You can turn in your Bibles to the book of First Peter. First Peter in chapter 2. For our meditation this morning, we're going to be focusing on verses 21 to 24. But we will read the entirety of First Peter chapter 2.
This is First Peter chapter 2. beginning in verse one, just sort of continuing the end thought of the first chapter. Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy and all evil speaking as newborn babes desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious coming to him as to a living stone rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious. You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is also contained in the scripture.
Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on him will by no means be put to shame. Therefore, to you who believe he is precious, but to those who are disobedient, the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. They stumble being disobedient to the word to which they also were appointed. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. his own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, who once were not a people, but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles. that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. Therefore, submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men, as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.
Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. For this is commendable if, because of conscience toward God, one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.
For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow his steps. Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth. who, when he was reviled, did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously, who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.
Amen.
Opening Prayer
Well, let's go to our God again in prayer. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for the fact that we can consider now scripture. We would pray during this act of worship, the preaching of the word, Lord God, that you certainly would be active in strengthening the preacher and blessing the hearer, both saint and sinner, Lord God, that this would be unto the edification of your people and unto the salvation of those who currently do not know you.
And we just pray, Lord God, that this exercise would be done rightly, would be done biblically, And that we would not just be going through the motions of bare academics and learning scripture, but that we would with great hearts rejoice in these doctrines and rejoice in the fact that we can now consider the word given to us from an eternally merciful God. And we just pray now that you bless this time and that it would be to the praise of your glory. We pray in Christ's name. Amen.
Introduction
Well, as I said, we're going to consider first Peter to twenty one to twenty four. And it's it's the preacher's desire, probably in the hearer's desire to immediately go to verse twenty four. Speaking of Christ, who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that is the jewel of the gospel, that wonderful doctrine that we will consider as we move along in the sermon. But before we do that, just very briefly, what's going on in the book of first Peter?
Peter, the disciple of our Lord, the apostle of our Lord, is exhorting Christians to, in the midst of suffering, endure to the praise of the grace of God. They were undergoing not the persecution that they would after about A.D. 65, 66, when persecution would increase under Nero and there would be quite an increase, quite a severity to the persecution that they would endure. But nevertheless, they were suffering. And we see that in 1 Peter, for example, 1 Peter chapter 7.
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials. They were undergoing blasphemies, reviling, obviously, because we see here in the passage that we read, speaking of Christ as an example, when he was reviled, did not revile in return. Be submissive to masters. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake.
Christians were being persecuted, ridiculed, reviled, hated and blasphemed. Their God blasphemed. because of their profession of faith in Jesus Christ. So Peter is exhorting Christians that in the midst of suffering, they would nevertheless glorify God in their conduct. And he uses as a foundation, as a joyful, joyous foundation for their proper conduct, the perfect salvation of Jesus Christ, their redeeming king.
In 1 Peter 1, he blesses God the Father with that doxology. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to his abundant mercy, has begotten us again to a living hope. And he expands on that wonderful salvation that Jesus Christ has brought perfectly to his people. And he speaks concerning their citizenship as we move forward into chapter two.
You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people. wonderful identification of the people of God, who they are in relationship to God as father, that they may proclaim that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. And as we move along here, we see. Peter now in verses 13 and following exhorting, first off, people generally under this pagan government, people generally to submit themselves to the government for the Lord's sake. And then secondly, servants specifically to be submissive to their masters with all fear for a godly reason.
And as we move down to verse 21 now for the focus of our meditation this morning, We're going to notice three things, the calling, the exemplar and the substitution.
The Exemplar: Christ's Sinless Conduct
And we'll define those and speak about those as we move along.
The Calling to Suffer
But first off, notice the calling. Verse 21, for to this you were called because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow his steps. This Peter writes, after having given the exhortation, servants be submissive to your masters. Verse 19, for this is commendable if because of conscience toward God, one endures grief, suffering wrongfully.
They were to endure the suffering that ungodly masters were to bring upon them. They were not to react harshly. They were not to react wrongfully. But rather, they were to be submissive to them.
Not only were they not to react harshly if they were punished wrongfully, but certainly they were not to conduct themselves in a manner that that would have brought on wholesome severity. Verse 20. For what credit is it if when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? It's not commendable for them to patiently take the discipline that they deserve.
That's not commendable. But it is commendable if they patiently endure suffering wrongfully for the Lord's sake. But this is what we need to focus in on first, the calling.
Called to Suffer, Not Merely to Endure
For to this you were called. What is Peter talking about here? Peter talking about that they were called unto submissiveness to their masters. Well, certainly they were called unto that.
