An Exposition of 1 Peter, part 15: Christ as the Example of Submission and Suffering

1 Peter 2:21-25

1 Peter 2:21–25 NKJV

For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Introduction

In the last study, Peter told those who were slaves how they should respond to unfair suffering because they were Christians. Slaves were supposed to adopt the religion of the master, so this opened the slaves to persecution, they were to make sure that they were suffering for Christ’s sake and not just because they were lazy or were doing wrong. In a proper sense, what we are studying today deals directly with the topic of the submission of slaves to their masters. This text provides the rationale why the Christian slaves should suffer if need be for the faith. I am treating this text today as a separate study because the example that Jesus set as being the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 should be followed by all Christians. The entire emphasis of this part of the epistle deals with submission. First was the submission of Christians to the Roman government. The Emperor was the head of the official cult, Even though the people could serve their other local gods, their principal loyalty was to the divine Caesar. When Christians proclaimed that Jesus was King of kings and Lord of lords, they were challenging the authority of Caesar. In the section of text that follows which deals with the submission of wives to their own husbands, the same holds true. The wife was to hold to the religion of the head of the household. So we can see how the text we are about to study applies equally to all of these relationships.

Exposition of the Text

For into this were you called — The word “for” connects what follows to that which came before. In verse 20, Peter told the church that suffering wrongfully for the sake of Christ made for a good witness. The Christian needs to make sure that the suffering wasn’t deserved for wrongdoing. One could also suffer punishment wrongfully by a harsh master for other reasons than for the sake of Christ. Many slaves were ill-treated. There isn’t much glory in this, although even here, taking this punishment graciously could serve as a witness to the truth.

Peter reminds us that we are called to suffer for Christ’s sake. We tend to think upon the blessings of being a Christian and not the aspect of suffering. We prefer Calvin’s “Theology of Glory “ to Luther’s “Theology of the Cross.” Calvin and Luther are not at odds with each other. Peter reminds us that we are called to “joy unspeakable and full of glory.” But Peter at the beginning also reminds us that we are suffering by the will of God for our faith as a means of refining our character through these fiery trials. So the cross is a necessary step that we might attain to the eternal glory. So it is both, and God is glorified in our sufferings as well as in our eternal blessing we shall inherit.

Because Christ also suffered in your behalf — We need to be reminded that Jesus is not like a lot of the worldly leaders who say: “Do what I say, and not what I do.” A lot of them were born with a silver spoon in their mouths. They are insulated from suffering. But the Lord Jesus knew how to suffer. He did not have to suffer. He freely chose to do so. And He did this for us. So when we suffer for Christ’s sake, we get a taste of what Jesus went through to save us.

Leaving for you an example that you might follow in His footsteps — Jesus often told His disciples that if they were to be His followers that they would have to carry their own crosses behind Him. In the ancient Roman world, the followers of a person they convicted for treason against the state were also crucified. If one saw the movie Spartacus, which is a reenactment of a famous slave revolt, the survivors of the massacre of them by the Roman legion were all crucified, with Spartacus being the last. He could see the suffering and ruin of those who had followed him, and his followers in their pain would shout out curses against Spartacus for getting them into this mess. This leads me to think that the two “thieves” who were crucified with Jesus were actually Barabbas’s followers in the “stasis” (attempted overthrow of Rome), Common thieves and robbers were usually not crucified. This was a punishment for treason. Barabbas should have been on the center cross. The two who were crucified with Jesus thought so at first and were shouting out curses. But one of the “thieves” must have heard Jesus speak or turned and saw that it was not Barabbas. The Holy Spirit revealed to that man who Jesus was, and he was saved that day.

As interesting as that bit of information is, the main point is that Jesus was crucified first in our behalf. We carry our crosses after Him and not before. By Jesus’s intervention in the Garden of Gethsemane, His disciples were allowed to escape. There were plenty of soldiers there to arrest all of them. Jesus also intervened for Peter who had cut off Malchus’s ear by restoring it. So the Christian is called to follow the road (way) that Jesus went. Not all of Peter’s hearers in this epistle would die by crucifixion, although Peter himself would follow Jesus to the cross. Many martyrs of the church suffered torturous deaths. But at this point, there is no indication that the suffering of the churches had gone this far.

