S10E49: The Example of Suffering (A Living Hope pt. 3)

Sermon #550

Bearing in mind that this letter is written to the persecuted church, we face a truth that all Christians throughout the centuries have had to face: why do we suffer when we remain true to God?  Those who are faithful to God have suffered, and there is evidence recorded for us in the pages of the Old and New Testaments of such suffering.  The world is opposed to God and, by extension, to God’s people.  Nowhere is this more plainly seen than in the suffering that Christ endured for us.  After all, this was God in the flesh bearing our pain for us.

Peter reaches back into the Old Testament and the prophecy of Isaiah chapters 52-53, where the coming Messiah is portrayed as the suffering servant.  It would behoove us as well to read this prophetic vision (Isaiah 52:13-53:12) to draw parallels between Isaiah’s suffering servant and Jesus Christ.  Jesus’ suffering, Peter tells us, is an example of how we are to endure for good.  Bearing punishment we deserve is just; bearing punishment we do not deserve in the name of righteousness is a credit to us and a witness to the world.

1 Peter 2:19-25

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on April 30, 2023

S.D.G.