When faced with challenging situations in life, it is a good practice to ask, “What would Jesus do?” An even better practice is to ask, “What did Jesus do?” When considering what Jesus actually did, consider also what Jesus did not do.
When Jesus was put on trial and even while He hung on the cross, Jesus was “mocked” (Matt. 27:29, 31, 41), “treated…with contempt” (Luke 23:11) and “reviled” (Matt. 27:44). They “spat upon” Him (Matt. 27:30), “struck” Him (Matt. 27:30), “beat” Him (Matt. 26:67) and “blasphemed” Him (Matt. 27:39). Look at how Jesus responded. Look at what He did not do.
“When He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten” (1 Pet. 2:23). If you want to “follow His steps” (2:21), you must learn to respond to maltreatment as Jesus did and not return evil for evil. Instead, Jesus kept on committing Himself to God (2:23). Living like Jesus involves what we do and what we do not do!