The Life and Letters of Peter

Lesson Eight: Relating in Suffering

Review 1 Peter 1&2

Peter's audience is scattered Jewish believers, so he uses a lot of scripture to make his points. In the previous sections he has spoken of their salvation and inheritance in Christ, the trials being used to strengthen their faith, and discussed the concept of the Living Stone of Christ. In this section Peter will address the relationships among individuals and Christian conduct among them.

Go through 1 Peter 2:11-3:22 (on the next page) and fill in the following chart for each group of people

Verse

Group

Behaving toward who?

How to behave

Why?

2:11

Dear friends
(believers)

In the world

As aliens and strangers in the world

Abstain from sinful desires

-

2:12

Dear friends
(believers)

Among pagans

Live good lives

They may see your good deeds and glorify God

2:13-17

18-20

3:1-4

3:7

3:8-17

1 Peter 2:11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.

12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

13 Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority,

14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.

15 For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.

16 Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.

17 Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.

18 Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh.

19 For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God.

20 But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.

21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

22 "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth."

23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.

24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.

25 For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

3:1 Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives,

2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.

3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.

4 Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.

5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands,

6 like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.

7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

8 Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.

9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

10 For, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.

11 He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.

12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."

13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?

14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear ; do not be frightened."

15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

 

 

Unjust Suffering

There are many instances of unjust suffering mentioned in this passage. List them.

Verse

Suffering

2:12

2:15

2:18

2:19

2:20

3:13

3:14

3:16

3:18

Peter makes a consistent point about how believers are to behave in the midst of unjust suffering. What is it?

 

Modeled by Jesus

Peter cites Jesus' example of unjust suffering as a model for us to follow. List the behaviors Jesus showed during his suffering in v 21-23.

 

 

 

Many of these are quotes or references to Old Testament prophecies. Let's look at them in context on the next page.

1 Peter 2:21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

22 "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth."

23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.

24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.

25 For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

 

Old Testament References

Peter makes numerous connections between his illustration and Isaiah 53. Isaiah wrote this prophecy hundreds of years before Jesus was born. Look how detailed the description of the crucifixion is!

Read both passages, then match each of Peter's references (in bold type in 1 Peter) to its reference in Isaiah, underlining the words and drawing a line to connect the bold segment to the verse in Isaiah 53.

1 Peter 2:21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

22 "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth."

23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.

24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.

25 For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isaiah 53

1 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.

9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

11 After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied ; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Why did Jesus do this?

How does this serve as an example for unjust suffering?

By His Wounds you are healed--from What?

There is some controversy among Christians as to what was intended by the word healing in 1 Peter 2:24 and Isaiah 53:3. Let's look at the words in a little more detail to see.

1 Peter 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.

 (Greek)

Isaiah 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

 (Hebrew)

Most of these verses using this word refer to Jesus physically healing someone, such as Luke 22: 50-51:

And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus answered, "No more of this!" And he touched the man's ear and healed him.

But a few, including Acts 28: 27-28 reference healing in the context of salvation:

For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.' "Therefore I want you to know that God's salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!"

In the OT verses, the reference is usually to physical healing, such as in Exodus 15:26

He said, "If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you."

In Psalm 147:3 He causes emotional healing
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

It also refers to the healing of houses in Leviticus 14:48, of water in 2 Kings 2:21, the land in 2 Chronicles 7:14

In Jeremiah 17:14, the healing of salvation

Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.

The context of Peter's NT verse references the healing of sin and our ability to live righteously because of it before the verse, and after the verse it talks about returning to the Shepherd and overseer of our soul, in essence, coming back to God. The meaning of the word healing is used as physical restoration in other places in the NT, but in this verse it refers to our spiritual healing. This does not mean that God cannot heal! The context of Isaiah 53 is about Jesus' death for iniquities of people. We know that God is Jehovah Rapha- the God who heals you (Exodus 15:26), and there are many instances of his healing people in the Old Testament. There are numerous instances of Jesus healing people that happened before Jesus died on the cross, so it is his being God that caused the healing, not his wounds.

Jesus' Healing Ministry

Jesus healed the sick
  • Peter's wife's mother who was sick of a fever

Luke 4:38-40
  • Many of all kinds of sicknesses at Peter's house in the evening time

Luke 4:40-42
  • The Roman centurion's servant

Luke 7:1-10
  • The woman who had an issue of blood 12 years

Luke 8:43-48
  • The crippled woman who was bent over for 18 years

Luke 13:10-16
  • The ear that was severed by a sword of one of the disciples was healed and put back in place

Luke 22:50-51
  • The man who had an infirmity for 38 years laid at the Pool of Bethesda

John 5:2-9
  • A man full of leprosy in a certain city

Luke 5:12-14
  • Ten lepers at a village while passing through Samaria and Galilee on the way to Jerusalem

Luke 17:11-19
  • A man carried by four friends and let down through the roof because they could not get through the crowd into the house where Jesus was

Luke 5:18-26
  • He Healed a Man With a Withered Hand

Luke 6:6-11
  • Gave Sight to Blind People At Jerusalem

Luke 18:3 5-43
  • A man born blind who was told to wash in the Pool of Siloam

John 9

Raised the Dead to Life
  • The widow's son at Nain

Luke 7:11-15
  • .Jairus' (a ruler of the synagogue) daughter

Luke 8:49-56
  • Lazarus, brother to Martha and Mary, friends of Jesus

John 11

Jesus Forgave Sinners and Changed Their Lives
  • Mary Magdalene, out of whom He cast seven devils

Luke 8:1-2
  • Zacchaeus, a tax collector

Luke 19:1-10
  • A woman of Samaria who had had five husbands and was living with a man who was not her husband. Then many of the Samaritans believed

John 4
  • A woman who was caught in the act of adultery and brought to Jesus for Him to condemn.

John 8:11
  • The disciple, Peter, after he denied that he knew Jesus while He was on trial; he then cursed and swore

Luke 22:12

 

 

In the overall context, we know that God can and does heal physically, emotionally AND spiritually. It is the wounds of Jesus that heal us from our sins. It is the loving, merciful nature of God that heals us in any way.

 

Mutual Submission

Peter defines the relationship between husbands and wives, and the expected outcomes, which we looked at on page 1.

He uses an Old Testament example of the relationship of Sarah and Abraham. She did right, but she also did not give way to what?

1 Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives,

2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.

3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.

4 Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.

5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands,

6 like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.

7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

What things does Peter encourage all of the brethren to do in these verses?

 

He encourages them using scripture in v 10-12, pulled directly from Psalm 34: 11-22

Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.

Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all; he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.

Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned.

The LORD redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.

How might this encourage the believers?

 

 

The second quote Peter uses in this section is from a passage he referred to earlier, Isaiah 8:12-14:

12 "Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy ; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it.

13 The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread,

14 and he will be a sanctuary; but for both houses of Israel he will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare.

This connects with Peter's teaching on the stumbling stone we looked at in Lesson 7.

1 Peter 3:8-17

8 Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.

9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

10 For, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.

11 He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.

12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."

13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?

14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened."

 

 

Peter's summary statement tells the people to set apart Christ as Lord, after he has given them instruction on behavior. How will others respond? What might they ask about?

When they find out why you choose to behave this way, what will they do?

15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

17 It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

Lesson for Life

Which of the categories we have studied in this lesson best defines you?

 

Many of these people were dealing with unjust suffering. How is the believer to deal with unjust suffering?

 

Are there any of the behaviors Peter encourages ones that you need to work on?

 

How are you "prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have"? What is your answer?