That was something that was decreed and providentially borne out. They found themselves as servants to masters where they were living and carrying out their lives. But that's not, I believe, what Peter has in view here. Is it that they were called unto patience?
Well, certainly they were to be patient because the text says as much. But the calling that Peter is talking about here is that Christians are called to suffer. That is what they're called unto here. For to this you were called.
And we know this because of what follows after that, because Christ also suffered for us. So it is a reality that these Christians were to know that they were called unto the suffering that they were currently going under. And that's something that a lot of people certainly just can't traffic in. Well, I don't know if I want to be a Christian.
If it is the case, that suffering is to be a reality in my life. It's to varying degrees. We here in Canada suffer not even close to as much as what some of our brothers and sisters suffer in some other nations. Nevertheless, we have our own flavor. our own measure of suffering.
But this is it is not the case that these servants are only those who are called to suffering, but rather the fact that they were undergoing suffering by the hand of their masters is indicative of the greater reality that all Christians are called to suffer. In fact, it's not only that, but we are to joyfully embrace the suffering that we go through. It's not enough for the Christian to just believe in the inevitability of suffering, to believe in the inevitability that, OK, in this life, yeah, I'm going to undergo trials. I remember when I used to play, I used to play, but I used to play a lot more sports, not so much anymore.
But when I used to play sports, a particular soccer team I was on as a young boy, there was a team from Vancouver that we always played. And they would always destroy us 8-0 or something like that. And we would go into each game with the inevitability that we were just going to lose and we'd run around, we'd kick the ball. But really, it's just it's just an inevitability.
We're going to lose, but let's just do it anyway. That's not the Christian ethic. Yes, it is an inevitability that the Christian will suffer, that we were called unto suffering, but we are to embrace it with joy. That's Paul's exhortation in Philippians chapter one.
In Philippians chapter 1, Paul gives this exhortation. Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. Verse 28. And not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God.
Now notice verse 29. For to you, it has been granted that could be translated or understood as for you. It has been graciously given for to you. It has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake.
It has been graciously granted unto us to suffer for the sake of Christ. Now, we might be saying or someone may say, well, that's easy for you to say because you're not in Eritrea. You're not in India. You're not in Pakistan.
And that's very true. We certainly don't belittle our brothers and sisters and what they're going through in these nations. We don't call them up on the phone and say, suck it up. It's been graciously granted to you to suffer for the sake of Christ.
But it is most certainly a reality. And here we rejoice in freedoms. We rejoice in liberties. But we also endure whatever trials come upon us.
But notice the conduct of the early church in the face of suffering for the sake of Jesus. Turn with me, if you can, to Acts chapter five, Acts chapter five. We won't read all of it because we're time bound, but we'll pick up reading in verse 40, because this is a wonderful ethic that they are following, certainly following their Lord Jesus Christ in this. And they are.
This is an example of imbibing that ethic that they were called unto suffering. Acts chapter five, and they agreed with him. And when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, notice when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus and let them go. So they departed from the presence of the council council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.
Not only that, they rejoiced that they suffered shame for his name, but notice their continuing conduct. They didn't hide in the rocks. They didn't hide under the trees and daily in the temple and in every house. They did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.
Wonderful early church example of this ethic of the Christian called on to suffering, but not just to with shoulders down, embrace the inevitability of it, but with shoulders up and head up high, rejoicing in the fact that for Christ's sake, we've been called to whatever he would set before us as we walk in the way everlasting.
Suffering After a Particular Pattern
And again, not only have we been called on to suffering, but it is after a particular pattern. It's after a particular pattern. Back in 1 Peter 2, 21. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow his steps.
You see, our suffering is not just for suffering's sake. We don't have a capricious God in high heaven dealing out suffering in trial. We have a perfectly holy, perfectly righteous, perfectly good God in high heaven working out this calling us to suffering after a particular pattern that we should follow his steps. Remember the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 8 verse 29 for whom he foreknew these.
He also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son. We are being conformed. We are to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. And one of those ways is the patient enduring of suffering.
And we'll see that when we get to when we get to Christ as the exemplar. But suffice it to say, we are called to Christ like suffering. And and we're going to see what this means now. The exemplar moving on, secondly, to the exemplar, what this means.
And I'll tell you why I said the exemplar as the second point instead of the example. Because there are things that Christ exemplifies or rather that Christ did that we cannot follow after. There are attributes that we're going to get to here in a moment that we just aren't supposed to follow after Christ, that we aren't supposed to engage in because they are peculiar to Christ alone. But notice again, the language beginning at verse 21, the exemplar, Jesus Christ, for to this you were called because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow his steps, who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth, who, when he was reviled, did not revile in return.
