Grace and peace be yours in abundance (1 Pe 1:2). Amen.
Sometimes we look for recommendations. Do you know a good _____ ? (Fill in the blank with your need—a good mechanic for your car, roofer for your house, dentist for your mouth.)
People usually are willing to offer suggestions based on their experience.
• “We were happy with so and so when there was a strange noise under the hood.”
• Or “we liked this company when there was hail damage.”
• Or “we were satisfied when he drilled and filled a big cavity.”
If we boil it down, it is a matter of being “good.”
We don’t need an endorsement. We have Jesus’ statement: “I am the good shepherd” (Jn 10:11; cf. v. 2). Peter did it and encourages us to do it: Follow the Good Shepherd to his cross and with your conduct. We read from …
1 Peter 2:19-25
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus, the Good Shepherd who once was dead, but who now is alive,
The pictures make it look easy, don’t they? Especially the ones with Jesus in them. The sheep are on his shoulders or at his feet. So still. So serene. I suppose that is the point of the portrait.
But it can’t be so simple to be a shepherd. They are still animals. (I have enough problems getting the family dog to listen. I am not sure that I would be any better with a wooly animal.) Sheep need constant care and concern. The shepherd needs to have his eyes and ears open at all times. Otherwise, we might not put him in the category of “good.”
Jesus is—not just your Shepherd (King David once a shepherd boy taught us to sing: “The LORD is my shepherd” [Ps 23:1]), but we can classify him as “good.” He goes before; we go after.
Follow the Good Shepherd
1. To his cross (22-25)
2. With your conduct (19-21,24)
1. To his cross (22-25)
As Jesus used the comparison of shepherd and sheep, he gives a pretty good description of both: “He [that is, the shepherd] goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice” (Jn 10:4). The shepherd walks ahead. The sheep walk behind. That fits Jesus and us. Follow the Good Shepherd to his cross.
That is where the apostle Peter takes us—to that Roman instrument of torture. And he makes it clear why Jesus went. It wasn’t for his sin. Quoting from the prophet Isaiah, Peter confirms: “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth” (1 Pe 2:22; Is 53:9). No sin. Not one sinful syllable crossed his lips. Ever. He didn’t trick anyone when he spoke like you try to trap an unwanted mouse in your pantry so you put a little peanut butter on that wooden death-gadget. Jesus knew no sin (2 Co 5:21). No one could prove him guilty of sin (Jn 8:46).
How true that was when Jesus was on trial before Caiaphas, the High Priest, after he was arrested late Maundy Thursday night. There were false witnesses and fake accusations. But they did not agree. And Jesus remained silent.
That was the case when they paraded Jesus before Pilate The chief priests and elders shouted, but Jesus’ mouth was shut.
Or even at the cross when his enemies were anything but calm: “He saved others [Jesus did.] ... but he can’t save himself! [Jesus didn’t want to.] He’s the King of Israel! [That was on the announcement above Jesus’ head.] Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him” [That would have made no difference.] (Mt 27:42).
Peter summarizes that well: “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats” (1 Pe 2:23). They kept going and he kept quiet. He didn’t return abuse for abuse like in an argument, we scream, “Oh, yeah, …” and then try to one up the other individual. Jesus didn’t promise that he would make them pay. None of that.
How could he? “Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly” (1 Pe 2:23). Jesus placed himself confidently in God’s hands, knowing that the Father was pleased with what he was doing in carrying out the plan to rescue sinners.
No. It was for our sins. He headed to that wooden apparatus on Calvary for our benefit and in our place. Peter emphasizes that fact. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree” (1 Pe 2:24). He sacrificed himself as our Substitute like a lamb lost its life in Old Testament so that the sinner could go free. Jesus is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world (Jn 1:29). God put our sins on him so that he could put our sins aside (Is 53:4,5,12). It was all for us, only for us (1 Co 15:3).
And the result: “by his wounds you have been healed” (1 Pe 2:24). Jesus allowed himself to be beaten and bloodied so that we might be made whole and well. In fact, that was what Jesus showed his disciples on Easter evening—the marks on his hands and his side, signs of victory—as he greeted them with, “Peace be with you” (Jn 20:19,20).
