1 Peter 2:21-25, The Person and Work of Christ

Introduction

Good morning, beloved! It is so good to gather once again as the people of God to open God’s Word together. If you have a Bible, I invite you to open it with me to 1 Peter 2. We are continuing our verse by verse study of this incredible letter written by the apostle Peter. We are concluding 1 Peter 2 this morning. We looked at these verses in part last week. But this morning I thought it would be good to take a deeper dive into these last few verses.

It has been incredibly nourishing and life-giving for me as I’ve studied and meditated on these truths this week. I pray that I can pass that on in some small part to you this morning as we delight in the person and work of Christ together. Please follow along in your Bible as I read 1 Peter 2:21-25 for us. Then, we will pray and ask the LORD to bless our time in His Word together this morning.

READ 1 Peter 2:21-25

[Matthew 4:4 Responsive Reading - “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”]

PRAY

What is something that you love and are so mindful of that you talk a lot about? You know what I mean. We have jokes that revolve around this idea. We know the person who is really into essential oils because they always have an oil that is the sure remedy for whatever might be ailing you. Though not as big today, we know the person who is into Crossfit because they just can’t help talking about their latest workout, using all the common lingo that goes along with it. You know the farmers in the community because they are constantly talking about…farming.

When you read the New Testament, it is inescapable to notice that the biblical authors never missed an opportunity to dwell on the person and work of Christ. All the stories. All the exhortations. All the admonitions. They all have one central, foundational reality that anchors and undergirds them all. The person and work of Christ. That we might know Him. That we might love Him. That we might follow Him. That we might be more like Him. All to the praise of His glory because of who He is and what He has done for us.

Our passage this morning is a reminder of that reality. Peter cannot resist this moment in his writing to restate and proclaim the glorious person and work Christ. Even as he has moved into the so-called “more practical” aspects of the letter and how we are to live as the people of God for the glory of God this side of eternity. Thus, we are reminded that the person and work of Christ is deeply practical. It has real lasting eternal practical implications for every single one of us here this morning. So, we dare not gloss over these glorious truths.

Now, before we do that, I want to touch on the context here briefly. This powerful declaration of the gospel comes in a particular context, which we gave much of our time to last week. What is the “this” in verse 21? It is referring to what came before in verses 18 through 20. These Christians are suffering for being Christians. They were being treated as outcasts. Mocked. Slandered. So, Peter in these verses is reminding them that they are following in the footsteps of Jesus. They are to continue following in the footsteps of Jesus.

The main point in verses 18 through 25 is that we endure unjust suffering by remembering Christ suffered unjustly for us. We remember Christ’s life and work and we are to follow his pattern and example. Again, as I said last week, Christ’s atoning work was unique. But it was also exemplary (served as an example for us). We focused on the exemplary aspect last week. This morning I want us to take a deep dive into the unique atoning work of Christ on our behalf. I want us to remember and delight in the gospel together.

MAIN POINT––Remember the gospel in all of life’s circumstances, acknowledging God’s purposes for you in the person and work of Christ.

Remember the Gospel

Look at verse 21 again with me. Peter says, “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.” I just want to draw our attention to that phrase in the middle––Christ suffered for you. In just a few words Peter gets to the heart of the matter. He’ll expound upon it over the next several verses. That will be most of our time. But don’t gloss over the simple yet profound reality, beloved, that––if you are a Christian––it is because Christ suffered for you.

Though the particular context is focusing on Christ’s example, we must realize that far more significant than his example is His substitutionary work on our behalf. Christ suffered for you. This is the most central aspect of the gospel––Christ’s suffering in your place on your behalf. Without that there is no Christianity and without that substitutionary work there is no way to follow after his example. Loved ones, this is the good news of the gospel––that Christ suffered for you. Jesus took our place in this divine exchange that we might be reconciled to God.

Why is this such good news? It is good news because every single one of us, apart from Christ, stands condemned before a righteous God. We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The just penalty for our sins is death. God created us in His image that we might live for Him as His representatives in creation. But our first parents sinned against God. They rebelled against Him. They went their own way. They disobeyed Him in the garden. We, though there is some mystery to it, are united in Adam. Such that when he sinned, we too became sinners.

