How do Christians who suffer in the workplace find strength to submit and shine their hope in front of a watching world?

This is part three of a short series of articles about witness at work, and in 1 Peter 2:21-25 Peter is setting out the second of two motives for the kind of extreme submission he’s been prescribing for household slaves (see the previous two articles on vs 18-20). The first motive in verses 19-20 is that God sees and will reward such suffering. We practice extreme, evangelistic submission, because it finds favour with God! The second motive now in verses 21-25 is your calling, as a Christian, to follow Christ’s example—and to be willing even to suffer to see others saved.

This section breaks down into three points: your calling, your example, and your experience.

1. Your Calling (v.21)

“For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.”
Christian—Peter is saying that you are called to endure sorrows while suffering unjustly. Think about that. This is part of taking up the cross of Christ. If you have said, “I have decided to follow Jesus,” you have signed up for the path Jesus trod—the path of unjust suffering. Because you are yoked to Jesus, wherever He goes, you go—even when it hurts. Remembering that you are called to this helps you endure unjust suffering, mindful of God. You are called, to follow in his footprints.

2. Your Example (vv.22–24)

Peter now shows you the path to follow in the example of Jesus. In verses 22–24, we see five elements of Christ’s example.

His Innocence
“He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.”
That can’t be said of us. But for Jesus to be the spotless Lamb of God, He had to be utterly innocent (Isaiah 53:9). Of course, you and I are not innocent in an absolute sense like Jesus—He was without sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). However, you can be innocent in the matter for which you are suffering, and when you are innocent, Jesus is your perfect example. He was absolutely innocent, and yet he trod the path of suffering.

His Suffering
Jesus was horribly reviled, and He truly suffered. Mercilessly mocked and beaten by a battalion of soldiers, with thorns pressed into his scalp; then while hanging naked and in agony on the cross, he was scorned and derided by the passers-by, pilloried by the chief-priests, and even abused by the thieves who were suffering alongside him. Yet He endured it all. If you suffer, you can know that Jesus walked this way before you!

His Refusal (to return fire)
“When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten.”
Jesus was so very capable with his words, and very well aware of every dark secret belonging to those who abused him. He could have destroyed them with just a few well chosen words, but he refused. He remained silent. Of all the people who could have uttered threats, Jesus had the power to do so, and to carry them out! He was the captain of Yahweh’s armies (Joshua 5:14). With one phrase he could make his captors fall to the ground (John 18:6), but again, he refused to employ that power. Many people learn, early, to get their way by threats or verbal abuse, but when you refuse, you are treading the path of your Example.

His Trust (in God’s justice)
“But he continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.”
Do you believe that God will one day both vindicate you, and repay those who afflict you? If you truly grasp what is coming for those who remain unrepentant, you might stop feeling sorry for yourself and start feeling sorry for them (2 Thessalonians 1:6–8)! The day of Judgment is coming for the unrepentant, but it will be the day of vindication for Christians. Peter tells us that Jesus was continually, handing himself over, committing himself to the One who judges justly. This was the radical alternative. This was what Jesus did instead of biting back! Peter says he did not revile in return, BUT! If you want to follow in His footsteps, this is the radical alternative you must choose! You must refuse to return fire, and continually be handing yourself over to Him who judges justly—you must trust in the future justice of God!

His Purpose (to save)
“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.”
Jesus had a purpose behind all his suffering. He suffered willingly and sacrificially to save us from the penalty and power of sin. He endured it all because He wanted to save people. Do you? If you tread this path, voluntarily practicing extreme submission, enduring sorrows while suffering unjustly, all because you want to see people saved, then you are placing your feet in your Master’s footprints! You are following in his steps.

3. Your Experience (v.25)

Peter ends this section with a reminder of your own experience as a Christian. You can trust God to save the worst of people, even those who abuse you, since you yourself were not someone who found their own way to God. Peter explains: “For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” The passive voice of the verb translated “returned” shows that even our turning-back to God, is something God had to do! It was all a work of God! For suffering Christians, submitting evangelistically in the workplace, this should bring you hope! The same God who saved you is the same God who can save your cruel master, your persecutor, your boss!

Pieta was a poor Filipino slave girl in the 1930s, living under a cruel Spanish master. He only gave her only a sack for clothing. He would regularly beat her, and sometimes as a punishment, he’d even take wire and hang her from her wrists on the fence.

