하나님이 보시기에 아름다운 고난 [벧전 2:18-25]
The conditions of slaves in the ancient world varied enormously. The situation presupposed here is largely that of domestic slaves working in large houses, estates and farms. But there were also large numbers of public slaves, and, in Asia Minor, some large temple estates whose workers were more like serfs. People were enslaved for various reasons: being the children of slaves, being prisoners of war or falling into debt. Their conditions of service also varied.
This contrasts with the view of many people who would have argued (like Aristotle) that, strictly speaking, one couldn’t be unjust to a slave because slaves were not persons, but chattels and workhorses.
As he has already made clear, unjust suffering is not necessarily the inevitable lot of each individual reader. Instead he says that if they suffer, they must bear it patiently. When he says that they were called to this, he means that they were called to the patient endurance of suffering.
The purpose of this sacrificial act, however, is not simply that we should be set free from the consequences of our sins. Peter sees it as an act which is meant to set us free from sin itself—so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness
The person who is healed is not only delivered from illness—and possible death—but has the strength to overcome temptation and to do good. The
Peter’s teaching also clearly states what is involved in following Christ. The pattern that must be followed is his refusal to retaliate when he was attacked. Insofar as violence and war are forms of retaliation, they are here forbidden to the Christian. If war can be defended, it can only be as the lawful use of force to restrain evildoers and not as a means of retaliation.