’s reputation suffers because we say that God’s Word is infallible and we are guided by it no matter what our culture says, that too is favorable with God.
We FOLLOW THE GOOD SHEPHERD’S lead when we SUFFER FOR DOING GOOD. When we are willing to do that, God is pleased because we are submitting to his will. We are acknowledging that suffering has a purpose in our lives just as Jesus’ suffering had a purpose. We are trusting the one who judges justly not just that he judges those who cause our suffering, but that he judges what suffering will benefits us in some way.
Jesus knew he would suffer and courageously endured it. As Christians, we should expect the same. Remember what he told his disciples in the Upper Room just before his death? “In this world you are going to have trouble. But be courageous! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Our Good Shepherd calls his sheep to follow him by courageously enduring suffering. That is what is meant here when God says that we follow in his steps. Jesus had a willingness to suffer for us; we are willing to suffer for our Savior’s sake.
Our willingness to suffer obviously won’t earn forgiveness for our sins or open the gates of heaven for us that’s what Christ’s suffering was for. Because of him, we stand forgiven right now, and we have the sure promise of heaven because of his resurrection. Our willingness to suffer certain things simply shows our love for the Shepherd and Overseer of (our) souls.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd who went after you when you were wandering, lost in sin. He suffered for you and brought you forgiveness and eternal life. He is continually caring for you and guiding you as a shepherd does for his sheep. That includes times of suffering. We are confident of this and look forward to the time when our Good Shepherd leads us from this world to the pastures of heaven where there is no suffering of any kind. Amen.
Now the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.