In 1939, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) released the movie The Wizard of Oz. The movie has become a classic, featuring Dorothy, her little dog, Toto, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and the Wizard of Oz, to name a few. I want to focus for a moment on the Scarecrow's character. The Scarecrow agreed to accompany Dorothy to Emerald City to see the Wizard of Oz in the hopes that the Wizard would give the Scarecrow a brain. In this fantasy movie, even though the Scarecrow believed he lacked a brain, he nevertheless had a sharp mind. He was able to reason and use experience to predict future outcomes. When he and Dorothy were hungry, he tricked the talking apple trees into throwing apples at him, which he and Dorothy ate. The point here is that the character in the movie had a mind separate from the brain. The brain is an organ of the body; it is the instrument of the mind, but they are distinct. Our mind is our consciousness, thoughts, emotions, reasoning, experience, self-awareness, and intentions. Our minds are teachable as well as subject to wandering.
A person’s mind says who they are. As such, a person’s mind was a very real concern for Jesus and, later, for his apostles. Let me give you a few brief illustrations.
In the Gospel of Mark, we would read that early in Jesus’ public ministry, Jesus’ family, his mother and brothers, arrived at a house where he was preaching, teaching, and healing. The text says Jesus’ family came to that house because they believed Jesus was “out of his mind” (Mark 3:21). Jesus’ behavior had raised concerns in his family about his mental stability. They did not see how Jesus could be saying and doing what he was doing, given his lived experience. Therefore, Jesus must be “out of his mind.”
In the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, Peter, the author of today’s letter, told Jesus that Jesus must not speak of his death at the hands of evil men. Jesus’ response to Peter was, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns” (Matthew 16:23 and Mark 8:33). Peter was in his right mind when he expressed his concern about Jesus’ talking about his death. Still, the issue was that Peter was not in the mind of God. Jesus was so emphatic about the significance of Peter’s state of mind that Jesus equated having the mind of natural man as being akin to having the mind of Satan. Jesus rebuked Peter, saying that to be his apostle, Peter must acquire the mind of God and have in his mind the things that were of God’s concern.
Jesus’ words must have stung Peter, but they must also have had the desired effect of reshaping Peter’s mind into that of Christ. Because it was that same Peter who wrote to the Christians of Asia Minor, telling them they must have the mind of Christ. In the short letter 1 Peter 1, Peter wrote about the believer's mind and mindset. Peter said:
- “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13)
- “Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind” (1 Peter 3:8).
- “The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers” (1 Peter 4:7).
- “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
Peter was calling upon these Christians, who were undergoing persecution and suffering for their faith, to prepare their minds for action, to be of one mind, and to be sober-minded. What was Peter driving at here? There are three contexts that Peter focused upon.
First, in Chapter 1, verse 13, Peter challenged these early Christians to prepare their minds for action. In the sense of the original language, the concept of preparing was like tightening one’s belt before lifting something heavy. The mind here meant understanding, feeling, and desiring. So, Peter was challenging his readers to prepare their minds for the heavy work that lay ahead. And that work was to absorb the suffering they were experiencing and realize that through it, they could acquire the mind of Christ. What is the mind of Christ?
Peter began explaining that acquiring the mind of Christ required action. To have the mind of Jesus is not an intellectual exercise. Jesus is not a subject to be studied; He is a person to imitate and a divine being to be worshipped. Therefore, Peter said that the first step in acquiring the mind of Christ is to be obedient to Jesus. Peter wrote, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance” (1 Peter 1:14 ESV). The original sense here is that Christians must no longer act in worldly ways like they once did when they were ignorant of divine ways. The natural human mind is ignorant of God’s mind. Peter understood that point from Jesus’ stinging rebuke of Peter when Jesus called Peter by none other than the name of Satan for having the things of man upon his mind, not the concerns of God. Satan fosters the worst elements of human thought and attempts to pervert any knowledge of God and His mind that we may possess. Peter’s point was that, having received the gospel of Jesus and accepted him as Lord and Savior, the Christian begins to understand the mind of Christ. Once that understanding begins, Peter said, we must act first by obeying what Jesus’ mind is set upon and not behave like one who is ignorant by thinking about worldly things.
What is the way of the ignorant passions, and how does it differ from the mind of Christ? Peter told his readers to “Put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander” (1 Peter 2:1). These are behaviors of the world that know nothing of the mind of Christ. How can we be sure of that? Peter gave the contrasting example. “21b Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:21b-23). The mind of Jesus, the man from Galilee, was fixed upon obedience to the divine nature of God, not upon the passions of the world.
Peter’s words come from his own lived experience with Jesus, in which he witnessed Jesus living out the life described by Isaiah, in Chapter 53, of the life of the suffering servant. Isaiah wrote, “7He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth…9He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7, 9).
