Deacon Prayer Service 4-8-22

Lexham Context Commentary: New Testament (Submission to Masters (2:18–25))

2:21 For the third time in three verse, Peter utilizes a “for” in the opening words of his sentence, signifying that what he says is in support of what he has just declared in 2:20—that suffering is grace. Peter gives the reason behind a Christian being called to suffer, namely, that suffering for righteousness’s sake gives the Christian the opportunity to follow in Jesus’ footsteps.2:22 Verse 21 ends (in Greek) with a pronoun referring to Christ, and 2:22 begins with a pronoun making it clear that Peter here is further describing Jesus and the ordeal he went through. Here Peter quotes Isa 53:9b to bolster this point, which is that Christ was innocent and did not deserve his suffering.2:23 Peter offers further commentary on Jesus’ character in the midst of suffering. He continues to draw from portions of the “Suffering Servant” section of Isa 53.2:24 For the third time in three verses, Peter begins with a pronoun referring back to Christ. He continues, then, to describe Jesus and his ordeals in support of his argument in 2:21—that Jesus’ suffering is a paradigm for suffering Christians. Peter quotes Isa 53:4a (with commentary) to describe what Jesus accomplished with his suffering, and then he provides the reason or goal for such suffering: so that we might live with the kind of conduct he urged at the beginning of the section (2:11). Peter ends with a quote from Isa 53:5b.