Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. Jesus, the man of sorrows, was reviled, was beaten, was scourged, was deserted, and finally crucified. None of us has ever suffered like Christ.
Now says Peter, you have been called to this. Verse 21, to this that is suffering, you have been called. Because Christ also Suffered. For you. Welcome to the Verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe, senior pastor of Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Have you ever wondered why good people suffer? And why is doing the right thing often criticized? Today, we'll be prepared and encouraged as the Apostle Peter points us to the Lord Jesus as our example and as our hope in these difficult moments. Here's Pastor John Monroe with a message titled, Christ suffered for you. How are you responding to suffering in your life?
All of us without exception know something of suffering. In his first letter, Peter has suffering as one of his major themes. He's writing to encourage followers of Jesus Christ who know what it is to be persecuted and to suffer for their faith. How were they to cope? They're not to think that suffering is unusual for the Christian.
It's one thing to suffer the consequences of our own mistakes or foolishness. It's another thing to suffer unjustly. to suffer when we don't deserve it. But this is what Peter is writing about. He gives an outstanding example to strengthen our faith in the middle of suffering.
We're looking at the second chapter of 1 Peter verses 20 through 25.
Well, how do you respond? when you're criticized, when you're slandered. when you're treated badly and unjustly. Have you ever done the right thing? And still being criticised.
How do you personally respond to suffering, particularly? when that suffering is unjust and is unfair.
Well, as we've been studying 1 Peter, we've been seeing that Peter gives very clear instructions as to how we should act. And how should we respond in difficult circumstances? He's told us that if we are a servant, we should obey our master. Even if that master is unreasonable and harsh. and difficult Now, as we come to the final verses of 1 Peter chapter 2, Peter is going to broaden his scope and he addresses all Christians who may be experiencing persecution, distress.
unjust treatment. Suffering being one of the main themes of First Peter.
So let's open our Bibles. To 1 Peter Chapter 2: If you've come without a Bible, it's very important that we not only hear the word but that we see it. That's why I encourage you to come. Uh with a Bible. This is a magnificent passage of scripture.
Very appropriate as Peter presents the perfect example, the supreme example of suffering. In our blessed Saviour, our Lord. Jesus Christ, the man. of sorrows.
So let me read with you. 1 Peter chapter 2. and we'll read from verse Twenty. For what credit is it if When you sin and are beaten for it, you endure. But if when you do good and suffer suffer for it you endure this Is a gracious thing in the sight of God.
For to this you have been called. Because Christ also suffered for you. leaving you an example so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin. Neither was deceit found in his mouth.
When he was reviled, he did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him. Who judges Justly He himself bore our sins in his body. on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds, You have been healed.
for you were straying like sheep. But have now returned to the shepherd. and overseer of your souls. Isn't that a magnificent passage written incidentally by a fisherman? Peter a fisherman by the Sea of Galilee.
called by Christ, follows him. And now, as a mature apostle, he is giving us, through the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, this magnificent. passage focusing on our Saviour Jesus Christ. Christ also suffered for you, first of all. as the supreme example for disciples.
For those of us who follow Jesus Christ, this example of suffering is magnificent. As I say, Christians are not exempt from unjust suffering. When we suffer for doing good, Peter has told us we are to endure patiently in verses 20 and 21. He's also going to tell us in chapter 4, verse 12, don't be surprised when suffering comes to you. When you suffer Don't say I didn't deserve this.
Don't say why me? We read in the Gospels that Jesus was hated without a cause. John Bunyan writes: Suffering comes not by chance or by the will of men. But by the will and appointment of God.
So Be prepared to suffer as a Christian. We read in verse 20: This is a gracious thing at the sight of God. God is watching how you respond in that difficult circumstance. And then Inverse. Twenty-one comes this.
Amazing statement. Christ Also Suffered. For your Jesus, the man of sorrows, was reviled, was beaten, was scourged, was deserted, and finally crucified. None of us has ever suffered like Christ.
who was totally innocent and clearly did not deserve to suffer.
Now says Peter, you have been called to this. Verse 21, for to this that is suffering you have been called. Because Christ also Suffered. For you. And he's now saying that Jesus Christ is the perfect example.
The supreme example of responding to unjust suffering. Christ's death was for our salvation, we'll think of that in a moment, but it also is for our example. This is what Peter is saying in verse 21. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you. Notice this, leaving you an example.
So that you might follow. in his steps. This word example is an interesting word. It can be used for a child carefully tracing the pattern of letters. as he or she learns to write.
I don't know how you recall when you're learning to uh write. I look back with some fear on Mrs. MacDonald. uh teaching us how to write. And uh I well remember Uh when we were given these shows how uh older was, but I'm giving us these nibs.
Like a biro or a pencil. or a fountain pen. but just a nib and an inkwell. Many of you have never used that. You say you don't want to.