While this was happening, Pieta began to attend meetings in the home of a missionary named Mrs. Wightman, and it was there that, for the first time, Pieta heard about Jesus and how he was hung—not on a fence—but on a cross, punished for the sins of others. One day during a meeting, Pieta spoke up, “I wish that Jesus had died for my sins!” She confessed to sometimes spitting in the water she brought to her master, and stealing money from him, but on this happy day, she sought forgiveness for her sin, and trusted in Christ. Finally, despite all her suffering, she was filled with peace, joy, and hope.

Pieta’s first act as a believer was to run home and tell her cruel master about the Lord Jesus—but instead of thanks, she just got some more bruises.

Soon after this, however, a typhoon struck the Philippines, and the next day, Pieta discovered a tiny pink pig washed ashore. She searched for its owner, but when no one claimed it, she took the pig in. She fed it scraps, cared for it, and fattened it up so she could give it to God! When the day came, she brought the pig to Mrs. Wightman, and asked her to sell it to buy Bibles for the many who had none.

The next day, however, Pieta didn’t arrive for their usual meeting. Worried, Mrs. Wightman went looking for her, and found Pieta lying in the crawl space beneath her home where she lived. She was so badly beaten, with one eye was gone, and burning up with fever. Pieta looked up at her, however, with her one good eye, and saw her crying. “Are you crying?” she said. “Why are you crying? You’re not crying for me, are you?” Mrs. Wightman couldn’t answer, but Pieta continued, “Don’t cry for me. I’m going to be in heaven with the Lord Jesus very soon. I’m so glad to go. Please don’t cry for me. I can hardly wait.”

But it was then that little Pieta said something that changed everything. While Mrs. Wightman was holding her, she looked up and said, “When I go, will you pray for my master? He’s all I have, and I do want him to be saved.”

What would you do in such a situation? Would you pray for that man’s salvation? Or would you be tempted to pray something like Psalm 58:6 saying Lord, “Break his teeth!”  For a Christian to pray for their persecutor like Pieta, you have to be willing to accept your own suffering. In fact, you have to be so consumed with concern for your persecutor’s salvation that you even stop focusing on their own suffering. You need to be more concerned for them, than you are for yourself.

Sometimes, a brand new Christian like Pieta, puts her feet more perfectly in her Master’s footsteps than many a more experienced believer. The results, when we follow His example, are truly remarkable. Here’s the rest of the story:

Mrs Wightman picked up little Pieta, and carried her limp body up into the house where her master sat in his living room with a bottle in his hand. She told him “You killed her,” but he just brushed her off, “What if I did? She’s my property. I can do what I like with her. And anyway, she’s a slave… she doesn’t have a soul!”

“Yes, she did have a soul, and you know that. Pieta is now in heaven. You are a wicked murderer in the sight of God!”

“Get out of here! I have nothing to do with God or the things you teach. Get out!”

“I will go in a moment,” she answered, “but first I have something to say to you. Just before Pieta died she asked me to do a hard thing. She asked me to pray for you. She loved you in spite of your cruelty to her, and wanted you to be saved from everlasting punishment. I will keep my promise to Pieta. I will pray that God will show you what a sinful man you are, and that you will come to Him for mercy and for pardon.”

Mrs Wightman then went back to the mission, and asked everyone who attended, “Will you pray with me for this wicked man that he may find the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour?” The response was immediate. They agreed to pray, and to pray around the clock, continually, until this man should be saved. During the fourth night the praying Filipinos heard footsteps. Looking up they saw the haggard Spaniard stumbling through the doorway. “Is there mercy with God for such a wicked man as I am?” he cried. His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked as though he had neither eaten nor slept for some time. Falling to his knees the man poured out his heart to God confessing his sin, and his deep need of Jesus Christ as his Saviour.

The Christians were able to show him from God’s Word that the death of the Lord Jesus upon Calvary had atoned for his great sin, and he received God’s gift of salvation. The change in this man’s life was seen by everyone. He immediately went to his drinking companions and shared with them what God had done for him. Soon his testimony was winning others to the Saviour.”

A few years later, the Second World War broke out, and the Japanese invaded the Philippines. Suddenly everyone was forced to bow in worship the emperor. And the Spaniard, when he refused, was sent by a Japanese bullet to meet his own Master, and be reunited with Pieta, in answer to her prayer.