The Problem of Suffering II

Today we are picking up in 1 Peter 3:18-22.  In this section Peter reminds us that, even though we may suffer unjustly in this life, our Lord suffered as well.  Thus if we are following him we should not have any surprise at our own sufferings.

When we are suffering it is easy to pray and ask God to take all the suffering away.  In fact we can be drawn to Christianity out of the mistaken notion that it promises to get rid of all the difficulties of our life.  I find it interesting that Jesus came and suffered with Israel at a time when they were praying and longing for God to deliver them out of their suffering.  In fact once we realize that God suffered through Jesus we might ask ourselves this question.  Is it possible that God himself has suffered from the very moment of creation because he knew and later experienced the pain and sorrow of the rebellion against him?  I would say that Jesus coming to suffer was not God joining us in our suffering, but rather, God demonstrating that he has always suffered.  The truth is that life and the sufferings we encounter are really offering us the opportunity to join God in His sufferings.  Let’s look at this passage.

Jesus Also Suffered On The Earth

The use of the word also in verse 18 helps us to know that God is not expecting us to do anything that he hasn’t also gone through himself.  The call of Jesus is, “Follow me.”  He not only can identify with us, but he is also our example of how to approach suffering.

Jesus suffered as the Christ, the Anointed One of God.  You cannot get any closer to God than to be the messiah, the Anointed of God.  In our hearts we could covet such a position, thinking that it would be a privileged one.  However, the messiah was humbled, tortured, and caused to suffer.  So the next time you are tempted to think that you are suffering because God doesn’t love you, think again.  Peter has already dealt with the reality of suffering we bring on ourselves because of doing wrong.  But even when you have done all you can to do right and still suffer on account of it, we must check our emotions from blaming God.  This is a sinful world filled with sinful people and sin brings suffering with it.

He also suffered as a righteous man on behalf of the unrighteous.  Jesus suffered so that my unrighteousness could be forgiven and I could be brought to God.  His suffering opened the door to not only peace with God, but also a place in his family, to be treated as his children.

He also suffered as a mortal man.  The incarnation of Jesus is definitely a mystery.  However, Scripture is clear that he was fully God and yet also fully man.  He wasn’t pretending to suffer in a pretend body.  It was real and his death was real.  Yet, in this state of mortal death, the Spirit made his body alive.  Not alive like Lazarus, who was essentially resuscitated, but made alive in a transformed, glorified body that is a direct creation of God.  Paul points us back to this in Romans 8:11 when he says, “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

Jesus Then Goes To The Place Of The Dead

We do not have an exact timeline of the events between the death of Jesus on the cross and his resurrection.  His dead body was placed in a grave and remained there until some point early Sunday morning.  However, in verse 19 it mentions that Jesus preached to the spirits in prison.  Now the question arises, what spirits?  Are these the rebellious human spirits, are these angelic spirits, or both?  The word “prison” makes it clear that we are talking about the wicked dead.  And, why does it mention the pre-flood era specifically?  There are a lot of questions here that are not answered by Peter.  However, one thing is clear, we see that Christ does not go into the grave like a normal person.  He is in control to the point that he preaches to these prisoners.  Preaching is not the same as evangelizing.  So this is not an attempt of Jesus to get these spirits saved.  The word translated as preach simply means to proclaim something.  Thus Jesus proclaims his victory over sin, death, and Satan.  He then leads the righteous dead who have been held in Abraham’s bosom into heaven before God’s throne.  This is why Paul can later say that to be absent in body is to be present with the Lord.  Jesus did not go into the grave to suffer.  His suffering was done on the cross and it was finished as he gave up his spirit.  He went into the grave to proclaim his victory to the lost and lead the righteous into heaven.  Thus he loots the grave of its treasure. 

Peter then compares the salvation of Noah and his family to ours.  God was patient with the pre-flood generation during the time of Noah’s ark building.  For generations men like Enoch, Methusaleh, and Noah had been faithful to preach to their world.  But the judgment was looming.  Thus Noah built an ark (a place of safety from Judgment) over a period of 120 years and then was immersed in the waters of the flood as he was saved.  This is a picture of what we experience now.  Jesus built an ark, which is himself.  All those who come into this ark do so spiritually by believing on him.  We symbolize this saving by being immersed in water.  The flood waters point forward to Christian baptism as much as Christian baptism points back to the flood.  For almost 2,000 years God’s Spirit has been calling to all nations of the earth to enter this ark of Jesus in order to be spared from the coming judgment.  Are you in Jesus through faith in him?

Now verse 21 is critical.  There are some who teach that you are saved by the act of baptism and not until.  Now Peter does say we are saved by baptism, but notice the parenthetical statement that follows it.  He qualifies the previous statement both negatively and positively.  First, we are not saved by the simple removal of the filth of our flesh.  It is not the physical act of going into the water and the cleaning action of it that saves us.  Rather it is something happening in the heart that causes us to do the action.  Baptism saves those who are doing it as their heart answering back to God, yes, I believe!  Baptism as a physical act doesn’t save, but as a spiritual act it does.  Note that the thief on the cross couldn’t be baptized and yet Jesus told him that he would be with him in Paradise that very day.  Life itself is our interrogator.  Our heart has an answer back to God which manifests itself in many actions.  It is our faith in God that saves us not our works, lest we be able to boast.

Jesus Has Gone Into Heaven

Verse 22 clearly speaks of the ascension of Acts chapter 1.  He is at the right hand of the Father.  This point is more about recognizing the power and authority that now belongs to Jesus as the “right hand man” of the Father.  Several verses mention Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father, like on a throne, and also standing at the right hand of God when Stephen was martyred.  We are also told that he mediates between us and God interceding on our behalf.  He is no longer under the sufferings of this world and its powers, but has taken up ultimate power.

In fact Peter states that the spiritual powers are subject to him.  All angels, spiritual authorities and powers are under his rule.  This is reminiscent of Ephesians 6.  We are called upon to battle against these spiritual powers of the world that are in rebellion to the Father and his champion, Jesus.

Final Thoughts

The life and words of Jesus make it clear that those who follow him will suffer as well.  This gives deeper meaning to, “Come, Follow me.”  Are we greater than Christ himself?  Should we somehow not have to deal with difficult things in this sinful world?  Should God shield us completely?

Our faith follows the same pattern of Christ.  He suffered in this world, died, was buried, then resurrected, and then exalted.  This is our destiny.  By faith we who suffer for the sake of righteousness will die, be buried, be resurrected and be exalted beside Jesus.  Thus the sufferings of this world become a badge of honor.  Not that we attempt to cause our own sufferings, that is no honor.

In Jesus we are enabled to fight against the spiritual powers with Truth, God’s Righteousness, the Gospel, faith, our sure salvation, God’s Word, and prayer.  Through these we are able to break down strongholds in some people’s lives and set them free.  If I have to suffer that some may be saved then so be it because that would just mean I am following in the footsteps of Jesus.  Amen!

Problem of Suffering II Audio