Christ - For Us, Part 1

[00:00:04] Amen. Amen. [00:00:10] Well, please turn with me to our sermon text for this morning. [00:00:14] When I was here in July, I was preaching from first. Peter I will continue doing that this morning. So our sermon text next is One Peter, chapter two. I'll be reading from verses 21 to 25. But first, let's pray for God to illuminate his word. [00:00:39] And dear Lord, your word is truth. It is Holy Spirit inspired truth. And so we pray for Your Holy Spirit to illuminate our understanding. [00:00:52] And as we come to understand that Your Spirit would likewise cause Your Word to penetrate into our very hearts, renewing our minds, renewing our hearts and giving us a desire and even a better understanding how to live for you, how the gospel impacts us in our lives. [00:01:15] So I pray that you would greatly bless the preaching of Your Word this morning in Jesus name. Amen. [00:01:22] Amen. So now hear God's word from One Peter, chapter two, beginning in verse 21. [00:01:32] 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. This is the word of the Lord. Amen. Amen. You may be seated. [00:02:35] There's an irony in this passage. [00:02:40] Actually, it's found throughout First Peter, but it's a rather amazing irony. And I don't know if you're aware of what this is, but I'll give you a hint. This text, and actually all of First Peter, is about suffering. [00:03:00] This text is about Christ's suffering, going to the cross, dying for our sins, and the surprise behind an epistle about suffering. And especially where he does like he does here, he focuses in on Christ's suffering. Well, if you think about it for a moment, who was it back in the Gospels, who was it that objected the loudest when Christ said, I'm going to suffer? [00:03:30] Do you see the irony? Here's a book about the Christian life being a call to follow Christ in his sufferings by the very guy who said, far be it from you. [00:03:41] Really is amazing how God changes us, isn't it amazing? So Matthew 16 is where this found, verses 21 to 22. We read from that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed, and on the third day be raised. [00:04:03] And then we read, and Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying far be it from you, Lord, this shall never happen to you. [00:04:16] It's quite a transformation, dramatic transformation in Peter's understanding and attitude from that, far be it from you, Lord, to verse 21. For to this you have been called because Christ also suffered for you, leaving an example that you should follow in his footsteps. Wow. [00:04:38] So Peter here is teaching that the very calling of how we are to live the Christian life, of a part of the experience of the Christian life, is something that once was unthinkable, that was appalling to Peter. And so what Peter is saying is just as Christ suffered for us and for our salvation, so we are called to follow in Christ's steps, that is, in suffering in this present life. [00:05:15] So let's look at verse 21 and let's look at how this verse begins. [00:05:21] For to this you have been called, this you have been called. [00:05:31] What is Peter saying here that God has called us to? Well, if we go back to the first part of chapter one here in First Peter and zero in on verse six, you begin to get an idea of what's going on. We see a theme that I've already mentioned that's found here in First Peter. In chapter one, verse six, we read in this you rejoice. Okay, what is it that we rejoice, though, now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials. [00:06:03] So really early out of the starting gate, first Peter begins to talk about trials, and then he introduces the word suffering. So Peter is teaching in this book that trials, that suffering is a part of the Christian life. It's part of our calling as those who follow Jesus Christ, the one who suffered for us. [00:06:29] And as we learned a few months ago when I was here, god looked down from Heaven and he saw our sad condition. He saw our bondage to sin and our misery. He saw our grief. And when he came down to earth in his incarnation, god in Christ took on our humanity in full. [00:06:58] He took on our humanity in and he was born of Mary and he was a little baby. And then he grew up a little bit and he was a little boy. And he experienced everything that young children experience. [00:07:13] And then he was what we call grade school age today. And then he became a teenager and he experienced everything we experience. [00:07:25] You see, God looked down from Heaven, saw our troubles, and he came down and he actually entered into our world and experienced our struggles, our troubles, yet without sin. We're, of course, told in the book of Hebrews, he knows our misery, he knows our grief. And he even went as far as going to the cross to save us from our sins, to pay the price for our sins in full. And through that suffering, Christ saved us from God's wrath, from judgment. And thus God entering into our sufferings, his wounds, his pain. [00:08:09] His suffering then actually speaks to our wounds, our pain, our struggles, our suffering. [00:08:18] It's because of his suffering that our suffering has meaning and has hope. [00:08:25] Do you realize that God redeems suffering and trials? It's an amazing thing. So from the you know, that was just verse six of chapter one, but from the larger context, as you work your way through first Peter, we realize that we have indeed been called to follow our Savior. [00:08:43] We've been called to