"Christ . . . suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously."
The suffering of Christ sets the standard for the suffering of Christians. The greater our suffering for righteousness in this life, the greater our glory in the life to come.
Jesus was executed as a criminal on a cross. Yet He was guilty of no crime--no wrong, no trespass, no sin.
He never had an evil thought or spoke an evil word. His was the most unjust execution ever perpetrated on a human being. Yet it shows us that though a person may be perfectly within the will of God--greatly loved and gifted, perfectly righteous and obedient--he may still experience unjust suffering. Like Jesus he may be misunderstood, misrepresented, hated, persecuted, and even murdered.
