Reflecting the Suffering Servant; 1Pet. 2:18-25

Delivered during the Sunday evening worship service, 12/15/2019. In our text for this evening, Peter first encourages his readers to respond to authority, persecution and suffering as Jesus did-- in a way that pleases God and ultimately brings Him glory. He then goes on to describe the way Jesus suffered by making multiple references to Isaiah's Suffering Servant Song in Isaiah 53. On the one hand, the text is a glorious exaltation of the Gospel, drawing the core imagery from Isaiah. But in another sense, when the text is viewed as a whole, Peter is instructing his readers (which includes us!) to respond to authority, persecution and suffering in the same way Jesus did! We will wrestle with this model of Christian living that differs so radically from the "me-focused" model that dominates Christendom today. Ultimately we will understand that true Christianity is not only to suffer-- but to suffer well! To suffer in a way that glorifies God and reflects the Suffering Servant.