The story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. 1945

Bonhoeffer is famous as a Christian martyr. He is one of the few Germans who stood up to Hitler. Actually, he went beyond this and tried to kill Hitler.

The reason he did this is because Bonhoeffer took seriously the commandment to have no other gods. Nazism was heavily into the god business. Churches were encouraged to fill their sanctuaries with the symbolism of the Third Reich. Some churches went over completely and began teaching ancient German pagan beliefs. Almost all the churches accepted Nazi policies like persecution of Jews. The Hitler Youth even met on Sundays so the young Germans couldn’t go to church. The Protestant church was silent to all this.

Bonhoeffer’s response was to begin a new church, called the Confessing Church. He preached against the persecution of Jews. He preached against Hitler and Protestants who compromised with him. After a few years only a handful of followers were left, and then the Gestapo closed him down. Six years later they arrested him. Two years after that, in April 1945, they hanged him, just days before the U.S. Army arrived and liberated the prison.

1 Peter 3:13–4:19

You can hit your thumb with a hammer; that will make you suffer. You can flunk an important exam; that will make you suffer all these things will make you suffer.

These passages, 1 Peter 3:13–4:19, does not look at suffering on so broad a canvas. It focuses on distinctively Christian suffering, suffering that comes about for no other reason than that we are Christians, suffering that might take the form of insults and abuse and malicious condescension because we are Christians.

In some parts of the world, it may result in a beating or in going to jail. Crucifixion has come back into vogue in some parts of the Middle East

Let’s focus on the suffering that may come to us because we are Christians.

1. Do Not Withdraw, for Christ Is Your Example (3:13–22)

Peter has earlier hinted at the topic of persecution of Christians. He mentions it briefly in 1:6 and several times in chapter 2 and again in chapter 3. But now he treats it in an extended argument. He prepares the ground by saying that in many contexts Christians will not be harmed and should not expect to be harmed:

He begins with this sort of correction, because after Christians have faced some battering, they can become a little gun-shy. They may think of government only as an enemy.

In many ordinary facets of life, the government is not in any sense our enemy. We are called to obey civil authority, except in those instances where the government’s mandate is in direct contradiction to the revealed will of God. The principle is clear enough: if you do not exceed the speed limit, you will not get a traffic fine. “

On the other hand, “if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed” (1 Pet. 3:14). This “blessing” alludes to the teaching of Jesus in the beatitudes. In Matthew 5 the last of the beatitudes is, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (v. 10). Blessed! As if that pronouncement is not enough, Jesus expands on that last beatitude, the only one he treats that way: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (vv. 11–12).

So in that passage, those who are insulted or persecuted should see themselves blessed if the suffering they are enduring is “for righteousness’ sake,” or for the sake of Jesus’s name.

We must follow the flow from verse 14b to 15a: “But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. ‘Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.’ But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord.” Instead of withdrawing in fear, curbing our life and our witness so that we do not cause offense even if that offense is rooted in the gospel, Peter says, “Don’t fear their threats; don’t be frightened; in your hearts continue to revere Christ as Lord.

Peter is writing this, the Peter who in the past has known what it is to fear the threats of opponents. He cannot help but remember the night he sat in the courtyard and repeatedly swore that he didn’t know who Jesus was,

The thought of verse 14b is drawn from Isaiah 8. Isaiah 8:14 is one of the “stone” passages quoted in chapter 2. Now the preceding verse from Isaiah 8 is picked up: “The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,” Isaiah says. “He is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread” (Isa. 8:13)

Peter paraphrases: Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened, in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. We set Jesus Christ apart as holy and so confess his lordship in our thinking, in our responses, in our speech, in our choices, in our relationships.

Jesus uttered the words of Matthew 10:28: Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Christ has all authority. Indeed, that is the way 1 Peter 3 draws to a close: Christ “who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him” (v. 22).

So, always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (3:15b). This theme of hope was already introduced back in chapter 1: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy, he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

As long as our entire horizon is filled with the activities, goals, and blessings of this life, how on earth will we find the nerve, the courage, or the vantage point to be able to stand up to persecution and say, “I can’t go along with this wicked order because my citizenship is in the new heaven and the new earth.
Be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.
For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil (3:17). “If it is God’s will” could refer to God’s will that you suffer as opposed to the experience of other people who don’t suffer. James becomes the first apostolic martyr, and Peter gets out of jail on an angelic pass (Acts 12).
The verses that follow (3:18b–22) are amongst the most difficult in the New Testament to interpret.