When he suffered, he did not threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously. Now, we could spend hour upon hour upon how glorious that statement is given who Jesus Christ is, his nature, his perfections, his glorious attributes and what happened to him, what he undertook as far as his mission in the lower world. But just a few things.
Christ's Sinlessness
First off, his sinlessness. His sinlessness. This is one of those things that we cannot follow in Christ's steps. Now, we are certainly to seek daily to put sin to death and live unto righteousness.
The text here says as much that we, verse 24 in the middle, having died to sins, might live for righteousness. But we are never going to be sinless. We never were. And we are not certainly now.
And so we are not to seek after to be like Christ in this regard, because we all have failed and would fail. But it's interesting maybe to depart very briefly at this point and make a note that we are not to follow Christ in everything. We're reformed Christians in this place, we believe in the cessation of the spiritual gifts. It's in our confession of faith because we believe the Bible speaks concerning it.
We're not to follow Christ, as Calvin and some others have said, in trying to walk on water. We're not to follow his steps in trying to raise the dead. We're not to follow Christ's steps in trying to cast out demons and various things like this. In fact, we are to follow Christ in what some might call simple things.
We are not to revile and return when we are reviled. We are not to threaten when we suffer. We're not to take it upon ourselves to commit to ourselves the task of avenging, but rather we are to commit ourselves to him who judges righteously. So there are some things certainly that we're not to follow Christ in.
And sinless perfection is one of them, though we are to seek to put sin to death and live to righteousness. But with regards to Christ, our blessed exemplar, our example, He was sinless. And this is something, brethren, that we ought to always glory in. Peter has talked about this already in 1 Peter chapter 1. speaking concerning redemption and what we ought to hold as the true silver and gold, and actually not even that, but better than silver and gold, knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, verse 18, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
You see, Peter brings that out because that is one of the reasons for Christ's sinlessness. It was for a redemptive purpose. We needed a perfect and a spotless Lamb of God sacrificed upon Calvary's tree in order to gain acceptance with God, in order to garner forgiveness before a righteous and a holy God. In the Old Testament, typifying Jesus Christ as the perfect Lamb of God, it was sanctioned or it was purposed that the sacrifices would be unblemished, would be spotless, would not be the lame, would not be the blind, but would be the perfect of the flock, would be the perfect. of the livestock.
And here now perfected and consummated in Jesus Christ is that spotless lamb of God. Jesus Christ was sinless. And notice the language here of verse 22. This is taken right out of Isaiah 53, who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth.
In fact, Peter, in this entire section, 21 to 25, is stealing, for lack of a better term, but wholesomely so, the language of Isaiah 53, and applying it to the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was sinless. And this is, again, the second aspect of verse 22, nor was deceit found in his mouth. It's not as if Jesus just carried out his earthly ministry, never being tempted, never being stirred up, never being provoked and prodded to entertain guile of tongue, to entertain deceit of mouth.
The scribes and the Pharisees on many occasion provoked him and prodded him, trying to trip him up, trying to cause him to blaspheme, to to revile, to threaten when he was suffered. But no deceit was found in his mouth. Our precious, spotless lamb of God.
Christ's Non-Retaliatory Resolve
Secondly, notice here his perfect bearing of wrongs, his perfect bearing of wrongs and his non retaliatory resolve. who, when he was reviled, verse 23, did not revile in return when he suffered, he did not threaten. What do you think is in view here? What's in view here is his trial and crucifixion. And I want you to turn with me to Matthew 26 for a moment, because this is striking.
When we consider that Jesus Christ did not revile in return when he was reviled, he did not threaten, when he was when he suffered. Matthew 26, 67 and 68. 67 and 68, then they spat in his face and beat him and others struck him with the palms of their hands, saying, prophesy to us, Christ, who is the one who struck you? Matthew 27, 12 to 14. And while he was being accused by the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.
Then Pilate said to him, Do you not hear how many things they testify against you? But he answered him not one word so that the governor marveled greatly. Twenty-eight to thirty-one. We're doing this for a reason.
Twenty-eight to thirty-one. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on his head. and a reed in his right hand. And they bowed the knee before him and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews.
Then they spat on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they took the robe off him, put his own clothes on him and led him away to be crucified." This is the Jesus, once again, for the However, many at the time, this is the Jesus Christ who in the year that King Uzziah died, the angels had to hide their faces from his glory. We really have to gain an appreciation for this because we can we can rejoice over a new bag of ketchup chips. We can rejoice over getting a really cool cover for our iPod.