He did it all for his sheep. Us. That might not be a likeness that we latch on to. Sheep may not be so strong or smart. But there is that unflattering characteristic of wandering that Peter mentions: “For you were like sheep going astray” (1 Pe 2:25). Perhaps we get the idea that a shepherd puts his sheep in a field like the one out back, with grass so high that it scratches their bellies. They just chomp and chew what is around them all day long. But maybe we have to imagine a green tuft here and another one there. They put their head down and go from one to the next. They can be distracted and soon distanced from the shepherd, hopelessly lost. And so we can become disinterested in God or disobedient of God, terribly adrift.
“But now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls” (1 Pe 2:25). Jesus has turned us from heading away in the opposite direction from him to heading with him along the right paths (Ps 23:3). He provides us with forgiveness as his kindness is with us. He protects us from our enemies as his attention is on us. Follow the Good Shepherd to his cross. It is there that he saves (Jn 10:9). We now have life, and life to the full—on earth and in eternity (Jn 10:10). Jesus makes it possible to proclaim like David: “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (Ps 23:6).
2. With your conduct (19-21,24)
Jesus hits on another trait of the shepherd/sheep association. “But they [the sheep] will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice” (Jn 10:5). That is how they act. And so do we as we spend time in and around his Word, becoming acquainted and familiar with what he says—knowing right and wrong. Follow the Good Shepherd with your conduct.
Persecution is not a new phenomenon in or for the church. It has been around for a long time. That is why Peter is writing. His readers were suffering and struggling with it. He writes to strengthen and support them in it. It should not surprise them any more than it should shock us. If they treated Jesus poorly, we can anticipate the same (Jn 15:20).
That mistreatment was there with Stephen. The Sanhedrin got excited when he brought up how they brought about Jesus’ death. They hauled him out of the city and hurled rocks at his head, making him the first martyr (Acts 7:58). He testified to the truth with his life.
Peter put it this way: “For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God” (1 Pe 2:19). When sorrow comes because of unfair treatment, we can be patient because we know God’s grace is still there. He does not ditch us or dump us.
But he also wants them to keep this in mind with his question: “But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it?” (1 Pe 2:20). It is not pain for pain’s sake like two brothers taking turns punching each other on the arm to see which one backs down first. There is no glory in getting a ticket for speeding or being grounded for sassing. “But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God” (1 Pe 2:20). We are still blessed (Mt 5:11,12). The devil would deceive us that God doesn’t have a clue or is not in control. But not true. God is by our side. We are still his children. He will sustain us with all that we need.
As Peter indicated, Jesus is our Savior. But he is more. “To this [the cheerful endurance of painful abuse] you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps” (1 Pe 2:21). Think of how we learn to write. There are workbooks or worksheets and you trace the dotted lines or follow the arrows. We behave in the manner that Jesus did like a child copying his father’s path through the snow (even on May 1!).
We love as Jesus loved. We forgive as Jesus forgave. And like Stephen on the ground who echoed Jesus’ prayer from the cross, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60; cf. Lk 23:34). There is no room for retribution or repayment. As Peter made clear: Jesus lifted up our sins “so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness” (1 Pe 2:24). We can change the phrase “It’s a matter of life and death” to “It is a matter of death and life.” Dead to sin and alive in Christ (Ro 6:2,11), delighting in what God considers pleasing and pleasant all our life. And again similar to Jesus and Stephen on the day he invites us home, we commit our lives into his hands, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59; cf. Lk 23:46). And we fall asleep in death to wake up in heaven. Follow the Good Shepherd with your conduct.
It is not often that you need a recommendation for a good shepherd unless you want a petting zoo for a birthday party or you are going green when cutting your lawn. But we have one. Jesus. It is not a difficult job for him. Follow the Good Shepherd to his cross where he gives his life for you—to save you. Follow the Good Shepherd with your conduct as you give your life for him—to thank him. There is no one better to be in front to follow. Amen.
Peace to all of you who are in Christ (1 Pe 5:13). Amen.
May 7, 2017
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