1 Peter 2:19-25
April 26, 2026
If you are an athlete or if you enjoy playing sports, then you are probably familiar with the phrase, “no pain, no gain.” The phrase is used to motivate athletes or any of us, knowing that if we want to improve in our sport, we need to work hard or even harder, which involves pushing our bodies, building our muscles, or stretching ourselves sometimes to the point of exhaustion. When you do that, you will usually experience some pain in the manner of sore muscles that day or maybe the next day. It is certainly not enjoyable at the time when we experience that pain, but when we are able to lift more weight, run faster, or improve our skill in our sport we will often feel like the gain we experience by being better, stronger, or faster is worth the pain.
Wouldn’t it be great, though, if someone else’s pain could be your gain. What if instead of having to spend the time in the gym lifting weights or running outside on a track to be in better shape, you could send someone else to the gym or the track to sweat on your behalf and for your benefit? This way, their pain would become your gain – bigger, strong, or faster bodies without any effort on your part. Of course, it doesn’t work that way. If you want to be a better athlete or improve in a sport, you have to work at it, sometimes to the point where it hurts. No pain, no gain.
But when it comes to spiritual matters, Peter says in our second lesson for today that gain is possible without pain. Peter encourages us in this text to stay close to Jesus, to be like Him as our Good Shepherd, because His pain is our gain. Even though that gain may actually bring pain in this life, we still have good reasons to stick with our Good Shepherd and not wander off on our own when the going gets tough.
When I read this text, I immediately thought of my days when I was in the Army and we would do a variety of “go to war” maneuvers in the woods. We would be out in the woods for about 2 weeks and our Brigade Commander would come out unannounced to inspect us. None of us really cared for the guy as he often got angry at us and never had a nice word to say to us. No matter what we did, it never seemed to be good enough. I was the unit communications officer and I remember one time when our communications at the unit headquarters went down. The brigade commander was not happy and he didn’t care what the problem was, he just wanted it fixed. So he looked at me and said, “Beyer, get the communications back up and if you don’t have it fixed in 5 minutes, don’t even bother coming back.” I don’t remember exactly what I did, but I ran out of the tent, took some of my soldiers with me, we found the problem, and we got the communications working again. That night, I got together with some of my fellow officers and we complained about the brigade commander, we put him down, because we didn’t think he was treating us fairly. But according to this text that was not necessarily the right thing to do. In verses 21,22,&23 of our second lesson, Peter makes this clear by saying, “For to this you have been called.” That word “this” refers to what Peter was writing about in this letter to a group of people who were suffering, namely that they were to respect authority no matter what and to be like Jesus when He faced authorities – even unjust authorities. So “For to this (submitting yourselves to authority with all respect) you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 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.”
We are to be like Jesus in the way we handle those who treat us poorly, who are never satisfied with our work, who pick on us at school, or who blame us for their mistakes. Yes, such people may be harsh, difficult, or unfair. But how did Jesus handle such people? Instead of getting angry at those who crucified Him, He offered words of forgiveness. Now that doesn’t mean Jesus excused the behavior or the sins that people committed against Him. He simply did not take vengeance into His own hands. He knew that belonged to His Heavenly Father. In the same way we are to commend ourselves to God and trust Him for protection as His children when we are criticized, put down, or wronged in any way.
Not retaliating when hurt is what God expects of us, but the people Peter was writing to had failed in this regard and so have we. Thankfully Peter tells us not only what God expects of us, but what He has done for us through Jesus our Good Shepherd, saying in verses 24-25, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”
Jesus suffered and died for our refusal to submit to all in authority. But the pain Jesus experienced through his death on the cross is our gain. Isn’t that amazing – gaining eternal life by doing nothing. It’s no wonder the Bible calls Jesus our Good Shepherd. He truly cares for us, His wandering sheep, even giving His life for us so we could live with Him forever. His pain is our gain, so let us all stay close to Him.
And just how close should we stay to Jesus? Peter says that Jesus has set a pattern for us to follow, meaning we are to copy what He does. Think of it like tracing a picture on a piece of paper. If you want to make a good copy of a picture, you will take another piece of paper and put it right on top of the picture so you can trace it. That is how close we should be to Jesus so that we will live like Him.
But Peter also wants us to understand that while Jesus’ pain on the cross is our gain of eternal life, that gain will bring us pain. Not retaliating when someone picks on you won’t necessarily stop people from picking on you or targeting you. Serving your boss with a smile won’t keep him from yelling at you. Just stay close to your Good Shepherd, He understands your pain and suffering. He will always be there to strengthen you, guide you, and carry you (if necessary) when you are struggling. Maybe that’s why many people find Psalm 23 so comforting.
It begins: The Lord is my shepherd (shepherds care and give their lives for the sheep); I shall not be in want (in other words, with Jesus I am satisfied in life; but when I’m tired, frustrated, or exhausted) He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul; (When I don’t know which way to go) He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death (I may be afraid but) I fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me; (When I don’t know how I’m going to deal with a difficult boss or make ends meet, it’s ok, because) You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows; (and when I’m confused and don’t know where I am headed) Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. That is life with Jesus as our Good Shepherd.
A few chapters later in Peter’s letter he said, “Do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.” It’s not easy knowing that we will suffer for being a Christian. Yet, when those moments come, let us look at them as opportunities to serve God. And we serve Him whenever we don’t react in anger to those who criticize us or treat us unfairly, and honor authority. I had a pastor once tell me that suffering for Jesus is like cracking a walnut, not smashing a bottle. When you smash a bottle it is destroyed, it cannot be used; but when you crack a walnut, something good and useful comes out of it. God’s purpose in letting us suffer is not to destroy us. He sometimes lets us suffer so that the good He has put into us can be displayed for all to see. Jesus is our Good Shepherd, His pain is our gain, and His living in us definitely makes it easier for us to be like Him on a daily basis.
