“Don’t Be Surprised!”
Seventh Sunday of Easter
May 4, 2008
1 Peter 4:12-19; 5:06-11 … [12] Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. [13] But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. [14] If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. [15] But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. [16] Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. [17] For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? [18] And "If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?" [19] Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. . . . [5:6] Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, [7] casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. [8] Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. [9] Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. [10] And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. [11] To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Introduction
“Do not be surprised” (4:12)! Peter opens our Epistle text with these simple words. “Do not be surprised!” Surprised at what? Well, a couple of things. First, don’t be surprised when you find yourself suffering because you are a Christian; and, second, don’t be surprised when you find that in your suffering, God is present, caring for you, loving you, and saving you.
I.
There are all kinds of surprises in our lives. When we were little our parents were able to surprise us with little gifts at times that weren’t even our birthday or Christmas. As we grew we found that teachers could surprise us with interesting lessons and even give us good grades if we really studied. Some of us were surprised when our wives came up to us and said, “Guess what? We’re pregnant!” Others have been surprised when the flashing blue lights in their rearview mirror reminded them that the speed limit was a whole lot less than the speed at which they were driving.
Surprises. How many things in this life surprise you? How many times have you been surprised when something happened that you really didn’t think was going to happen? For some of us, suffering is a surprise. It shouldn’t be. After all, we’re still human beings, we’re still tainted by sin, and therefore suffering – physical, mental, emotional – is just a natural part of our fallen condition. Because of sin our bodies age and become ill and die. Because of sin we have to suffer the loss of those we love. Because of sin we have to suffer the agony of physical illness. None of this should be a surprise.
But that’s not the kind of suffering Peter is talking about. Peter is talking about the suffering that comes to us because we are Christians, because we are followers of Jesus Christ. There are some who will say that once you become a Christian, once you have Christ in your heart, that you shouldn’t have to suffer anymore. I mean, if you’re an unbeliever, suffering is okay, but once you are a believer God should cut you some slack and give you a break from suffering. He should especially make sure that you don’t suffer just because you’re a Christian. After all, He was the One who brought us to faith. Did He do it just to torture us?
Sound familiar? When Moses led the children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, when he got them through the Red Sea while Pharaoh’s army drowned, when he talked to them about what God was going to do for them, what was their response? Did they stand up and cheer for Moses as their great liberator? Did they fall down and worship God for His kindness and mercy? No! “They said to Moses, ‘Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!’” (Ex 14:11-12). They were surprised when God allowed them to suffer even while He was freeing them from slavery. They were thinking that if God went to all the trouble to free us, why does He allow us to suffer? Well, because while they were God’s chosen people, they were still sinful beings who more often than not ignored what God told them.
Okay, those guys were Old Testament people and things changed when Jesus came, right? Not really, at least not when it comes to suffering because we are God’s children. The disciples lived with Jesus for three years. They walked with Him, talked with Him, learned from Him, and saw Him after He had risen from the grave. They were blessed people. And yet, that blessing of being so closely associated with Jesus didn’t keep them from suffering. All except John were martyred. Read about Paul’s suffering during his travels: “I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.” (2 Cor 11:23-27). So, following Jesus doesn’t make everything nice. In fact, it produces just the opposite, and there is suffering. But that shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Why? Because Christ told us that it would happen. He spelled it out for us so that there would be no doubt in our mind when it came to suffering for the sake of the Gospel. He essentially told the disciples: “Don’t be surprised. ‘If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also’” (Jn 15:20). He expanded on this when He said, “They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and . . . You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. All men will hate you because of me.” (Lk 21:12-17). And do you see why they will suffer all this? Because of Christ.
And, as followers of Christ, we can expect no less. We too will suffer, not simply because we are human beings who naturally suffer because of sin, but because we are Christians. In other words, we will suffer more. This is cross bearing. We live under the cross. There is no earthly glory in being a Christian, instead, there is suffering. Christ not only told us that suffering, cross bearing, would come, but that it was necessary because, “anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple” (Lk 14:27). So don’t be surprised when it comes along.