There are three main views and scores of variations

1. after Christ’s death and before his resurrection, Jesus descends into hell and preaches to the spirits of those sinners who perished in the flood at the time of Noah. “He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits—to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built” (3:18b–20

2. Another view says that the spirits in prison are fallen angels, not human beings, and what Jesus does, according to this passage, is descend into hell to preach to these fallen angelic spirits, the fallen angels, in order to declare his victory and their doom. That view is the most common one today.

3. The interpretation that I think is most likely to be correct is: Christ through the Spirit preached to the people who were alive in Noah’s day. That is, Christ did not come in his incarnate form to the people in Noah’s day, but through the Spirit he preached to the people who were alive in Noah’s day.

Then, subsequently, they died and faced judgment; they are now in prison, as it were, in hell, though they were not in hell when Jesus preached to them.

Back in chapter 1 Peter (1:10–11), when Isaiah preached, it wasn’t just Isaiah preaching. It was the Spirit of Christ in him, before Christ himself came into the world. When Ezekiel preached, it wasn’t just Ezekiel preaching. It was the Spirit of Christ preaching through Ezekiel.

What power impelled Noah to preach? Well, by the analogy of 1 Peter 1:11, he preached because the Spirit of Christ was in him,

Peter sees that if Noah so preached, it was because of the Spirit of Christ who was in him.
why Peter draws this particular analogy. Why does his mind go to Noah? What insight does the story of Noah provide to his argument? Note the parallels between Noah’s day and Peter’s day. In Noah’s day, there was a very small minority of people who believed the word of God and pursued righteousness, over against a broad culture that did not hear the word of God and did not receive it—very much as was the case in Peter’s day.

Do Not Be Sinful, for Christ Is Your Savior (4:1–6)

The willingness to suffer unjustly, follows the example of Christ. But the willingness to suffer is committed not only to bearing faithful witness but also to combating evil, even if this means suffering.

It is not always the case that the person who suffers in the body is more holy than the person who has not similarly suffered.

But if you are a genuine Christian, you want to do what is right even when there is much in you that would prefer to go another way.

Whoever suffers in the body in this sense is done with sin. As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.

3. Do Not Be Half-Hearted, for Christ Is Your Coming Sovereign (4:7–11)

Peter now emphasizes the end: “The end of all things is near” (4:7). The end was alluded to, in verse 5, where there is warning of judgment to come. Now it is explicit: “The end of all things is near, be alert and of sober mind.

There are reasons for this exhortation: (1) so that we may pray unencumbered, so that you may pray,; (2) so that we may love profoundly, remembering that loving each other deeply is important because love covers over a multitude of sins. That includes practical love—offering hospitality to one another without grumbling; (3) and not only so, but we are to deploy our gifts self-denyingly,

The larger goal of these exhortations is “so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.

This appeal has no power to anyone who is not a believer. To Christians, it is wonderfully comforting and spectacularly powerful:

4. Do Not Be Afraid of Persecution, for Christ Is Your Pioneer, the One Who Has Gone Ahead (4:12–19)

12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you, as if something unusual were happening to you. 13 Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed

1. Persecution should never come as a surprise to Christians. Biblically, historically, persecution is not uncommon. When it strikes, it might be awful; it will be hurtful; it could be horrific. But it should never come as a surprise.

Believing the Bible as we do, we simply cannot believe that the world, all by itself, is getting better and better.

Jesus says, “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.… Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me” (Matt. 24:6–9). Sin should always horrify us but never surprise us,

2. Persecution should always serve as a cause of rejoicing for Christians, because it enables us to participate in the sufferings and the glory of Christ. “Rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. (4:13–14).

3. Persecution should never come to us as the result of evil done by Christians. V15

4. Persecution always comes as a privilege for Christians. Suffering that comes to us as just judgment is shrouded in shame. “However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name” (4:16).

5. Persecution should sometimes be seen as a step in the purification of Christians. The logic is straightforward: if judgment begins with us, what will the outcome be for unbelievers? “For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household” (4:17),

6. Persecution should always be seen within the framework of God’s faithful and providential rule over Christians. “So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good” (4:19).