suffering, to share in the sufferings of Christ. But there is hope for out of it all, because as Peter says in our text to this, we've been called. [00:08:57] So, moving a little bit further, we've just barely begun. In verse 21 here, we learn that what Christ did, he did for us. [00:09:08] Again, verse 21, chapter two. For to this you have been called because Christ also suffered for you. [00:09:16] Christ suffered, but it's very personal in the sense of he not only personally suffered, but he suffered for us, for you, for me. [00:09:29] Gets very personal here, leaving you an example so that you might follow in his footsteps. [00:09:39] When Peter wrote these words, when he wrote that Christ also suffered for you, I almost wonder, when Peter was writing these words, christ suffered if he didn't pause and it caused Him to look back and remember and begin to think of the wonder of it all. Far be it from you, Lord. And then Christ does what he said was going to happen. He's arrested, he's tried, he's crucified, and then he rises from the grave. [00:10:11] And so, like I say, when Peter wrote these words that Christ suffered for you, it makes me wonder if he paused and started thinking about the wonder of it all, of redemption in the hands of God. [00:10:25] Paul is really good at bringing some of this out, what Christ accomplished for us through his suffering. Romans five, verse eight, we're told, but God shows his love for us in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us. [00:10:43] Far be it you, Lord, to do that. Yeah, he died for us while we were still sinners to save us. [00:10:56] Galatians three, verse 13, paul declared, christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, cursed is everyone who's hung on a tree. [00:11:09] See, Peter earlier couldn't see what the fruit, the benefits, the glory of that suffering that Christ was saying, this is coming, this is coming. [00:11:23] But later, Peter could see it. In Ephesians five, verse two, Paul exhorts and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice for God. [00:11:37] And then in one, thessalonians five verses nine to ten, paul wrote these encouraging words for God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we're awake or asleep, we might live with Him. [00:11:58] Far be it, Lord, for you to go to the cross. [00:12:02] Look at the benefits of the sufferings of Christ. God redeems suffering and it's for us. This is the great motivation. This is the grand and glorious purpose behind Christ's sufferings. It's for our benefit. That's why he did this. So getting back to verse 21 here in chapter two, after stating that Christ suffered for you, okay, very personal, he then tells us that through his suffering, he continues, he left you an example in Christ's suffering, he left you an example. [00:12:40] So that means purpose, so that you might follow in his steps. [00:12:48] Now, the words translated here as an example, the word actually it's a single word translated as an example, has behind it the idea of tracing a pattern. [00:13:03] Tracing a pattern. [00:13:06] Maybe when you are younger, or maybe a few of you are young enough, you still have this. [00:13:13] Teachers can give their students a copy of the alphabet and it has each letter AB, but the lines aren't solid, they're dashed, right? [00:13:27] I believe it was my grandson who I first saw this. I'm embarrassing him. But anyway, and what you do is you trace the pattern. So you go up at angle for the A, you come back down and you're filling in those dashes, learning how to write an A and then how to write a B. And so an example here in verse 21, that's again, the idea of tracing a pattern, just like when the child traces that letter in order to learn from it. And Peter's saying that he left you an example, trace that pattern so that you might follow in his steps. Again, this is an amazing statement coming from Peter, because remember, one of the things that Peter is so famous for with his three fold denial of Christ is the very fact he didn't want to follow Jesus in terms of his sufferings. Right? That's one of the things we remember Peter about, is his three fold denial. [00:14:36] But why did Peter even deny that he knew Christ? It was so that he did not have to trace this pattern, follow the example of Christ. [00:14:48] And here's the great irony of it. Now Peter is following and he's calling on us through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to also follow in Christ's steps, even when it means suffering for our faith. [00:15:03] You see, we follow in Christ's steps because we're united to Him. [00:15:11] And because we're united to Christ, we're actually identified with Him, we're joined with Him. And so think to John's Gospel chapter 15 and verses 18 to 20, jesus taught this. If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. [00:15:33] If the world hates you, Jesus says, know this it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. But because you're not of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. [00:15:57] And I hope you can begin to see how relevant for the age in which we live. This all really is. [00:16:05] And there's something else to understand here. [00:16:09] Peter is not talking about suffering as the consequence of our doing something wrong, of our doing something bad. [00:16:19] In verse 20, Peter writes, for what credit is it if when you sin and you're beaten for it, you endure? [00:16:30] When we do something wrong and we suffer the consequences for it, well, it's our own fault, and