But when it comes to Jesus Christ, is He precious to you? Is He precious to you? This Jesus who was once the praise of the seraphim, who couldn't cast their eyes on Him, who when Isaiah was allowed to look at Him, caused Isaiah to pronounce an oratory curse upon himself. Woe is me, for I am undone, for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.
This Jesus, who was before his incarnation the praise of angels, who had the command of legions upon legions of angels, comes into this lower world of ignominy, and he's spat on and beaten. And you're going to sit here this morning and reject him? You're going to sit here this morning and reject him? Or you're a Christian, and with langer and coldness, you're going to go into this week and entertain all manner of joys. all manner of proclivities and come back on Sunday and hear another message.
Or during this week, are you going to wake your head every day and rejoice in this Jesus who descended from on high to be spat on and beaten in our stead? And we'll see that in a minute. His substitution. He didn't just do this because it just happened to him that this was his inevitable suffering.
No, he did this for guilty sinners. But this is a marvel. that Jesus Christ was reviled, but he did not revile in return. This one who had the command of legions of angels, in fact, just prior to Matthew 26, 27, all that we read. Notice in Matthew 26 at verse 53, or do you think that I cannot now pray to my father and he will provide me with more than 12 legions of angels?
How then could the scriptures be fulfilled that it must happen thus? You see, Jesus Christ did not revile in return when he had at his disposal the command of legions of angels, an army of angels to come and punctuate this horror, this injustice and just destroy everyone. Jesus Christ has and had and has divine prerogatives. to do whatever he will with his creation and with his creatures. How then, though, could the scriptures be fulfilled that it must happen thus?
Jesus Christ, when he was reviled, did not revile in return. And brethren, at the first spitting, at the first beating, we would have been all over reviling in return. That is the nature. That is that's our nature.
At the first at the first crooked look by the scribes and the Pharisees, we would have we would have been all over them. We would have been spewing profanities. We would have been in their face. Jesus Christ, when he was spat on and beaten, the one with divine prerogatives did nothing, did not revile in return.
And this is, brethren, it ought to be very precious and close to our hearts, and we ought to rejoice in that aspect. of our Savior's work, but how much more precious would this aspect of Jesus have been to Peter, the author of this epistle? Yes, certainly Peter gloried in the account of the crucifixion. To be sure, that was primary. They preached Christ crucified.
But he saw Jesus daily. Peter would have seen Jesus daily. In fact, Peter writes in his second epistle, we did not pass on to you or we did not entertain cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. Peter daily would have seen the scribes and the Pharisees provoking and prodding.
Let's trip up this Christ. but watching every time as Jesus answering with perfect precision, shutting the mouths of scribes and Pharisees and putting them in their place. But not only that, not only would Peter have witnessed daily, witnessed daily Christ's perfect non-reviling, Christ's perfect non-retaliatory stance and grace, but Peter reviled Christ. Don't forget this. And don't think that Peter was just mechanically writing this stroking, you know, stroking a gray beard and doing whatever without without, if we can suppose, shedding a tear as he writes, who, when he was reviled, did not revile in return.
Remember, he thrice denied this Christ. No, I do not know this man. No, I do not know this man. No, I do not know this man.
And when it came to G and this is after brethren, this is after Jesus says to him, Peter, I have prayed for you that your faith would not fail. Satan is sought to sift you like wheat, but I've prayed for you, Peter. And when you've returned to me, strengthen your brethren. That is what Peter's doing now.
He's listening to Christ. Strengthen your brethren. He's writing to them. But Peter denies this savior three times.
He reviles him in a very strong way. He rejects him, says, I do not know this one. I do not know this Christ. And yet Jesus comes to him.
He doesn't beat him up. He doesn't revile in return. He doesn't threaten Peter and kick him out of the gang. No, he says, Peter, do you love me?
Yes. Feed my sheep. Peter, do you love me? Yes.
Feed my sheep. Peter, do you love me? Yes. Feed my sheep.
And he blessed him and he strengthened him. And brethren, we need to see in this an example, yes, that we cannot follow because we're never going to be marched to a cross to die for the sins of anyone. But we ought to see in this an example to follow. If Jesus Christ can depart the highest glory to this lowest ignominy, be spat upon, beaten, have thorns driven into his skull, be crucified with Roman nails upon Calvary's tree and never respond with hatred, never respond with reviling.
Maybe we can be nice to people. It's amazing in the life of a church, if you're here long enough and you're new, you'll see horrors. You will see reviling. You will see reviling by people who should never even come close to the thing.
