Christ’s Example: The Path Through Unjust Suffering

Christ’s Example: Following in His Footsteps

Peter has just commanded patience under unjust treatment, particularly from harsh authority. Now he provides both the ultimate example and the power for such endurance: Jesus Christ Himself. “For to this you were called”—the Christian life inherently includes suffering. We weren’t called to comfort, prosperity, or ease, though God may graciously provide these. We were called to follow Christ, and His path led through unjust suffering to glory. The calling is clear: patient endurance of wrongful treatment modeled after Christ’s own response.

The word “example” in Greek (hypogrammon) refers to a pattern traced for students learning to write—they would place their stylus in the grooves and trace over the letters until they could form them independently. Christ’s suffering provides the pattern we’re to trace with our lives. His response to injustice becomes the template for ours. When we face workplace hostility, social rejection, or physical harm, we don’t wonder what to do—we look at Christ’s example and follow His steps (1 John 2:6).

What Christ Did Not Do

Peter first describes Christ’s restraint—what He refused to do despite having every right and power to respond differently. “Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth”—Christ’s innocence was absolute and complete. Unlike us who sometimes suffer for our own failures, Jesus never deserved correction of any kind. Every accusation was false. Every punishment was unjust. Every wound was undeserved. His perfection magnifies the injustice He endured and makes His patient response even more remarkable (Hebrews 4:15).

“When He was reviled, did not revile in return”—throughout His arrest, trials, and crucifixion, Jesus faced abusive, vile threats and accusations. Religious leaders called Him a blasphemer. Soldiers mocked Him as a fake king. The crowd shouted for His death. Yet He never responded with verbal retaliation, never defended Himself with the devastating truth that would have silenced His accusers, never unleashed righteous anger that would have been completely justified. He absorbed the abuse without returning it (Isaiah 53:7).

“When He suffered, He did not threaten”—Christ never warned His persecutors of coming retribution or promised retaliation. He could have called legions of angels to His defense (Matthew 26:53). He could have spoken judgment that would have struck them dead instantly. He held ultimate power yet wielded ultimate restraint. Even from the cross, instead of threatening His murderers, He prayed for their forgiveness: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34). This is the pattern we’re called to trace—absorbing injustice without retaliation, enduring suffering without threats.

What Christ Did Instead

Rather than defending Himself or retaliating, Christ took a radically different approach: “He committed Himself to Him who judges righteously.” Jesus gave Himself completely over to God because He knew and trusted in God’s righteous sovereignty. This wasn’t passive resignation but active trust—a deliberate choice to leave vengeance to God and focus on accomplishing the Father’s redemptive purpose (Romans 12:19). Christ knew that God sees all injustice, records every wrong, and will settle every account with perfect justice in His timing.

This trust in God’s righteous judgment enabled Jesus to endure the cross. He didn’t need to defend His innocence because God knew the truth. He didn’t need to threaten His persecutors because God would judge justly. He didn’t need to escape suffering because God would use it redemptively. When we commit ourselves to God who judges righteously, we find the same freedom—we can absorb injustice without defending ourselves, endure mistreatment without retaliation, and suffer wrongfully without bitterness, because we trust that God sees, knows, and will ultimately make all things right (2 Thessalonians 1:6-7).

The Greater Purpose: Bearing Our Sins

But Christ’s suffering accomplished infinitely more than providing an example—it secured our salvation. “Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree”—Jesus willingly became the substitute for us sinners. He suffered and died in our place, the righteous for the unrighteous (1 Peter 3:18). The punishment we deserved fell on Him. The wrath we earned was absorbed by Him. He paid the debt our sins incurred, a debt we could never pay ourselves (2 Corinthians 5:21).

This substitutionary atonement accomplishes what no human effort could: “that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness.” Through Christ’s death, we died to sin’s penalty and power. We’re no longer slaves to sin but freed to pursue righteousness (Romans 6:6-7). The same Christ who endured unjust suffering to save us now lives within us, providing the power to endure our own suffering with His patience. We don’t face harsh treatment in our own strength but in the strength of the One who bore the ultimate injustice on our behalf.