we're simply receiving what we deserve. Just like Paul warns in Galatians six, verse seven, do not be deceived. God is not mocked for whatever one sows that one will also reap. [00:16:53] But when Peter calls us to follow in Christ's steps and to suffer for Christ, it's to suffer as someone who has done no wrong. [00:17:06] Do you see that? It's to suffer as someone who has done no wrong. It's to suffer as the one whose only crime is loving and obeying Christ. [00:17:17] That's the kind of suffering we're called to trace the example, the pattern of Christ's own suffering. [00:17:24] So let's go a little bit further with this. Peter takes us a little bit further. Verse 23. [00:17:30] How did Christ conduct himself when he was suffering? [00:17:37] Verse 23. One, peter two. When he was reviled, he really zinged them right back. [00:17:47] No, that's not what's here. [00:17:51] When he was reviled, he did not revile in return. I don't know about you, but that should stop us in our tracks and go. That kind of self control, the temptation, just give them what they've given me. I'm going to give it right back to you, and I'm even going to heat more on top of that. That's our instinct. That's the temptation. 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 when we experience persecution, rejection, whatever it might be for our faith, this is what we're to do, trace Jesus'example. Entrust ourselves to Him who judges. [00:18:44] God will take care of them. You see now, when he was reviled, he did not revile in return. To revile means to slander with untruth. [00:18:58] It means to vilify, it means to smear a person's reputation. And that's exactly what happened to Christ. [00:19:09] We read, and those who passed by him derided him, wagging their heads and saying, you who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself and come down from the cross. So also the chief priests and the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, he saved others, he cannot save himself. [00:19:33] Let the Christ, the King of Israel come down now from the cross that we may see and believe those who were crucified with Him. Also reviled him. Do you see the evil that's going on? The slander, the accusations, the mocking? [00:19:50] What we have here is an expose of just how evil people can be, just how evil people can be. And again, we see this sort of thing today, this kind of evil, the reviling, the mocking, the taunting, all of that. You can see it in the bully on the schoolyard, can't you? [00:20:14] You see it in so many things online where people, because they feel free to it's almost like sin, can be released and they can get away with just the most incredible forms of slander. [00:20:30] They don't even truly know if what they're saying is true or not. They're slander and reviling. [00:20:37] It goes on even to this day. [00:20:40] In the midst of all the lies and false accusations and slander and insults and injustices and derision, christ never once lashed out. [00:20:54] Not once did he retaliate, that is not the way of the Cross. But instead, as we see at the end of verse 23, but he continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly. [00:21:07] You see, the way of the cross is to demonstrate a strong and courageous faith by submitting to even unjust treatment. [00:21:17] And one of the encouragements to submit to it is because of the certainty that God is going to do one of two things to those people. [00:21:30] Do you know what those two options, one or the other is? What God is going to do in response to them? One, he is either going to show them mercy and convert them to Christ, just like he showed us mercy and converted us to Christ, just like he did with Saul of Tarsus and changed Him into the Apostle Paul. Or two, if he doesn't show mercy and bring them to Christ. Two, he is going to eternally destroy them by giving them the justice that they deserve, so we don't have to revile in return knowing our Father in Heaven has it, he has it taken care of. And he's got one of two responses. He's either going to show them mercy, convert them, or give them what their sin deserves. [00:22:26] And so we're called to follow Christ, and even when we suffer for our faith, we're to entrust ourselves to Him who judges justly. He will take care of it for us. [00:22:42] So now, here in one, Peter two, from verse 21, we've learned that we're called to follow Christ in his own example of suffering. Now let's scooch down a little bit to verse 24, where Peter shows us why Christ's suffering is actually Gospel good news for us. [00:23:04] Verse 24 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. Isn't this beautiful? [00:23:21] Here we find the purpose for which Christ came to Earth and suffered and died on the Cross. And this has profound implications for our lives today, even if you've been a believer for many, many years. [00:23:36] Truly we see here that Christ is for us. [00:23:41] So look here verse 24 again. He Himself bore our sins in his body on the tree. [00:23:49] Isaiah 53 six. We just had that a little bit earlier in the service. And the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 50 312 states, and he bore the sins of many. [00:24:04] Why did the one who committed no sin endure these things, suffer under these things? It was so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. [00:24:20] If you really begin to think about sin and its consequences, what we have here is absolutely glorious that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. [00:24:37] What's