Thus, not only are we condemned before God apart from Christ, we are also held captive to sin. We are enslaved to sin. We cannot not sin. Every aspect of our being is tainted and corrupted by sin. We sin because, by nature apart from Christ, we are sinners. That is what is wrong with this world. Not bad policies. Not bad politicians. Not a few bad apples that ruin the bunch. What is wrong with this world is our sin and corruption in defiance of our sovereign Creator. Apart from Christ, condemned before God and captive to sin, we cannot justify or free ourselves.

But God did not abandon His image bearers. Though He would have been perfectly just to do so, God did not wipe the slate clean. Instead, He promised that one day the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent. Down through the ages that line is traced all the way to Jesus Christ. The eternal Son of God became a man, lived the perfect life that you and I could never live, and then died the death that we all justly deserve. By God’s grace through faith in the person and work of Christ in our place, we can be reconciled to God and have eternal life.

Do you know this good news? Have you come to believe this good news? My hope for every Christian here this morning is that we will never forget this good news by which God has reconciled us to Himself. That we would not take it for granted. My hope for any of you who have never believed this good news is that you will do so, even today. The good news that Christ suffered for you. Now, Peter unpacks this idea further. He helps us to see how significant this good news is by giving us more insight into the person and work of Christ.

The Person of Christ

First, let’s consider the person of Christ. There’s a lot to know and consider about the person of Christ––who He is. He is the eternal Son. He is God the Son incarnate. He is the King of kings and LORD of Lords. He is the Word made flesh. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature. We could go on and on. We could preach countless sermons on each aspect of the person of Christ. This morning we want to focus on what Peter tells us about Him in this passage. He focuses our attention on Christ’s Blameless Character.

Look at verse 22. Peter says, concerning Jesus, “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.” Peter is showing us that he clearly knew his Bible. He knew the Old Testament. He is echoing back to what was prophesied concerning the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53. But Peter also knew Jesus. He followed Jesus. He walked with Jesus. He was an eyewitness to all that Christ accomplished in His life, death, and resurrection. He had a front row seat to the One who fulfilled all of God’s promises made in the Old Testament.

Peter unashamedly applies the truth of Isaiah 53 to the LORD Jesus Christ and affirms here what the Bible overwhelmingly testifies elsewhere concerning Jesus’ blameless character. He was blameless. He was sinless. He never did anything wrong. The Bible shows us this over and over again. Judas acknowledged Jesus’ innocence after he betrayed him (Matthew 27:4). Pontius Pilate along with his wife, could see Jesus was innocent (Matt. 27:19, 23). The thief on the cross, after cursing him out with his friend on the other cross, came to his senses and acknowledged Jesus’ innocence. A centurion acknowledged Jesus' innocence after he died.

This is an extraordinary statement about Jesus! It would be extraordinary for anyone, right? We probably have a hard time conceptualizing this reality because of our own sinfulness. We know human nature. Yet, Christ took on human flesh and lived this life without sin. He never disobeyed or dishonored His earthly parents. He never uttered a bad word. He never gossiped. He never slandered. He never gave in to lust. He never went His own way to do His own thing apart from the Father. He perfectly submitted Himself to the will of the Father in all things.

Loved ones, the sinless perfection of Jesus confronts us with our own sinfulness. If you’re having a hard time imagining a perfect person who never did anything wrong, its not because it didn’t happen. It’s because you and I are that sinful. Even if you’re tempted to compare yourself to others––“at least I’m not a murderer, etc.”––deep down you know that you are not perfect. You know that you have thought the wrong things, done the wrong things, and said the wrong things more times than you can count. We all instinctively, deep down, know ourselves to be guilty. But not Jesus! He was the unblemished, spotless, Lamb of God.

Why is it so essential that we insist on Jesus’ blameless character? Because sinful human beings cannot atone for sin. This is what all the sacrifices of the Old Covenant pointed to. You remember how they had to have an unblemished and spotless lamb for their sacrifices. God requires a perfect sacrifice in atonement for sin. This is because of how serious of an offense our sin is before a holy God. Our failure to love God above all with our whole hearts. Our failure to trust Him above all others, including ourselves. All of it deserves eternal, infinite punishment.

