Good Friday
April 18, 2003
Introduction
It’s been thirty years since Jesus ascended into heaven and the Holy Spirit
came upon the early church. The apostles
have traveled much of the known world and preached the good news of God’s
forgiveness through the death of Jesus Christ on a cross. Tough times for the church have been getting
increasingly difficult. Paul the apostle
has already had his first trial before Caesar, and Nero is only months away
from unleashing massive persecution against believers.
In this section, Peter addresses his concerns to “servants”, you know, the
people at work.
Work is not always a fun place to be.
So what does Peter write to the church in his first letter? Does he tell the church to buy swords,
organize an army, fight back, and march on Rome? Does he tell the servants to cut the throats
of their masters in the middle of the night?
Not quite. Instead he tells to
the church to learn to submit and to learn to suffer.
:18-25 Submission and Suffering
:18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the
good and gentle, but also to the froward.
servants – oiketes –
one who lives in the same house as another, spoken of all who are under the
authority of one and the same householder;
Employees.
be subject – hupotasso –
to arrange under, to subordinate; to subject, put in subjection; to submit to
one’s control; to yield to one’s admonition or advice; to obey. It was a Greek military term meaning “to
arrange [troop divisions] in a military fashion under the command of a leader”.
In non-military use, it was “a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating,
assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden”.
As we talked about last Wednesday night, “submission” is not for wives
only, it’s a lesson for all of us.
masters – despotes –
a master, Lord. Your boss. Imagine calling your boss “despotes” to his face, perhaps with a
slight French accent.
good and gentle – the nice guys. There are
nice bosses out there.
froward – skolios –
crooked, curved; metaph. perverse, wicked; unfair.
Lesson
Submission doesn’t depend on your
boss deserving it.
That’s one of the fallacies we have cultivated in the Christian
church. I’ve heard people tell others
that they only submit when the other person deserves it.
Peter says to submit even if your boss is “perverse”, “wicked”, or
“harsh”. The boss that’s hard to get
along with …
Illustration
A secretary, a paralegal, and a boss in a big law firm are walking through
a park on their way to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out in a puff
of smoke. The Genie says, “I usually only grant three wishes, so I’ll give each
of you just one.” “Me first! Me first!”
says the secretary. “I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without
a care in the world.” Poof! She’s gone.
“Me next! Me next!” says the paralegal. “I want to be in Hawaii,
relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of exotic
foods, and the love of my life.” Poof! He’s gone. “You’re next,” the Genie says to the boss.
The boss says, “I want those two back in the office right after lunch.”
Yes, there is a point where you do not submit. Early in the history of the church, Peter
himself had been commanded by the Sanhedrin to stop talking so much about
Jesus.
(Acts 5:29 KJV) Then Peter and the other apostles answered
and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
If your boss is asking you to do something that clearly
contradicts God’s Word, then you must obey God.
But be careful even here.
I’ve heard people say, “Well God has given me permission to not do what
you ask …” when the issue was not a black and white law in God’s Word.
Learning submission to people is a step towards learning submission to God.
There are going to be times in your life when God may want to ask you to do
something that is uncomfortable or unpleasant to you. Are you going to pick and choose which things
you’re going to obey when God commands you? We need to learn to do uncomfortable things
when those in authority over us ask us.
:19 For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure
grief, suffering wrongfully.
thankworthy – charis –
grace; that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness
(NAS) For this finds favor
; (NIV) For it is commendable; (NLT)
For God is pleased with you when
I’m not saying that when you work for a bad boss or a bad company that
there isn’t a time when you need to think about moving on.
But I think too often we wimp out and run when we’re faced with unpleasant
circumstances.
God wants us to be the “obedient servant” at work. He wants you to be the one that your boss
comes to count on.
:20 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall
take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently,
this is acceptable with God.
faults – hamartano –
sin.
ye be buffeted – kolaphizo
– to strike with the fist, give one a blow with the fist; to maltreat,
treat with violence
acceptable – charis –
grace; that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness:
grace of speech; good will, loving-kindness, favour. This is the same word translated
“thankworthy” in verse 19.
God isn’t giving out brownie points for people who suffer because they
deserve it. If people at work call you
names behind your back because you actually are obnoxious, you deserve it.
Lesson
Blessing comes from enduring
difficult people.
God pays attention if you’re doing the right thing and you get some flack
for it.
Illustration
Amy Carmichael in expressing her desire to become like the Lord Jesus said
this: “If in dealing with one who does
not respond, I weary of the strain, and slip from under the burden, then I know
nothing of Calvary Love. If I have not
the patience of my Savior with souls who grow slowly; if I know little of
travail till Christ be fully formed in them, then I know nothing of Calvary
Love. If I avoid being ‘ploughed under’
with all that such ploughing entails of rough handling, isolation, uncongenial
situations, strange test, then I know nothing of Calvary Love.”