the cause of so many of our problems in our homes, in the workplace, in our neighborhood? It's our stupid, foolish, idiotic, self centered, self serving, warp, distorted sin. [00:24:54] It's our unrighteous living that evokes all the fights and the messes and scraps and scrapes and hurt feelings and hostile all of that. [00:25:06] So Christ bore sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to the very thing that is causing so many of our problems in our life, and that we might live to righteous doing what is right. [00:25:21] You see the beauty, the glory of what Christ did. It's not just to escape hell. [00:25:27] This then, should remind us of Romans six, verses six and eleven. We know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so we would no longer be enslaved to sin. Do you see the good news here? When you think about what our sin does, then he goes on. So you must also consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God. In Christ Jesus, being alive to God means we now do good things with good fruit resulting from it. So the cross of Christ is far, far more than simply a fire insurance policy. [00:26:05] The cross has the deepest of implications for our lives and our struggles right now, today. [00:26:12] Even as you get in your car together as a family and begin driving home, well, I think you might know, even coming to church, when people begin to really open up, how many families even have a little fight on the way to church or on the way home from church? [00:26:33] It's true, the cross of Christ delivers us from these sorts of things. So let's just talk about this a touch more. Why do you struggle and experience hardship in life? [00:26:50] Ultimately, at the deepest root, it is because of sin. [00:26:54] Yes, part of it is because of the sin of others. But if we're really honest, don't we kind of get in the scrap too and contribute our own wayward ways in sin? Sin is our greatest problem. [00:27:11] It is the greatest problem of planet Earth. Sin and the distortions to our reasoning and thinking and feeling and beliefs and our doing. [00:27:22] It's the ultimate cause of our struggles and pain and problems. [00:27:27] It's our vile, stupid, horrible, terrible sin, where we foolishly believe that we know better than God how to live our life, how to find real happiness and pleasure, and how to respond in a particular circumstance at that moment. [00:27:43] I know better than God. [00:27:48] In light of this, the cross really is incredibly good news for planet Earth, for sinners. [00:27:59] The cross is Christ for us. [00:28:03] It's Christ saving us from the root of what's wrong with us. [00:28:11] It's Christ for us. It's Christ for our hope, because it is our release from the cause of our problems, our transgressions, our foolishness, our waywardness, our sin. Romans six six states that our old self, that's that self that's enslaved to sin, was crucified with him. [00:28:31] Imagine if when Peter had said, far be it for you, Lord, to endure all of this. If Jesus said, oh, you're right, think about the consequences. If Jesus had listened to Peter, there'd be no atonement for our sin, and we would still be slaves to sin. And this world, even our society, which just continues spiraling downward because they're disconnected from God, how much that would be involving each of us personally. All the more, there'd be no hope. [00:29:06] There'd be no hope. [00:29:08] So again, Romans six six, our old self was crucified with him. Our sin, our foolishness, was crucified with Christ when it was laid upon him on the cross. That's Isaiah 53. And thus, having died to sin through our union with Christ, we can now put sin and its guilt and its shame behind us and begin to move forward in life. [00:29:35] This is magnificent in terms of good news. [00:29:42] It's glorious in terms of the consequences, the fruit of Christ's suffering that Peter had originally so objected to. [00:29:54] Let this good news then sink down deep into your heart with its implications for your daily life. 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. [00:30:11] It's such good news. [00:30:14] And there's that purpose behind the sufferings of Christ that we might live, really live, really live. [00:30:25] That's what we strive for, is to really live. And yet here it is in the Gospel and the sufferings of Christ, the cross is about life, the very best kind of life. It's about living to righteousness what is right and good and true and beautiful. It's about tracing Christ's life, his example, following in Christ's steps. [00:30:53] So with that Proverbs, three verses five to eight, consider this where the author proverbs writes, trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. [00:31:09] When I'm counseling, I can't tell you how many times I've come to this passage, because if it's marriage counselor, one of the spouses, if it's individual, the person is basically saying, I know God's word says this, that I'm to do this. But in this particular situation, I know better, you see, and I bring them here. