Making sense of suffering. What makes suffering endurable is in the understanding of the why. A loose paraphrase of a line attributed to Nietzsche may be useful: If a person has a why for suffering then they can bear with the how. Did a suffering moment come from the logical consequences of our actions or did it come to us uninvited? Knowing the difference determines the attitude for the Christian.

You are blessed (3:14): The term “blessed” (makarios) may allude to the wisdom of psalm 1: good choices lead us into blessedness; it also alludes to Jesus’ sermon on the mount. Blessed (makarios) are you when people revile and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account . . .” (Mt. 5:11-12).

Be prepared (3:15-16): Could refer to legal proceedings, but more probably, the demeanor and gentleness of speaking to the quality of hope that Christians possess. “Always . . . everyone” suggests that this is a universal application: we should be willing to share our faith as part of our mission and not just when we’re in the witness stand.

Suffering applied: the pattern of 2:18-25 is similar to 3:13-18: that the relationship of slave to (unbelieving) master has become paradigmatic of the relationship of Christian to (unbelieving) opp0nent.

 

According to one commentator, there is a “suffering satisfaction” in the Christian DNA:

When well-doers suffer, they have the satisfaction of knowing that their suffering is not the moral consequence of their well-doing, even if it is their good actions which have brought their enemies’ hostility down upon them. Indeed, in so far as they can discern God’s hand in their afflictions, Christians have grounds for rejoicing.

C.S. Lewis: “We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.”

A Christian response to suffering:

What should be the Christian response to suffering? First, ours is a just cause, we have a clear conscience, we model responsible behavior (3:13-14; 17). Second, we are not to be fearful (3:14); the writer draws from Isaiah to urge his hearers not to be intimidated by the leaders who act out of fear (Is. 8:12). Rather, we are committed to the Lord: “ . . . let him be your fear, and let him be your dread” (Is. 8:13); third, we should stand ready to make our defense (3:15). The word for defense is apologia, which was a technical term to describe the case Christians made for themselves against their detractors. Always be prepared! Finally, we are to relate our suffering to that of Christ (3:18-19). The suffering of Christ is a defining moment for us Christians-and especially when we suffer unjustly. The death of Christ served a greater, longer range purpose than Golgotha. It was a death for sins, a vicarious death. For the Christian, suffering can become an occasion for transcending our own self-interest and acting in behalf of others.

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1 New Interpreter’s Bible XII (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1998), page 292.
2 Wayne Martindale and Jerry Root, ed., The Quotable Lewis, (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1989), page 469.
3 The entire piece under the “Gambits” section is taken from, Preaching the New Common Lectionary, Fred Craddock, John H. Hayes, Carl R. Holladay, and Gene M. Tucker, ed. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1986), page. 214.