You're spoiled. didn't learn to write properly. But there we were. And Mrs. MacDonald, who tolerated no nonsense in her class, with thirty of us or so, poor woman.
Uh Put up on the board. her clear cursive writing. teaching us the right cursive. I think it was up light and down dark, or it could have been the other way around. I don't know, who cares?
But there it was. And I would dip my Pan, my nib. Into the ink. and try up light and down. Dark.
Copying, trying to copy exactly the example Mrs. MacDonald had put on the board. Usually ending up with a lot of ink. and and using that ink blotter very much. What a mess as I looked at my paper, but there it was.
That's the point. She provides the example. And I am to look at that example. and put down exactly what she says on the paper. A pattern.
It's given. You're suffering If you wonder what to do, don't complain. Don't gossip about it. Look to Christ. Peter says he provides the example, leaving you an example.
He is the perfect example, and says Peter, so that we might follow in his steps. Like a child in the snow following his Father. The father goes ahead and leaves the steps in the snow. And the son or the daughter follows in the steps. of the father.
That's the point. As a Christian, We are followers of Christ. We follow him. In all kinds of ways. And now, says Peter, when you are suffering, I want you to.
Follow Christ. I want you to imitate his example. Apostle John says in his Epistle of First John, we ought to walk in the same way that he walked. I'm a follower of Christ. That's what a Christian may is.
means. And now, Peter, very skilfully, gives us three steps to follow When we experience suffering. First of all, step one. When you're suffering Do not sin. Look at our text.
Verse twenty-two. He committed No sin. Neither was the seat. found in his Maris. In the midst of his suffering, Jesus did not sin.
He committed no sin. That can only be said of a Savior, isn't it? From first to last. As his critics looked and inspected him, as they tried to find some fault in what he said and what he did and what he taught. They found no fault in him.
Peter is saying he did no sin. Paul the great intellectual said, In him there is no sin. John the Apostle of Love says, That There is no sin in him. He did no sin. He knew no sin.
In him was No. Sin. He's perfect in all of his ways. And even in the worst of his hours, in the darkest of hours, In the suffering of the cross, our Saviour committed no sin. We are to live holy and loving.
Lives at work, at school, at home, in the midst of difficult and unjust circumstances is the point. And being treated badly. Being treated unfairly is no excuse for sinning. See, how you respond to suffering, how you respond to difficulty reveals your true character. All of us are nice, kind people when things are going well.
But how do you respond? to injustice How do you respond to unfairness? How are you in that difficult marriage? How are you working for that difficult boss? How are you in the home when you're being ridiculed for being a Christian?
That reveals your true character. And when you are suffering, We know this from experience, don't we? It's very easy to sin. And one of the main ways we sin is in our speech. But notice what Peter says.
Verse 20. 22, he committed no sin. Neither was deceit found in his. My rest. A wonderful look again at the man of sorrows.
He's been mocked. He's been scourged. He's being ridiculed. They're putting a crown of thorns on him, they're putting a robe and they're mocking him as a king. And all of these circumstances he committed no sin.
Neither was deceit found in his. Most. Can I be sad with you? Do you think of the time you suffered? How about your words?
That's step number one. When suffering, do not sin. Step number two: when you're suffering, do not retaliate. This is difficult for us, isn't it? Verse twenty-three When he was reviled, He did not revile in return.
When he suffered, He did not Threaten. In the face of ignorance and violence and spitting. and mocking and scourging. Our blessed Savior did not keep protesting his innocence. Don't you marvel?
at the silence Overlord. At this trial. An unjust trial. That poor Judge Pilot. He goes before Herod.
as he stands before the Sanhedrin. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return. When he was reviled, he did not threaten. He didn't retaliate. He didn't threaten.
Silence in the midst of suffering. That's very difficult, isn't it? Our natural tendency is to retaliate. Our natural tendency is to defend ourselves. Our natural response is to give as good as we got.
Not so our Saviour.
Now he says, here's the example. You are to follow in his steps. When he suffered, he committed no sin.
Furthermore, when he was reviled when he was mocked, when he was cheered.
Okay. He did not Threaten in Return. Look back on your life, how's it been for you? Peter is telling us In the midst of suffering, look To the Saviour. He bears the cruel scourge of men.
in meek and lowly grace. The plaid crown of thorns which then Upon his head they place. Submissive. when it hit again They spit. upon his face.
Ever heard anyone spit at you? And sitting down, they watch him there. They mock his holy name. And gaze with rude and vulgar stare upon that cross of shame. All this they dare nor know nor care.
to suffer Thus he came. Peter is saying, you've been called to this. You've been called to suffering. And your Saviour Christ suffered for you. In his suffering, he did not retaliate.
