The Strength of Submission

Be subject. Submit. Endure suffering. These commands come off as harsh and demeaning, if not outright offensive to the modern mind. What universe is Peter living in, then, to write that “doing good while enduring unjust suffering is a gracious thing” in the sight of God? Only a world in which Jesus rose from the dead. If he did, at the center of reality is suffering that brings healing, good that trumps evil, and love that conquers death.

When a hostile world is disinterested in your words, you must win them without them. Peters addresses individual groups with an apologetic purpose in mind, starting with household servants - slaves in the ancient Greco-Roman world. Ancient slavery was distinct from 18th and 19th century chattel slavery in that it was not race-based and not usually permanent. Household servants were often educated beyond their masters, serving in roles such as doctors, artisans, field workers, and teachers. But we ought not romanticize the institution - it was still often cruel and brutal. Slaves had no legal rights and were regularly abused.

This is what makes Peter’s exhortation so radical. Neither Peter, nor God, are indifferent to suffering, and submission is not an act of passivity, but strength. Why? Because Christ has given us an example, not only to inspire, but to imitate. But if he were only an example, he would be an indictment - who could endure what he endured the way that he did? He can be our example only because he is a Savior - he bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die to self and live to him. By his wounds we are healed, and by the wounds we receive in his name, the power of the gospel is demonstrated to the world.