In some places that suffering is very physical and dangerous. There are countries where being a Christian can result in a death sentence. Martyrs are still being made. For us, the suffering may be something as simple as being excluded from certain groups at school because we choose to follow Christ instead of the crowd. It may mean that we are unable to talk about our faith in our workplace because doing so may result in losing a job. It could mean that the boy or girl, man or woman, you thought was made for you turns you down because he or she isn’t a Christian and could never be linked with one. Suffering can take many forms.
One thing we want to make clear is that there is nothing inherently worthwhile or good in suffering. Physical suffering, emotional suffering, those things hurt and there’s nothing praiseworthy about courting pain for pain’s sake. The same with suffering under the cross. There is nothing worthy in our suffering. We suffer because we are Christians. That suffering doesn’t help save us or make us better Christians, it’s just a fact of life. There are people who want to think that their suffering earns them some kind of special favor before God. It doesn’t! We aren’t saved because of our suffering. If we think like that, then all we’re doing is making suffering another work, and we all know that works don’t save us – it’s faith, faith in the atoning and sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. We are saved by the blood of our Savior, shed on Calvary, washed on us in our Baptism, fed to us in the Lord’s Supper – that’s our salvation – not our suffering.
II.
But while we shouldn’t be surprised at suffering for Christ’s sake, we also shouldn’t be surprised to learn that God is there, in the midst of that suffering, loving us, serving us, saving us. Peter tells us to “cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (v 5:7). That’s what we do with the suffering that comes to us, we give it to God to handle for us. “Lord,” we say, “here it is. It’s all yours. You take it because I can’t handle it.” Jesus told us to do the very same thing when He said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt 11:29-30).
God cares for us. God loves us. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16), the apostle John wrote. That’s not just a catchy slogan that people refer to on signs at sporting events, that’s the Gospel, that’s the reality. God sent His Son into the world to bear our sin and to pay the price for our redemption. If He didn’t care, if He didn’t love us, why would He have done that? Why would Jesus have willingly laid down His life for us, if He didn’t want us to have the blessings of salvation that are ours through His sacrifice? As sinful people, maybe we should be surprised to learn that God loves us. But as His baptized people we should never be surprised to hear once again that we are forgiven because of the shed blood of Christ, that we are saved and have eternal life because of His life, death, and resurrection.
Peter also reminds us that God loves us enough to tell us the truth about the price we will have to pay for being His followers. We’ve already talked about some of them. But in our text he adds another warning when he tells us that our adversary, the devil, is prowling around us, “looking for someone to devour” (v 5:8). Without a sound grounding in our faith, without regularly hearing the Word and receiving the sacraments, we can become a little unfocused, maybe sloppy about our faith. If that happens, we shouldn’t be surprised when the devil attacks us like a lion who has been stalking an antelope. She doesn’t attack the antelope as a game, she’s trying to kill it, and the devil wants us to die as well, die permanently and horribly as we suffer the second death.
So, we’re not surprised to learn that God cares for us and we’re not surprised that we need to be alert for the devil and his minions who seek to do us harm, and we shouldn’t be surprised to learn that God has given us a way to fight against Satan’s attacks. “Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” (v 5:9-10). We can resist the devil by being firm in our faith. That firmness is ours because we do not ignore what God offers us in Word and Sacrament, in the means of grace. In these things God comes to us and forgives our sin, saves us, makes us members of His family, and enables us to stand firm.
Conclusion
There are many surprises in life, but the one thing we never have to be surprised at is suffering and the love of God in Christ. We will suffer: as sinful people and because we are Christians. But suffering isn’t the final word. Peter tells us that after we have suffered a little while God will “restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish” (v 5:10) us. In fact, he tells us to rejoice if we suffer for Christ’s sake. That’s a good message for us to hear, but I kind of like the way St. Paul said it to the Corinthians when he told them not to be sad about their suffering because of following Christ, but to rejoice: “we also rejoice in our sufferings,” he said, “because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” (1 Cor 5:3-5). No surprise there. Amen.
