We’re continuing through the epistle of 1 Peter. In my last post, I started talking about trials and tests. According to Peter, trials should cause us to rejoice.
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
1 Peter 4:12-13 NIV
I concluded by saying that we must first understand the sufferings of Christ in order to know if we are participating in them. Now I want to continue this line of teaching.
In talking about why Christ is qualified to be our High Priest, Hebrews says…
Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Hebrews 2:18 NIV
We have to understand that both tempt and test are the same word in the Greek language. The question is, how did Christ suffer.
I believe that it was more than just the physical pain of crucifixion. Most of His suffering was in the choosing. He could have turned His back on the cross, but He chose to do it.
The Lord could see in the Spirit that there was an army of angels waiting for His command to get Him off the cross. But He chose to ignore them.
How could Jesus choose rightly all the time? The writer of Hebrews goes on and explains it to us.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:2 NIV
We’re told that Christ chose the suffering because He saw the joy that was before Him. We sometimes lose sight of the promise given to us in the verse from 1 Peter.
When it says we will be overjoyed, the literal translation is that we will jump for joy when we see His glory revealed in us. Peter goes on to say…
If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
1 Peter 4:14 NIV
If you are defamed because of Christ, then you are supremely blessed, fortunate, well-off. That’s because the Spirit of glory and of God rests superimposed upon you.
This tells me that trials are a glorious thing. The glory of the Holy Spirit is superimposed upon us. That’s when others truly see Christ in us. Of course, they may either love or hate the Christ they see. But we will continue to glorify the Lord.
Question: How have you experienced suffering in choosing to do right?
© 2025 Nick Zaccardi
The Spirit and the Word 