Because Jesus Christ, when he was reviled, did not revile in return. We should follow his steps. But over the simplest thing, over our little peculiarities and our delicacies being pushed a little bit, will spew venom at a brother or a sister. Let it never be again in these four walls.
Disturbing. That we would, when we are reviled in the smallest way, revile in return because we think it's our right to get revenge. Self-indication. That is so often the first response.
And sometimes it's preemptive self-indication. Sometimes we're so paranoid, someone's going to say something like, oh, I did something wrong. And before someone tells someone else, I'm going to say how bad that other person is that was about to say something wrong about me. That's how wicked and sinful we are.
When someone says something about us, even if it's right, we'll take them and we'll just run them under the bus. We'll drag them through the mud. We'll make sure that we get ours and they get theirs. Jesus Christ was the recipient of the praises of angels.
He came down, took on the form of a bond servant, was spat upon, beaten, ultimately crucified. And we, his people, are going to revile when this one didn't revile in return. Shame on us. Shame on us.
Committing to the Righteous Judge
Notice the text continues, but committed himself to him who judges righteously, committed himself to him who judges righteously. This is the ethic that we need to have also. See, very often we like to we like to take it upon ourselves to to do whatever needs to be done when we're reviled and when we're threatened, isn't it? We want to either either engage in therapeutic anger, something Dr.
Phil might recommend. We just need to get it all out on them so that, oh, we can feel a whole lot better. Or we need to bottle that anger in. We need to keep it in so that we're just, oh, it's such a holy bottling in of anger.
No, we need to, like Christ, commit ourselves to him who judges righteously. If somebody cuts us off on the highway, And we steer off a little bit, go on the shoulder and come back. We don't gun it and go behind him and start honking at him and just going crazy on him. We drive 101 and we pray that God would allow us to commit these things unto him because he is the one who judges righteously.
And isn't that the ethic of Paul in the book of Romans? You can turn there for a moment just to try and keep us awake by turning our Bibles to various places. Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12, the ethic that we are to have, and this is important to understand, too, is that we aren't just forgetting something and letting something go.
That's not what we're doing. We're not just saying, oh, well, this is what we're doing. Romans chapter 12. And once you get there, you can go to verse 17, verse 14.
Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another.
Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. Now notice, repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.
If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceable with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath. For it is written, vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord.
So important to understand. It's not the case, as so often we can think, that justice delayed means justice denied. That person who cuts you off on the highway will get his. No, that's not what I'm saying.
But justice delayed is not justice denied. When you are reviled, when you suffer, the person who has reviled and who has brought the suffering upon you will get theirs or Christ has already got his. And what I mean by that. is that well, actually, I've got a quote here from Grudem, who speaks well concerning the text that is in First Peter, who committed himself to him who judges righteously. This is Grudem in his commentary on First Peter.
The word means handed over, speaking of committed, handed over, delivered, committed, an idea better conveyed by the English word entrusted. The Greek text does not specify what Jesus entrusted to God, but since the options of threatening and reviling in return both have effects on the wrongdoers as well as the one suffering, we are incorrect to limit the thought just to entrusting himself to God. He entrusted not only himself, but also the wrongdoers and his followers and indeed the entire situation to the one who judges justly. The imperfect tense here implies repeated action in the past, well rendered by the NASB, kept entrusting.
Once again, faith is seen as the attitude necessary in righteous suffering. Now, listen to this. Rather than depending on his own abilities, to retaliate, which were far greater than the powers of his opponents. When Jesus was suffering, he kept entrusting the situation to God the Father, knowing that God would be just and fair, for he is the only one who judges justly.
You see, we can think in our own minds that we've got the right retaliatory response. We're acting justly. My vindication is sound and wholesome. The severity that I bring to this situation will be God honored.
No, we need to commit these things to God who judges and God will either judge has already judged the sins of transgressors in Christ or on that great day, there will be that eschatological judgment where they will get their comeuppance may have been delayed in time and in history. But on that great day of judgment, the justice will be rendered and we are well then to certainly entertain the ethic of committing ourselves to him who judges justly.
The Substitution: Penal Substitution
Now, moving on then finally to the substitution, the substitution. If you're back in your text in first Peter, notice how the language continues in verses while continuing here from verse twenty three. Speaking of Jesus Christ, who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree. Now, brethren, it may be the case that you have a lot of verses that are on your doorposts and are on your gateways.
But I would suggest that you erase all of them and you put this one here. Jesus Christ, who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree. You know, there may be some unstable and unbalanced Christians who don't have any text, but the ones concerning concerning modest dress on their doorposts and on their gateways. Stop it and put this one on there.