We could never atone for our own sin. Nothing we do. Nothing we say. No amount of good works. No amount of charity. No amount of kindness. No amount of ritual can satisfy God’s righteous requirement. But the sinless Savior, God Himself in the flesh could. Jesus came and lived blamelessly the way we were created to live. He fulfilled all the law and its demands. Jesus' righteous life in our place matters. It is essential to the gospel we believe and proclaim.

“He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:9)

Now, if you’re not familiar enough with the Bible, you might be tempted to think, well he must have not had any difficulty with other people. People must have loved him and treated him with all kinds of respect. “If only Jesus knew who I work with or who I’m married to.” And of course, that’s nonsense. Jesus may have drawn a lot of attention and crowds at times, but by the end those crowds were yelling “crucify him!” He was mocked. He was beaten. He was spat on. He was crucified on a Roman cross. The only truly innocent one in all of human history.

Surely he must have said something? Surely he must have desired to get back at them. No, that’s not what the gospels tell us, nor is that what Peter reports. Look at verse 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.” Astounding! If there was anyone who had a right to get even. Anyone who had a right to give back to them what they were giving to Him, certainly it was Jesus. The blameless innocent Lamb of God. But He didn’t.

He entrusted Himself to His Father, the just judge who will one day perfectly judge the living and the dead. He endured the shame of the cross, not reviling but praying for those who persecuted Him and entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly. God the Son incarnate knew what He had come to do in that moment. He came to suffer and die for His people that He might bring us to God. He knew that one day, judgment will come for those who do not repent and believe.

Beloved, when you’re facing hardship at the hands of those who wrong you, especially because of your faith in Christ, you can by God’s grace and the power of His Spirit at work in you, do the same thing. Consider this example of Jesus. Looking ahead to the just judgment of God brings great hope and enables great endurance for the Christian. Only because we know that justice owed to us has been paid for by Christ in our place. That leads us to our next point concerning the work of Christ.

The Work of Christ

Beginning with verse 24, Peter transitions from the Person of Christ and His blameless character to remind us of Christ’s Saving Work. Look there with me where he says, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” Peter continues here to allude to Isaiah 53 and what was prophesied about the Suffering Servant, applying it to Jesus.

Jesus is the sinless Savior. Thus, it was not His own sins that He died for. He died for the sins of others. For the sins of His people. He bore our sins in His body. Don’t gloss over that too quickly. Do you realize what is being said here? Imagine you have committed a crime and are on trial. The prosecution has a clear open and shut case against you. You have no plea. You are guilty and you know it. All that’s left is sentencing and judgment to be handed down. Just when you expect the judge to pass sentence on you, he instead sentences himself in your place.

Beloved, that’s what Jesus did for you and me and all of those who have been redeemed by His shed blood on the cross. Infinitely more. Don’t miss this. We don’t contemplate these things nearly enough. If we did we would not take for granted the life that has been given us in Christ. Every single one of your sins––those you’ve committed and will ever commit––were laid on the Lamb who was slain. Every impure thought. Every coarse, unkind, unsavory, blasphemous word. Every evil deed. Every act of selfishness. Every bitter, hateful thought toward others

Every single act of your defiance against God was laid on the sinless Savior––God the Son incarnate. He bore the full weight of God’s eternal wrath that was meant for you in three hours on the cross. He bore OUR sins in HIS body on the tree. That reference to the tree is a reference to the cross. But with that it also takes us back to Deuteronomy 21:23 where it is written that anyone hanging on a tree is cursed of God. The curse that was ours, Jesus took it upon Himself in our place. He was cursed for us. Why?

Peter tells us why, beloved. Look at the latter half of verse 24––“that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.” Now there is a really important point for us to consider in this statement. One of my great concerns as a pastor is how much I see this truth sadly diminished in the evangelical world. It seems particularly prominent here in our corner of the world. Look at that again. Peter says that Jesus bore our sins “that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.”