Peter’s words carried the sense of needing to tighten one’s belt. His audience, a group of people exiled for their faith in Christ, suffering from persecution, were just told to endure the suffering because they are blessed by it. In what way would they be blessed? They would be blessed because they would acquire the mind of Christ. In their suffering, their faith would be strengthened.
The second context of Peter’s remarks about the Christian’s mind was that they must be sober-minded. When we hear the word sober, we naturally think of someone who was abstaining from the use of alcohol. The context of the Greek word for "sober," however, reflects someone calm and collected in spirit. To be calm and collected in the spirit, especially when undergoing suffering, is to have confidence in the eternal. This is the very definition of the mind of Christ, who always was, is, and will be. It is not that physical life has no meaning or purpose, but rather to recognize that everything about our physical life is but a tiny moment compared to eternity. Jesus put it this way, "What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?" (Mark 8:36). Being sober-minded then brings about a calmness of spirit in dealing with the real issues of this life, but by dealing with them in a manner that does not alter the outcome of one’s eternal destination. Peter had warned, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). The devil, Satan, is an adversary who will always try to get Christians to focus on their present difficulties, creating agitation and an upset that keeps them from Christ.
The third context of Peter’s letter on the Christian mind was that having the mind of Christ should be a shared experience of mutual support from fellow Christians. Peter emphasized that the mind of Christ is unlike that of man and that each Christian must follow Jesus' example. Peter said, “8All of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 9Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain blessing” (1 Peter 3:8-9). Peter concluded the first point with these words. “1Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2so as to live for the rest of time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God” (1 Peter 4:1-2). Peter’s point is that we must be of one mind with other Christians and draw near to Christians who are hurting, who are suffering, and lift them in that suffering.
What do we do with Peter’s words concerning having the mind of Christ? I think there are two things for us to consider.
First, Peter chose to write these words to Christians who were suffering. They were exiles and being subjected to persecution. Many of the early Christians were physically maimed, losing fingers, hands, and arms as they were being forced to renounce Christ and worship only the emperor. Some lost their lives. Others were faced with lesser persecution in the form of prejudice and shunning. Most simply, these Christians were suffering.
Suffering for one’s faith is one of the most difficult things for people to understand. The question inevitably comes, “Why, God, am I suffering as I profess my faith in you?” What we are really asking is “Doesn’t my public expression of faith obligate You to protect me from suffering?” This is the natural mindset of humanity. “I have done something for you, and now you are obligated to do something for me.” We, in the human mindset, believe we have a business relationship with God. If we are to understand Peter’s words, the words of Scripture, we must think of suffering differently.
Our experience of suffering is not just what we experience; it also includes what we do with that experience. We can and always do shape our experience of suffering. If we suffer and question the goodness of God because we suffer, our suffering hurts even more, and we feel spiritually depleted. However, if we recognize that God’s own son was not exempt from suffering, we can better understand the mind of Christ when we suffer. Most simply, when we suffer, we have an opportunity to follow Jesus in ways that cannot be experienced any other way. To be with Jesus in suffering is to stand upon holy ground. No one enters holy ground and remains the same. Allowing ourselves to let God make use of our suffering so that we can acquire the mind of Christ is a blessing. Our experience of suffering, then, is not just suffering but is reshaped to bring us closer to Christ. I have met a lot of people who are suffering from grief. Without exception, every person has been changed by that experience. Some who suffer without Christ suffer terribly. Others who grasp hold of Christ still suffer, but their lives are changed because they have become more like Christ through that experience. No one seeks suffering. Suffering finds us, and we must decide what to do with it. This message is not for the faint of heart. I think that is why Peter said to prepare your mind for action. In our language, tighten the belt around your waist for some heavy lifting. To suffer and hold on to Christ is a heavy lift, but it brings us deep intimacy with Christ, and we come to acquire the mind of Christ.
The second point deals with the unity of Christians in suffering. When you are invited to enter the suffering of another Christian, you must remember you have been invited into holy ground. When God drew Moses to Himself by the burning bush, God said to Moses, “Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground” (Exodus 3:5). When we offer comfort to those who suffer, we should be humble in our approach and unite ourselves with our brother or sister who is suffering. Peter said in his letter, “Have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind” (1 Peter 3:8). You may never be more Christlike than when you participate in the sufferings of another person. As you model the life of Christ in ministry to others, you become Christ to hurting people. Peter wanted the exiles to support and care for one another in their sufferings so that they would become more like Christ. To have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly or sisterly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind requires more of Christ and less of us. In the process, we acquire the mind of Christ.
“13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13, ESV). May each of us be blessed with the mind of Christ. Amen and Amen.