Or maybe you're you're an ungodly husband who has transgressed first and then man. And that's on your doorpost or your gateway. Well, you better erase that and you better put this one here, who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree. You see, Peter is this is like a crescendo that's building up.
This is another, by the way, another one that we can't follow, to be sure. We're never going to be substitutes. But this is Peter building up to a crescendo, a crescendo. I'm not a music expert, but I know this much, that a crescendo is music that builds up to a particular point.
It builds up to a design point where we're supposed to marvel at the point that is built up to. That's what Peter is doing here. Committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, did not revile in return.
When he suffered, did not threaten. Committed himself to him who judges righteously, and then boom, who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree. That is another one of those places where we set down our tea, we uncross our legs and we fall on our faces before a righteous and a holy God. Jesus Christ bore our sins in his own body on the tree.
Defining Penal Substitution
Now, this is a text that very clearly and without without the need of volumes of books sets forth the doctrine called penal substitution. You remember those two words, or in the very least, remember the doctrine that it describes, the doctrine that's behind it. Penal substitution. Kids, if you're listening still, penal means of or pertaining to.
My kids love it when I say that. Whenever they ask me what a word means, I always say of or pertaining to. If you do that, Jordan always tells me, if you do that first, you sound smarter already. But penal means of or pertaining to punishment, legal punishment.
We have a penal system, and the penal system is set up to punish wrongdoers. So penal means punishment for transgressing the law. Substitute, or what does substitution mean? Substitution means someone or something that is in the place of someone else or some other thing.
You see this in sports, the ref coach calls a substitute. One player is on, the ref blows the whistle, substitute, another player goes in in his stead, in his place, and he comes off. Jesus Christ is our penal substitute. This is the definition from a book called Pierced for Our Transgressions.
Wonderful book, A Defense of the Penal Substitutionary Work of Christ. The doctrine of penal substitution states that God gave himself in the person of his son to suffer instead of us the death, punishment and curse due to fallen humanity as the penalty for sin. One more time. Penal substitution states that God gave himself in the person of his son to suffer instead of us the death, punishment and curse due to fallen humanity as the penalty for sin.
This is a doctrine that unfortunately is rejected, even by some who would call themselves Christian books written against penal substitution. Shocking that any Christian would ever seek to argue against this blessed doctrine, who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree. In fact, in the book, Pierce for our transgressions, the authors note C.H. Spurgeon, C.H.
Spurgeon, about 100 years prior to this doctrine being targeted in a larger way, almost prophetically pronounced these words regarding substitution. If ever there should come a wretched day when all our pulpits shall be full of modern thought and the old doctrine of a substitutionary sacrifice shall be exploded, then will there remain no word of comfort for the guilty or hope for the despairing. Hushed will be forever those silver notes which now console the living and cheer the dying. A dumb spirit will possess the sullen world, and no voice of joy will break the blank silence of despair.
The gospel speaks through the propitiation for sin, and if that be denied, it speaketh no more. Those who preach not the atonement exhibit a dumb and dummy gospel. A mouth it hath, but speaketh not. They that make it are like unto their idol.
Would you have me silence the doctrine of the blood of sprinkling? Would any one of you attempt so horrible a deed? Shall we be censured if we continually proclaim the heaven sent message of the blood of Jesus? Shall we speak with bated breath because some affected person shudders at the sound of the word blood or some cultured individual rebels at the old fashioned thought of sacrifice?
Nay, verily, we will sooner have our tongue cut out than cease to speak of the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Wonderful words of Spurgeon. And even we may not have arrived at that day, but nevertheless, there are those who cast this doctrine of penal substitution into the category of fiction when it is blessed truth. And as the authors of this book say, it's served as a wellspring of hope for generations of Christians.
Penal substitution. And kids, to describe this further, this is what's going on in penal substitution. OK, God is righteous, perfect and holy. He cannot look upon sin approvingly.
He cannot look away without dealing with sin. And sin is simply this, a lack of conformity unto or a transgression of his law, a breaking of God's law. God is holy and cannot look upon sin and cannot look away from it. It must be punished.
All we are sinners. All have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. There is need then for satisfaction of divine justice. And this happens in two ways.
There needs to be a perfect righteousness before God that will avail on that great day. Christ does that in his active obedience and fulfilling the law. But there must also be punishment Justice rendered for the breaking of God's law. Christ does that also in his passive or penal obedience.
He takes upon himself the punishment that was due for guilty sinners. He takes that upon himself. The sanctions for breaking divine law. Christ takes upon himself for all his people.