We love to talk about Christ’s saving work and how it liberates us from sin’s guilt. We celebrate this glorious truth. Rightly so. That we will one day, because of our faith in Jesus, stand before God clothed in the righteousness of Christ. God will look at us and declare us righteous in His sight because of Christ’s saving work. We are freed from the guilt of our sin. That is 1000% true. But there’s more than that. Christ’s saving work accomplished more than freedom from sin’s guilt.

What we often neglect in our conversations and understanding of the gospel is that Christ’s saving work also freed us from the power of sin. That’s why Paul says in Romans 6 that sin no longer has dominion over you. It is no longer your master. God’s grace in Christ frees you not just from sins’s guilt, but also sin’s power. Where you were once dead in sin––not able to not sin––you are now alive to God in Christ––able to not sin. Don’t misunderstand me here. This is so important. We’re not talking about sinless perfection.

We’re talking about progressive, life-long dying to self and sin and growing in Christlikeness. All by God’s grace and the power of His Spirit at work in you. For some reason, there are those who squirm at this idea. I know, I’ve talked with them too many times to count. And I don’t understand why. Let me just ask you this, loved ones. Something for you to ponder as you think through this. Would it be good news if God freed you from the guilt of sin, but left you to wallow in that same sin unable to live for Him?

Does that sound like good news? If that sounds like good news to you, then I’m concerned that you may love your sin more than you love God. And that is an eternally dangerous place to be. Beloved, freedom from sin’s guilt without freedom from sin’s power is not good news. It is still bondage and slavery to sin. Christ’s saving work on the cross was far more powerful than that. Far more effective than that in the hearts and minds of His people.

If you are a Christian you have been made alive together with Christ. You have been given new desires and a heart that actually loves God for who He is and what He has done for you in Christ. You have been given desires that enable you, by God’s grace and His Spirit at work in you, to walk in His ways. And when you sin (notice I said when) it actually grieves you with godly grief that leads to godly sorrow and repentance, by God’s grace. Because sin no longer has dominion over you. You have died to sin and you live to righteousness.

Finally, Peter brings us back to who we once were apart from Christ’s saving work. Look at verse 25––“For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” Again, you see the clear reference to Isaiah 53. All of us were like sheep that have gone astray. Each of us having turned to go our own way. I think it was a couple of years ago I was talking with one brother about this idea of us being sheep and he was just very honest that he didn’t like it. Because he knows how dumb sheep are.

Sheep are obstinate, unruly animals that are bent on going their own way. Anyone who has spent time with these animals knows it to be true. Perhaps you’ve seen that video that went viral a few years ago. A shepherd pulled one of his straying sheep out of a large crevasse in the ground. Once the sheep was freed and turned loose that camera watched as the sheep bounded right back into the same crevasse that he had just been rescued from. That’s what the Bible says about us. On our own we are like obstinate, unruly, mule headed sheep.

That’s who we were. But now, because of Christ’s saving work, by God’s grace, we have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls. Don’t get hung up on the word return. Peter is not saying we were once with Jesus, then left Him and now came back. The verb means “turn.” He’s describing our conversion. When the lovingkindness of God’s grace shined on your heart and made you alive with Christ you turned away from sin and self and turned to God––to live for Him and His glory and to delight in Him for all eternity. Such good news!

Conclusion

Beloved, this begs the question for all of us here––are we submitted to the One who submitted to suffering on our behalf? That is what I want for every single person here this morning. If you are here this morning and have not submitted to the LORD Jesus Christ, do not harden your heart any longer to this good news. You are in a room full of people who have submitted to the LORD Jesus Christ. None of us are perfect. We are all relying on the perfection of another––our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ. Won’t you come to Him today? I hope you’ll talk with me after.

Loved ones who have submitted to the LORD Jesus and are following Him by God’s grace, do not forget what Christ accomplished for you. Never take it for granted. Never diminish its power in your life even now as you grow in Christlikeness. The gospel has freed you from the guilt and shame of sin. It has also freed you from sin’s power over you. You are a new creation in Christ. Just as you received Him, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him. Never tire of the gospel.

Remember the gospel in all of life’s circumstances, acknowledging God’s purposes for you in the person and work of Christ.