Who committed no sin, neither was any deceit found in His mouth —Peter makes the first of several citations from the “suffering servant” passage of Isaiah 53, which along with the 22nd Psalm, are two of the most elaborate prophecies in the Old Testament of the passion of the Christ. Peter and the Apostles were taught by Jesus Himself of the importance of prophecy in what we call the “Old Testament.” In the Gospel of John, John 5:39, says that the Scriptures (Old Testament) are to be searched as they contain the words of eternal life. and that these Scriptures testify about Jesus. We read in Luke 24:25-26, Jesus rebukes the Emmaus disciples for their lack of faith. Did they not read from Scripture that it predicted Jesus should suffer and then enter into His glory. That very night, Jesus appeared to the disciples in Jerusalem where the text says that Jesus opened their eyes so that they might understand what the Scriptures said about Him (Luke 24:45-46. Peter had earlier in this epistle told the hearers that the prophets searched for and testified of Christ, and that many of the OT prophecies were meant for the day of Christ (1 Peter 1:10).

Seeing that Peter was addressing churches who were unjustly suffering for their testimony of Christ, Peter emphasizes the Scriptures which prophesy that Christ should suffer. Many of the Jews of Jesus’s day were looking for a kingly and or priestly Messiah. They knew of these prophecies. But they could not accept the Scriptures which testified of a suffering Christ. The churches knew these prophecies about the Messiah also. Even if they were not all Jewish, the early church taught the Scripture to Gentiles also. We don’t know the the background of the recipients of the epistle, whether they were mostly Jews or Gentiles. Nevertheless, the authority of the Scripture serves as the first witness to Jesus.

This first quote from Isaiah 53 comes from Isaiah 53:9. Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would be perfectly sinless. He did not commit any sin. No slippery words were spoken by Him either, Guile often involves the twisting of factual truth as a means to deceive others, There have been many bible teachers who have used guile to lead people into error. Jesus did not twist the Scripture or anything else, but spoke the plain truth. Yet Isaiah predicts that this perfect servant would suffer. Every other person who has lived has committed sin. We have also been both deceivers and deceived. Much of what we suffer has been deserved. We have brought trouble down upon ourselves. Peter has already said that their is no merit in this suffering. But there is merit when we wrongfully suffer for the sake of the Gospel. Jesus reminds us that what they did to Him would also be done unto us as well.

Who when He was insulted, did not return the insult — Isaiah 53: 7 predicted that Jesus would keep silent before His accusers, even though he was blasphemed. He did not complain of the insult He received. He only answered the truth when He was solemnly asked by the High Priest whether He was the Christ (Messiah) or not. Paul tells us that Jesus could not deny Himself. since Jesus is held by Peter to be the example of how to suffer injustice, it behooves us to act in like manner when we are reviled. Jesus was insulted on the cross. Yet He did not curse back. Instead, He forgave them. the pain of crucifixion was so great, that those who were crucified cursed back in their agony as they were able. They were reduced to animals, which proved to the spectators that they surely deserved death.. But Jesus’ behavior on the cross was so out of the ordinary, that one of those crucified with Him was saved. So was a Roman Centurion who saw how Jesus had kept His composure. Surely this man and not Caesar was the Son of God! Think of how great a testimony we give of the truth of the Gospel when we act accordingly in our suffering for Him.

While He was suffering did not threaten— This phrase is similar to the one before it with the exception is that here, Jesus did not act out even though He suffered more than any man did not threaten those who put Him on the cross. He, as God the Son, could have threatened the crucifyers with divine judgment which we all richly deserve apart from the grace of God. He forgave them.