And if you believe in that Jesus who died upon the cross perfectly and who rose again the third day for the salvation of sinners, you will have everlasting life. This doctrine of penal substitution is a wellspring of hope again for generations of Christians who have looked to Christ in faith. And and again, this doctrine, this doctrine isn't new. to the pages of Holy Scripture. It's not like Peter just took pen to paper and came up with this doctrine of penal substitution.
We see this in the Old Testament. And just very quickly, we can rehearse a few of those. Exodus chapter 12 and the Passover. What does God say?
When I see the blood, I will pass over you. A glorious passage of Scripture for two reasons. God is merciful. God is just.
God is gracious. But we ought to when we consider that and we think of it, we ought to consider what Paul says concerning Christ, Jesus Christ. Our Passover was sacrificed for us. Our Passover lamb was sacrificed for us.
See, Exodus 12 is penal substitution. The firstborn of Israel, the firstborn sons were passed over because their substitute, the lamb and the blood rubbed upon the doorposts. et cetera, was the cause of their deliverance from divine wrath. We need to see that there. That isn't just something that God did devoid from or detached from any objective justice and recompense.
The lamb was a substitute for the firstborn of Israel. And God said, when I see the blood, I will pass over you. Leviticus 16. Leviticus 16 and the scapegoat.
That's where we get scapegoat from, by the way, in our modern vernacular, the scapegoat. In Leviticus 16, the high priest puts his hands upon the goat and he puts all of the sins of the nation upon that goat and sends it into the wilderness. and obviously to die and to serve as a curse in the wilderness. That's penal substitution. He puts the sins of the nation on the goat and sends it into the wilderness.
And we ought not just to see the goat wanders off into the wilderness and eats stuff and frolics around. No, the goat dies. That's the whole point of that. And that's pointing forward to Jesus Christ, this one who would be sacrificed, who would have the sins of all his people put upon him.
And he would and he would bear the curse that, by the way, that language, of course, is why Peter uses the language here, who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree. And we think cross when we think of that, and we should, because that's you know, that is what's in view here. But what's more in view is Deuteronomy 21 and the curse. In fact, turn to Galatians for a moment, because in the book of Galatians, and we will finish shortly, but in the book of Galatians, we have this language of Christ bearing a curse and this Deuteronomy language of those who are deserving of death being hung upon a tree as a curse for their shame and their transgression.
This is in the background here. Galatians 3 verse 13. Wonderful language again, perfectly in harmony with Peter. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us, for it is written cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.
That language of for us is you've been told this before and you need to appreciate this language. That language of for us isn't just like. Someone, you know, God gave us a gift. This gift is for you.
Certainly, God gave us the gift of salvation by Christ. But more in view here and more prominent is substitution for us in our stead, in our place. Instead of us, Christ became a curse for us. For it is written, a curse, it is everyone who hangs on a tree.
So we've got Exodus 12. We got Leviticus 16. We have Isaiah 53. We read it at the outset.
If you don't see substitutionary atonement in Isaiah 53, you are blind. If you don't see substitutionary atonement in Isaiah 53, you are blind. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, spitten by God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions.
He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon him." That's just glorious language, brethren. And again, if anything brightens your day, maybe it's someone's smile. Maybe, you know, again, you're a big fan of potato chips and your store finally has you know, ketchup back in stock.
That's great. But that all ought to be cast asunder, that all ought to be cast into the mud. And this ought to be chief in your affections, the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ. You see, if you are able to or if you ever put this text, you know, say you print it out on your computer and you put it up on your wall, you need to bold the he's and you need to bold the hours and capitalize them.
For surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. If we don't have penal substitution, brethren, the gospel is lost and we're dead in our trespasses and in our sins. The doctrine, of course, as we approach a close, is interestingly in not the mind of Caiaphas, but in the mind of God. when Caiaphas speaks concerning ultimately substitutionary atonement in John 11, 47 to 52. And I can read this.
You need not turn there if you don't want to. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, what shall we do? For this man works many signs. If we let him alone like this, everyone will believe in him and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.
Verse 49 of John 11 and one of them, Caiaphas, Being high priest that year said to them, you know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people and not that the whole nation should perish. Now, this he did not say on his own authority, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation and not for that nation only, but also that he would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad. That's wonderful. Caiaphas thinking politically, thinking, you know, thinking with regards to politics and social order.
He pronounces these words. It is expedient for us that one man should die for the people. Wonderful language. And then, of course, and finally, in John, chapter 10, Pastor Butler preached from this last last Lord's Day, substitutionary atonement.
As the father knows me, even so, I know the father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. Isn't that marvelous? Isn't that marvelous?
