Have you been offended? Insulted? Treated unfairly or worse?

To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. “He committed no sin, and no deceit was 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. “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” I Peter 2:21-24

I recently shared with a friend how I Peter 2:21-24 has been so meaningful to me in such times. When insulted or unfairly accused, my natural tendency is to react with defensiveness, if not retaliate. But slowly, I’ve begun to picture Jesus on the cross instead.   It’s not just that his response is a good example for me to follow, but when I realize how he suffered insult, that he knows how it feels to be mocked or unfairly accused, and yet respond with love, it opens my heart to him. This becomes a place for me to get to know Jesus better, to be awed by him, to love and worship him.

Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!”  In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him.  “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.  He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”  In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him. Matthew 27:39-44

I often think that the hardest part of hanging on that cross, more than the nails through his hands and feet, must have been not proving all those mockers wrong, not acting to verify that he was the Son of God with all power and authority. When I put myself in that place, I am struck by how Jesus, rather than fighting back defensively, entrusted himself to Him who judges justly. I am humbled by his obedience. I am grateful for his faithfulness. I too want to entrust myself to Him who judges justly. When I do, I find the fellowship of the cross.