Entrusting Himself to the One who judges righteously — Jesus knew that the trials before Annas, Caiaphas, and Pilate were sham trials. Human justice is subject to much corruption. We should expect to be treated fairly. The creed in America is “liberty and justice for all.” We realize the necessity of equal justice under the law. the nation who practices this will be blessed. Roman justice at one time was held in high regard before corruption set in. By Jesus day, judgment was given in favor to the one who paid the biggest bribe to the judge in far too many cases. The same has become true in America and many other nations today. God entrusts nations to judge fairly, and the nations who disregard this will come under the judgment of the one who judges righteously. So the Christian must not put his trust in earthly judges and courts. Paul reminded the Corinthians of this. They were suing each other in secular courts and discrediting the Gospel in front of the world. The Christian testimony of Jesus is everything. It is better to suffer loss than to blaspheme Christ in our actions. (See 1 Corinthians 6:1-3) We should instead trust God rather than man. Vengeance belongs rightly to God (Psalm 94:1 and other places).

Who personally bore our sins in his body upon the tree — “Our sins” is put at the front of this Greek sentence for emphasis, it was our sins and not His that He suffered upon the tree. the adding of the Greek pronoun “autos” emphasizes that he personally atoned for our sins. the atonement was not delegated to some sacrificial lamb. He was the Lamb! The LORD intervened when Abraham was about to slay his son, Isaac, and a ram was substituted for Isaac which was sacrificed in Isaac’s place. (Genesis 22:11-14) But there is more to Abraham’s answer to Isaac’s making mention that Abraham had brought no lamb for the sacrifice. Abraham said “The LORD will provide HIMSELF a lamb for the burnt offering (Genesis 22:8). Isaac had borne the wood of the sacrifice up the hill. This predicted that Jesus would carry the wood of the cross up to Golgotha which is the old Mt, Moriah of Genesis 22. In the place Isaac was bound, Jesus was crucified in Isaac’s place (and ours).

We would expect Peter to have said “upon the cross” instead of “upon the tree” here. Part of this is to bring out the text in Deuteronomy 21:23 “his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God.” The Greek word for tree here is “xulon” which can also be translated “wood”. Peter uses the word, for example, in his defense to the Sanhedrin in Acts 5:30, where Peter tells them that they had laid hands upon him and hung him on the tree. This use of “tree” is often used to bring out the idea of Jesus bearing the curse we deserved.

It is interesting that in Acts 16:24, this word is used of Paul and Silas who had been arrested and put in the inner prison. Their feet were securely fastened to the stocks (wood). The Christian who follows Jesus and the example He set is also cursed by the world. As the curse of Jesus became the source of blessing to repentant sinners, we must see that our suffering in the way that Jesus did becomes a means of witness. Jesus kept his composure when fastened to the wood of the cross. Paul and Silas sung hymns at midnight while fastened to the wood. Should we not do likewise? It is not that our suffering saves anyone, but when we suffer for Christ, we point to the One who suffered for the sin of the world.

To the end that dying for (our) sins, we should live righteously — Peter reminds us throughout the epistle of the importance of good conduct. Our entire witness to Jesus in the world is based upon our being imitators of Jesus, not just when we are persecuted, but we must follow in His footsteps by the way we live. Peter had earlier quoted “Be ye holy, for I am Holy.” This would be impossible for us in our own strength. The Law shows that no one does. But what is impossible for us is possible with God. Jesus suffered and died on the cross for our sin. This erases the debt of sin. But even that would not be enough. Peter reminds us that we are not to be like pigs, which having been cleansed, returns to the mire.(2 Peter 2:22, see also Proverbs 26:11) We would soon backslide But God has more than cleansed us, He is in the process of transforming us. Peter reminds us that we have been and are being sanctified.