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Don't lean on your own understanding. [00:31:39] In all your ways, acknowledge Him. He will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord. Turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. [00:31:54] This is what the suffering, the sufferings of Christ of the cross is all about. On that cross, the power of sin, our thinking. We know better than God how to live. For example, the power of sin over us was broken, and thus we were freed from our slavery to our transgressions so that we can now experience a joy and freedom of following the example of Christ, of living Godly lives. Truly, Christ is for us and part of our living to God then and since Christ's sufferings has delivered us from sin. Part of our living to God then, is to suffer for our faith as Christ did, not returning reviling for reviling, but entrusting ourselves to God the Judge. [00:32:49] And then let's look a little bit further, the last part of verse 24 through verse 25 here in chapter two. 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. [00:33:12] This is good news. [00:33:14] There's really joy here. Jesus Christ, the great physician of the soul, has healed us of our greatest infirmity by taking the disease of sin on his own body. [00:33:28] Did you catch what I said? The disease of sin on his own body. Sin. [00:33:36] It infects us, every part of our being, sin, it's a cancer that rots us. [00:33:46] Whenever you hear someone speaking of these words from Isaiah 53 five, by whose stripes we are healed. That's what Peter is quoting here. By whose stripes we are healed, whenever you hear somebody quoting those words and saying it's all about physical healing, they've missed the Gospel message. [00:34:07] Yes, it does include that when Christ returns and we receive our resurrection bodies, there will be no more diseases, anything like that. [00:34:19] But it's not exclusively about physical healing in the here and now. They're missing again, they're missing the Gospel emphasis. Primarily, those words speak of Christ spiritually healing us from our sin, so that we can even now begin living for righteousness by his wounds. You've been healed, verse 25. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the shepherd, an overseer of your souls. [00:34:51] This is part of the problem of sin. This is part of what's so wrong in our life. We are like sheep, and sheep need a shepherd, because when there's no shepherd around, they wander off and do stupid things. [00:35:08] That's why the Bible connects us to sheep, okay? [00:35:14] We are like sheep going astray, and this is our greatest need, is to return to the shepherd, who's a good shepherd who loves us and watches over us and protects us and loves us. You see, Jesus suffered for us, not just to pay for our sins, but to gather his lost, his scattered sheep, and to bring them back to enjoy the security and joy of his care, and even to follow his example, this shepherd idea. Ezekiel, chapter 34, starting in verse eleven. For thus says the Lord God behold, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock that has been scattered, so I will seek out my sheep and I will rescue them. That is such gospel good news. [00:36:05] Driving here this morning, I don't know how many people I saw out there doing all kinds of everything but coming to church, worshipping God, believing they're scattered sheep without hope. [00:36:26] As a shepherd seeks out his flock that has been scattered, so I will seek out my sheep and I will rescue them, and I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land, and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel. I will feed them with good pasture. And here you all sit this morning, having been gathered together by the great shepherd, and you are even now enjoying some of the good pasture, as you are being fed by God's word and the Gospel and the liturgy of this service. God is using his means of grace, and he's going to give you good pasture even more at the Lord's table in a few minutes. [00:37:07] Isn't he good? [00:37:09] Do you really wish you were out there doing whatever it is you might do if it wasn't for church? There's always that little part of us, sure, but this is the good pasture. This really is the good pasture. [00:37:25] Peter, he was once appalled at the thought of a suffering Messiah. [00:37:34] He was truly appalled at the thought of Christ's suffering. [00:37:38] But then after Christ went to the cross, he was shamed, he was scorned, he was crucified. He died for our sins and rose again after Jesus, through his sufferings, defeated death, defeated Satan, defeated our horde, sin. Well, Peter began to really understand this was for our good. [00:38:01] Christ really is for us. Christ really is for you. [00:38:08] You see, God brings amazingly astoundingly glorious things, good things, wonderful things, even out of suffering. [00:38:22] 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 Himself bore our sins in his body, on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness by his wounds. You've been healed, for you are straying like sheep, but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls. Let's pray. [00:38:52] Lord God, help us to see the good out of suffering. [00:39:02] Help us to see. The hope, the deliverance that we have. Because Christ did not listen to Peter, but he listened to his Heavenly Father instead and suffered for us. [00:39:19] Help us not only to see the good, to embrace it, to rejoice in it but to follow Christ's own example of enduring suffering. Trusting ourselves to our Heavenly Father who will deal with people who may say bad things, do bad things to us for our faith in Christ. [00:39:46] Help us to grow in our trust, our love, our appreciation. Help us to grow in following Christ's example not only living a righteous life but even enduring suffering for our faith because he is for us. [00:40:06] I ask this all in Jesus wonderful name. Amen. Amen.