And brethren, this is, again, a doctrine that we cannot... This isn't the stuff of which way did the grain and the wood on Noah's ark go. This doctrine is primary. It is the gem of the gospel.
Penal substitution. Remember those words and kids, I think I've defined it. If anyone has any questions, come grab me afterwards. Nothing should be unclear.
Very often the preacher can make them unclear. But Christ died for us. He bore in his own body our sins. By his stripes, we are healed.
And Jesus Christ ought to be. It's very easy. And in fact, I'd be surprised if no Christian, if any Christian ever was not like this, that we have a languor and a coldness. when it comes to remembering Jesus Christ as we ought to. We might go through weeks where we're really all, you know, on fire for the things of Christ and the vindication of the primacy of his gospel and all of these things.
But there can be seasons where sometimes we have to be reminded or remind ourselves that, oh, Jesus Christ really is and ought to be chief in my affections, chief in my heart, number one supreme. J.H. Spurgeon preaching on remembering Jesus Christ. I think it was a Lord's Day sermon.
He said he said he indicts his audience for being less than water, less than the waters of the Jordan in appreciating Christ. He's charging Christians for for not remembering as they ought the glories of Christ, specifically his work of penal substitution, dying for us, becoming a curse for us. And he said in indicting them for their languor and coldness, we have reason to suspect the conscious water trembled from the knowledge that it contained the deity. Jesus Christ is baptized in the Jordan, he comes up from the water, as the text said, fully immersed.
Fully immersed in the water, he comes up from the water and Spurgeon says, we have reason to suspect that the conscious water trembled from the knowledge that it contained the deity. How much more are we to rejoice and to tremble with that with that Christian trembling, a joyful trembling before the majesty of such a work, penal substitution. Brethren, that always ought to be chief in our hearts. We cast away all of these little proclivities and things that we have about scripture that we like to prop up, you know, the end times are going to be all about the end times.
They're going to be all about, you know, whatever. You know, I'm going to be all about skirt length has to drop just below the big toe. We need to be about the penal substitutionary work of Jesus Christ and trumpeting it to the loudest mountains and to the smallest ear, because that is the only hope. That is the only hope for lost sinners.
We cannot work our way to heaven. We cannot do enough. We cannot perform enough. We cannot love enough.
We cannot do enough to merit our strong, good standing before a righteous and a holy God. Jesus paid it all. All to him I owe. That's a wonderful, a wonderful text or a wonderful hymn that we sang and one of my favorites.
Regarding substitution and intercessory, the substitutionary work in the intercessory work of Jesus arise. My soul arise. Shake off my guilty fears. The bleeding sacrifice on my behalf appears.
That's glorious. And that's what we need to do to ourselves throughout the week today, throughout the week. We need to speak to ourselves in that non psychotic way. Arise, my soul arise.
Because the bleeding sacrifice on our behalf appears and if you're here today again, and you don't know this Jesus What's ugly about him? What's ugly about him? Oh, yeah, I realize Isaiah said he was despised and rejected by men a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief That's to their shame That's to their shame that they rejected him What's ugly about the Savior? What's ugly about the glorious creator and upholder of all things?
I? Departing glory, entering ignominy, being the recipient of spit and beatings, a crown of thorns, mockery, reviling, staying steadfast, perfect in that, and dying for sinners on a Roman cross. What for guilty? What is ugly about that blessed Savior?
Believe on him, the Bible says, and you shall be saved. Repent. Repent of that reviling, of that rejection. of that thinking Christ a low thing and loving everything else, save for that blessed redeemer. Let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank you for this Jesus Christ. God, we thank you so much that we have, where we are and where you've placed us, the ability to open up our Bibles and read from 1 Peter 2, that we have, in whatever time in our lives, been brought by your amazing and victorious grace from the deadness of unbelief from the bondage of unbelief and sin to belief in Jesus Christ, knowing, Lord God, that it's all of you from first to last. And we just pray that we would always own this, that Jesus Christ was our blessed substitute, that we would rejoice in that, that though we had coming to us all wrath and all condemnation for sin, that Jesus Christ for his people, for us, took took upon himself all of that sin and was punished for it. And might we always marvel at that glorious divine transaction that you made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him.
We just pray that you'd go with us now, Lord, that you'd give us the disposition to always remember, to always glory in the perfections, in the attributes, in the work, in all those things that Jesus Christ brings to the table of redemption, salvation and religion. We just pray now that you'd help us to to go from this place conducting ourselves in a manner worthy of that Christ and your gospel and that we would bring honor to you and all that we say and all that we do. And it's in Christ's name that we do pray. Amen.