By whose stripes you are healed — Peter now returns to Isaiah and quotes Isaiah 53:5. Jesus was scourged before He was crucified. The word “stripes” could also be translated more generally as “wounds” which is more general, but “stripes” fit better in this context which is the punishment of slaves. Slaves know the power of the lash. Flogging was administered as a punishment for bad behavior. It is a lot more painful than parents spanking their children. The implication is that Jesus, who is the suffering servant (slave) of Isaiah 53 bore our rightful punishment. This is more than the punishment of a master on his slaves. We must remember that God is Sovereign. He is master of all, and all are His servants (slaves). He has the right to punish us all for our sins. Yet the stripes we deserved fell upon Jesus, who is God the Son, and Lord of all creation.

There are two types of punishment God brings. One is upon the unrepentant unbeliever. This punishment is severe and eternal. But there is also the correction like that which a father administers to his child. The purpose of this punishment is not to destroy but to correct. When we are chastised by God, it is for our betterment. It also says that we are His, because a father does not correct someone else’s child this way (Hebrews 12:5-13) Sometimes, God uses secular means or even Satan as a means of correction 1 Corinthians 5:5) So even these stripes are for our healing, although we should emphasize the stripes Christ suffered for our healing.

For you were as sheep going astray — Peter now cites Isaiah 53:6). When we look at this citation, we see the word “sheep.” Sheep are famous for going astray. Once lost, they freeze in place and will never return unless the shepherd goes out and finds them, touches them, and leads them back to the flock, Sheep belong to a shepherd. Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd who cares for the sheep. The Christians he addresses in this epistle are His sheep. We are His sheep also. So what does “going astray” mean. One could think that Peter is referring to our errant ways in sin before we became Christians. But at that point, we were someone else’s sheep. One could say that God, through His foreknowledge and predestination called us sheep before we came to Jesus. This is true enough, but I don’t think this is what is being said. It fits the context better to see this as that like ancient Israel, many of the believers Peter is addressing were going astray. they were backsliding from the truth. We must note though that the past tense “was” is used. The next phrase says that they have returned. So it seems that some of the believers were shaken by the persecution they suffered as well as the temptations of the world they had left. But Jesus searched out His lost sheep, and now they have returned. There is always the threat of the sheep going astray, so it serves to warn us as well.

But now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls— This phrase begins with the strong Greek word (alla) “But.” This word tells us to replace what was just said with what follows. We are to replace the idea of going astray with the idea that we have returned. The word “returned” is the Hebrew way of understanding repentance. When we are going the wrong way, we need to stop and return the way we came. The Reformers used a Latin term “semper reformanda” to describe that the Christian life is characterized by continuous reform, or repentance. When we go astray, Jesus, by the agency of the Holy Spirit convicts us of our error and beckons us to return to His waiting arms. It is Jesus who is both shepherd and bishop (overseer) of our lives.

Application

Several years ago among the Christian churches a slogan rose up which said WWJD, or “What would Jesus do?” This slogan could be found on t-shirts, wristbands, and bumper stickers. The idea is that these signs would remind us that we are to follow the example of Jesus in all of our conduct. The Jews had a similar idea when they put scripture boxes on their forehead in order to remember that they stood in covenant relationship to Yahweh. This was more visible a reminder than circumcision. These were the frontlets of the eyes described in the Shema of Deuteronomy 6:4-9. We should certainly keep the Lord at the center of our lives. But we must also remember that Jesus did things for us which were unique. We cannot follow Jesus and die for the sins of the world. But what our willingness to suffer does does serve the purpose of a sign that points others to Christ.

Peter has told us the importance of our conduct. And nowhere is this more important that how we react to suffering. We are not to return evil for evil, but rather blessing for curse. People think this kind of Christian to be somewhat peculiar, as we noted in an earlier study. This strange reaction which is totally against expectation serves as the means of sinners asking questions. They might ask these questions with a sneering contempt, but at least they ask the question. How should we respond? Like the world? Absolutely not! Our firm but gentle answer will puzzle them all the more. But the words we speak at least take root. Who knows what fruit God might make of them.

So we take up our cross every day and follow Jesus.May we respond the way He would have us do when we are persecuted. Jesus has shown us how to do this.