“By whose stripes you were healed”—the wounds inflicted on Christ during His flogging and crucifixion brought spiritual healing to us. Isaiah prophesied this centuries earlier: “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). Every stripe on His back, every thorn pressed into His brow, every nail driven through His flesh purchased our healing—not primarily physical healing in this life, though He can grant that, but the eternal healing of souls separated from God by sin.

From Wandering to Shepherded

Peter concludes with a beautiful picture of transformation: “For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” Before Christ saved us, we wandered further and further from God, following our own way, pursuing our own desires, heading toward destruction (Isaiah 53:6). We were lost sheep without direction, protection, or hope. Every step took us farther from safety and closer to danger.

But through Christ’s suffering and death, we’ve returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls. Jesus shepherds us back to God, bringing us close through His ongoing work in our lives. He watches over our souls daily, providing protection from spiritual danger, guidance through difficult decisions, and sustenance for spiritual growth (Psalm 23:1-3). He gives us strength to become more like Him every day—including the strength to endure unjust suffering with His patience.

This Shepherd imagery transforms how we understand suffering. We’re not abandoned to face harsh treatment alone. The same Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep (John 10:11) now walks with us through our suffering. He guides us through the valley of unjust treatment. He protects our souls from bitterness and retaliation. He strengthens us with His own patience. ]We once were dead in our sins and wandering, but now we’re alive in Christ and shepherded—safe in His care regardless of external circumstances.

The Pattern and the Power

Christ provides both example and enablement for enduring unjust suffering. As our example, He shows us the pattern: absorb abuse without retaliation, endure suffering without threats, commit ourselves to God who judges righteously. As our Savior, He provides the power: His indwelling presence, His perfect patience, His strength to follow the pattern He traced. We don’t simply try harder to imitate Christ—we allow Christ living within us to express His character through us (Galatians 2:20).

When facing unjust treatment, we can ask: “How did Christ respond to similar treatment?” The answer is clear: He patiently endured, trusted God’s justice, and focused on accomplishing the Father’s purpose. Then we can pray: “Christ, live Your patience through me. Give me Your trust in the Father’s justice. Help me focus on Your purposes rather than my comfort.” This is the Christian’s privilege—not merely following Christ’s example through human effort but experiencing Christ’s power through divine enabling.

The transformation Peter describes spans eternity and daily life: “We once were dead, but now are alive!” Before Christ saved us, we were spiritually dead—separated from God, enslaved to sin, heading toward eternal judgment (Ephesians 2:1-3). But through Christ bearing our sins, we died to sin’s penalty and were raised to new life. This resurrection power that brought us from spiritual death to life continues working in us daily, enabling patient endurance that our old nature could never produce.

Every instance of Christlike patience under unjust treatment demonstrates this resurrection life. When we respond to harsh criticism with respect rather than retaliation, when we endure unfair treatment without bitterness, when we commit ourselves to God’s justice rather than defending ourselves—we show that we’re no longer dead in sin but alive in Christ. Our patient response becomes evidence of His transforming work, witness to His power, and preview of His final victory when He makes all things right.

Reflection Questions

1. When you face unjust treatment—harsh criticism, unfair demands, social rejection, or physical harm—which is your first instinct: defending yourself, threatening retaliation, or committing the situation to God who judges righteously? What does your instinct reveal about where you’re placing your trust?
2. How does knowing that Christ’s suffering secured your salvation (bearing your sins) change your perspective on enduring lesser suffering? Does His substitutionary death provide motivation for patience?
3. Peter says we’ve returned to “the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” In what specific ways does Christ shepherd you through current unjust treatment? How does His oversight provide strength for patient endurance?
4. Christ “committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth,” yet He suffered unjustly. When you suffer despite doing good work and maintaining integrity, does it comfort you that you’re following the same path Christ walked? How does His example transform how you view your suffering?

Prayer

Consider how Christ’s example provides the pattern for patient endurance while His indwelling presence provides the power. Thank Jesus for bearing your sins and ask for strength to follow His steps through current unjust treatment.

For further study of Christ’s comfort and strength available to believers going through various forms of unjust treatment or persecution, consider checking out these related devotionals:

• Living Hope: The Anchor for Suffering Saints
• The Sacred Path: Finding Joy in Suffering Like Christ