Thank you to John for this week’s MWB
Whom are we following?
The apostle Peter wrote his first letter (probably in about AD64) to followers of Jesus Christ – Christian believers, who were scattered throughout five Roman provinces in the area we now know as Turkey (1 Peter 1:1).
In 1 Peter 3:18 he writes about the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus Christ:
“For Christ also suffered for sins, once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.”
From this we learn that Christ’s death was
a) For sins – the actions, words, thoughts and attitudes of human beings in rebellion against God.
b) Once for all – unique, unrepeatable. “Just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to bear the sins of many” (Hebrews 9:27-28). There is no reincarnation of our life, and no repetition of Jesus’ death.
c) The righteous for the unrighteous – the just for the unjust, the innocent for the guilty.
d) To bring you to God – the purpose of his death, to shatter the barrier between sinful humans and the all-holy God, so that we might be reconciled to Him.
How do we respond to that wonderful fact? By thankfully following Jesus. But what may that involve? In the preceding verse (v17) Peter writes about the suffering of Christ’s followers:
“It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.”
And elsewhere in his letter he writes
“If you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God” (2:20)
“Even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed” (3:14)
This is extraordinary, even shocking!
But Peter is simply echoing the plain words of Jesus himself: “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” (Matthew 5:10-11).
How do we react if we suffer for doing what is good and right? Are we downhearted, puzzled, resentful, bitter? Do we mutter (or shout) “It’s NOT FAIR!”
Or do we trust God that we are simply following in the steps of Jesus who died as the innocent for the guilty?
Whom are we really following?