Isaiah 50, verse 6, I gave my back. to those who strike. and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard. I hid not my face from disgrace and Spitting. This was the Savior who taught us to turn the other cheek.
This is the Savior who taught us to love our enemies, and he did that on the cross. He says, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Step one. When suffering Do not sin. Step two.
Do not retaliate. Step three. Surrender everything, including yourself. To the Lord. Verse twenty-three again.
When he reviled, he did not revile in return. When he suffered, He did not threaten. But this is what he did do. He continued entrusting himself. to him who judges Justly.
Our Saviour's continual trust And that time of suffering was in his father, who judges Justly. In the midst of suffering, you think it's unfair, you think God should do something about it, and God will do something about it. But that is a future date, and that is reserved. the father. The one who judges justly, what are you to do, what am I to do?
You're to surrender the whole situation. To your Heavenly Father, and surrender yourself. to the righteous judge. Don't think about getting even. Vengeance is mine, says the Lord.
I will repay. One day everything will be brought into the open. I know it's unfair. I know you're being treated badly. I know that you're trying to help people and they are Being very nasty and mean to you, what are you to do?
You're to continue to entrust everything to the righteous judge. This is a demonstration of your total dependence. And trust. In the Lord. We heard on Sunday how important it is in suffering to live by faith.
Here's an act of faith. An acknowledgement of God's sovereign presence. Providence over your life. And so in the midst of suffering, Surrender everything, the whole situation, and yourself. to the Lord.
Are you being slandered? Maligned. Misunderstood? Suffering? Follow in his steps.
Do not sin. Do not retaliate. But surrender everything. to the Lord. The supreme example of suffering.
for disciples. He gives us an example. But there's more, isn't there? Christ suffered for you. Not only as an example, He suffered for you.
He is the supreme sacrifice for sinners. Christ's death was for our salvation as well as an example. There are people who only look at Christ as an example and forget that he came to save. Notice what? Peter says Verse 24 in this wonderful verse that we love.
He himself, that's our Saviour. Bore our sins in his body on the tree. That we might die to sin. and live to righteousness. Peter hadn't always understood that.
Remember in Matthew 16, in the Great Declaration, that Peter being taught by the Father Himself. Declares that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. That wonderful declaration. Commended by our Savior, and then our Savior begins to explain what kind of Messiah he was, that this Messiah. was going to suffer and be crucified and rise again.
And Peter says, no, no, no, no, no. You can't die. You can't suffer. You're the Messiah. And Jesus says to see, get you behind me, Satan.
The cross is essential to the redemptive purposes of God. Ah, but now, Peter. as a wa much wiser man As a mature apostle of Jesus Christ, he picks up his pen and tells us that he himself. Christ Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree. He's riding with great feeling, isn't he, to suffering saints.
Our sins. were born Think of this. by our Saviour in his body on the tree. It doesn't say on the cross, this is the word for a stake, this is the word for a gallow. This is the word for a piece of wood.
And Peter is ruling the crucifixion in human history. This is what actually happened. That the blessed innocent Saviour. is crucified On a piece of wood, on the tree, and as he's dying, on that tree, he's burying our. Sense So Peter is now telling us that Christ is not only our example, He is our substitute.
He is our Saviour. This is the verdict with Pastor John Monroe and the first part of a message titled. Christ suffered for you. John will return with closing thoughts in just a moment. Peter's teaching on suffering hits close to home, doesn't it?
In a world where injustice seems to prevail, we desperately need the perspective that only Scripture can provide. That's why we'd like to send you a compelling resource called For the Time is Near. A biblical introduction to the book of Revelation that will transform how you view both suffering and hope. This isn't just another end time study. It's a practical guide that shows how understanding the gospel of Jesus Christ changes everything about facing today's struggles.
When you see the big picture of God's plan, even unfair suffering takes on new meaning. Get your free copy today by visiting theverdict.org. Every day, people just like you grapple with injustice, criticism, rejection, or personal attacks simply because they're standing for biblical truth. Your support of the verdict ensures these biblical lessons and encouragements reach those who need them most. Consider partnering with us through your generous contribution.
No amount is too small when it comes to sharing God's Word. Give today at theverdict.org or call us at 833-551-2231. For those in the Charlotte area, we'd love to welcome you to Sunday worship at Calvary Church, where John serves as senior pastor, or join us remotely through our live stream online. For more details, visit theverdict.org.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? Haven't you found that looking at Jesus Christ who suffered, put your suffering into a different perspective? We can learn from our Saviour who, when he suffered, he did not complain or retaliate, but surrendered everything into the hands of his father. Will you do that? Don't become bitter and hard.
God has not forgotten you. Commit everything you are experiencing to the Lord who is the righteous judge. Do that today and commit all of the circumstances of your life to Jesus Christ. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies.
Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