Illustration
A Roman coin was once found with the picture of an ox on it; the ox was
facing two things—an altar and a plough; and the inscription read: “Ready for either”. The ox had to be ready either for the supreme
moment of sacrifice on the altar or the long labor of the plough on the farm.
God’s desire is that we be ready for either. Either to serve as obedient servants, or to
be a sacrifice for having done what was right.
:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us,
leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
an example – hupogrammos
(“under” + “writing”) – a writing copy, including all the letters of the alphabet,
given to beginners as an aid in learning to draw them; an example set before
one
When your child is learning to write, they will come home with homework in
which they are supposed to copy the letters on the page. They are to follow the example on the page
that the teacher has already written down.
The teacher has written the example correctly and the student is simply
to make their copy look as close to the teacher’s as possible.
follow – epakoloutheo –
to follow (close) upon; to tread in one’s footsteps
Sometimes at the beach the boys and I will try to walk in a set of
footprints in the sand. It is kind of
fun to watch a young child step in an adult’s footsteps.
Lesson
Learn to suffer
That’s the lesson on the “top of the page” that we’re supposed to
copy. Jesus has suffered. He has left huge footprints for us. We are to follow after Him.
This verse impacted a writer named Charles Sheldon about a hundred years
ago, and he wrote a fictional book entitled, “In His Steps”. In the book he took a small town full of
people who were challenged by one of the pastors to ask themselves the question
“What would Jesus do?” every time they faced a decision.
People’s lives where changed when they began to look for the footprints of
Jesus, to follow His example.
This is where those letters “WWJD” come from.
But this verse is not just about making decisions; it’s about learning to
suffer.
Do we suffer in the same manner that Jesus did?
:22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
guile – dolos –
craft, deceit, guile.
Lesson
Be a straight shooter.
Don’t be a trickster. Don’t be a
person who is trying to trip somebody up, who is trying to manipulate, who uses
deceit to get his own way or to get out of trouble.
:23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he
threatened not;
he was reviled – loidoreo
– to reproach, rail at, revile, heap abuse upon
Jesus did not get into a shouting match with His enemies. He didn’t get into a name calling contest.
Lesson
Watch your mouth
Jesus could have given some pretty heavy threats! Just imagine what kind of things Jesus could
have threatened the Sanhedrin with! He
could have threatened them with boiling oil, snakes, spiders, just about
anything and it could have actually happened!
If Jesus had responded to the high priest as Paul did (Acts 23:3), “God
will strike you, you whitewashed wall!” just think what would have
happened! The guy may have actually
turned into a white wall!!! Paul did apologize later for making that comment
(Acts 23:5).
:23 but committed himself to him
that judgeth righteously:
Lesson
Put yourself in God’s hands
Jesus knew that God was able to take care of Him.
We see this in the attitude of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego when Nebuchadnezzar
threatened to throw them into the fiery furnace if they didn’t bow to
Nebuchadnezzar’s statue:
(Dan 3:17-18 KJV) If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to
deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine
hand, O king. {18} But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not
serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
They knew God could deliver them from Nebuchadnezzar’s threats. But they left it all in God’s hands. They weren’t going to bow to Nebuchadnezzar
even if God decided it was time for them to die and go to heaven.
:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we,
being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were
healed.
Peter is alluding to:
(Isa 53:5 KJV) But he was wounded for our transgressions, he
was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and
with his stripes we are healed.
:25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the
Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
Peter is alluding again to Isaiah 53 –
(Isa 53:6 KJV) All we like sheep have gone astray; we have
turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of
us all.
Lesson
Submission and Suffering can bring
benefit.
Jesus endured suffering for our sake, to bring about a great result. He brought us back to Him. It was because He
endured His suffering that we could be free from our sins. It was because of His suffering that we could
be spiritually healed.
Illustration
During World War I, a British commander was preparing to lead his soldiers
back to battle. They’d been on furlough, and it was a cold, rainy, muddy day.
Their shoulders sagged because they knew what lay ahead of them: mud, blood,
possible death. Nobody talked, nobody sang. It was a heavy time.
As they marched along, the commander looked into a bombed-out church. Back
in the church he saw the figure of Christ on the cross. At that moment, something
happened to the commander. He remembered the One who suffered, died, and rose
again. There was victory, and there was triumph.
As the troops marched along, he shouted out, “Eyes right, march!” Every eye
turned to the right, and as the soldiers marched by, they saw Christ on the
cross. Something happened to that company of men. Suddenly they saw triumph
after suffering, and they took courage. With shoulders straightened, they began
to smile as they went. You see, anything worthwhile in life will be a risk that
demands courage.
-- Gordon Johnson, "Finding Significance in
Obscurity," Preaching Today, Tape No. 82.
Can any good come from your difficult times? Yes.
Just look at Jesus, and march.