Third, Jesus entrusted everything to God. This is the positive aspect of his reaction to unjust suffering. Our previous point, taken from verse 23, has to do with what Jesus did not do when he was mistreated. But he was not entirely passive in his suffering. The rest of verse 23 says, "Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly." The word "himself" is absent from the original, and it is better to understand the statement as saying that Jesus entrusted everything about the situation to God, including himself but also those who made him suffer.

When facing undeserved abuse from people, it is not enough to just endure it – even some unbelievers can do that. Just as verse 19 says that a man is commendable not just because he endures, but that he endures because "he is conscious of God," here verse 23 says that Jesus' example consists of more than passive endurance, but he exercised a positive trust in God while he suffered.

This, the unbeliever cannot do, and so in the face of unjust suffering he would give in, lash out, or quietly endure, drawing from his own strength and guided by his own godless beliefs. He can only produce sinful reactions that intensify the wrath of God that is already upon him. Nothing constructive ever comes out of the suffering of non-Christians. All their tribulations are meaningless.

This third aspect of Jesus' example is a defining factor. Not only must we see to it that we do not suffer for something wrong that we have done, and not only must we refrain from responding in kind to undeserved abuses, but there must be a positive faith while we endure, entrusting to God everything about our situation. Some people might quietly endure simply because they are cowards, but Christians endure because they are strong, and the power of the Holy Spirit sustains them (Psalm 3).

This positive faith is specific, for in our context Peter refers to God as "him who judges justly." To refrain from responding to insults with insults and to violence with violence is by no means to surrender to injustice, that is, if we will turn to trust him who judges justly. He declares, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay" (Romans 12:19; also Colossians 3:25; 2 Thessalonians 1:6).

Justice might mean that God will repay those who caused us to suffer with everlasting hellfire. But on the other hand, God may cause some of our persecutors to repent and turn to Christ. When that happens, the Christian who truly understands salvation and cares about God's program will rejoice, knowing that he has also been forgiven of his debts through Jesus Christ (Matthew 18:23-35).

The Christian is vindicated either way. On the one hand, some of his persecutors are rewarded with ultimate damnation. On the other hand, others are made to confess their wrongdoing and become like the one whom they have unjustly accused and punished. The Christian entrusts everything to God and leaves it up to him to determine the fate of each individual.

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