"To This You Are Called"

Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Explanation:

I open with Isaiah 53 because it is the chief passage that informs the Apostle Peter’s understanding of Jesus as the Christ.

Most of 1 Peter 2:21-25, which will be our text for this evening, is Peter’s paraphrase and condensed form of this theologically rich chapter: Isaiah 53.

This is significant considering Peter was an eyewitness to Jesus’ life, ministry, atoning death, and resurrection. It speaks volumes to Peter’s understanding of the doctrine of Scripture, as I see it.

As we will see tonight, the theme of unjust suffering is the central focus of both Isaiah 53 and 1 Peter 2:21-25.

Suffering causes all of us to look deep inside and ask the hard questions of life. “What does my suffering mean? Why is this happening to me? What do I need to learn from my suffering?”

Sometimes when we are placed in the grip of suffering (whether mental, physical, or spiritual), the answers to these questions become a little bit clearer.

The road of righteousness leads through the Cross. Just check the map (The Bible, of course). Suffering and persecution are on the way.

Suffering: African Inland Missionary

A Spirit-filled worker connected with the African Inland Mission was giving his testimony after returning from a very dangerous service in the World War. He said that if someone sent him on a journey and told him the road to take, warning him that at a certain point he would come to a dangerous crossing of the river, at another point to a forest infested with wild beasts, he would come to that dangerous river crossing with the satisfaction of knowing that he was on the right road. So he told them that the Lord had predicted that Christians would have tribulation, and when the tribulations came he knew he was on the right road.

Troubles in this world are to be expected. As someone once wisely said:

“The true believer doesn’t complain about the thorns; he just praises God that He loves us enough to put beautiful roses on the top of every stem.”

As we address this central focus of unjust suffering in 1 Peter 2:21-25, we will work under the title: “To This You Are Called”

Let’s take a look at 1 Peter 2:21-25 together:

1 Peter 2:21–25 (AV)

For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

The first concept to recognize, from v. 21, is that “The Christian’s Call Requires Suffering Submission.”

-Body:

1. The Christian’s Call Requires Suffering Submission (v. 21)

Peter’s opening line is, “For even hereunto were ye called...”

‘Called’ is significant in the Greek, meaning “to be called to a task.”

The word is used in the same sense in 2 Thes. 2:14, where Paul writes:

2 Thes. 2:13-14 “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Paul is here explaining to the believers that this Salvation, through belief in the truth and sanctification, they have been called to.

This isn’t a general call, it is a call to a specific task. The same is true in 1 Peter 2:21.

The calling is found in the verses prior, where Peter asserts that “For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully...” (1 Peter 2:19)

The calling of v. 21 is clearly a calling to endure unjust suffering.

So, with that established, lets examine this calling to a task here in v. 21. The first thing to note about the call is The Basis of the Call.

a. The Basis of the Call - “...because Christ also suffered for us leaving us an example...”

Jesus, at the last supper with His disciples, told them:

Luke 22:15 “...With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:”

Of course, you and I are keenly aware of what that suffering looked like for Jesus.

We know He was:

Beaten, Scorned, mocked, spit upon, thorns shoved upon his head as a crown of pain & torment, nailed to a cross by his hands and feet, and left there to writhe in pain until his death.

Additionally, we are all keenly aware of the truth that Jesus neither merited nor justly deserved this treatment for anything He had done or said.

In the very next chapter Peter points out that 1 Peter 3:18 “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust...”

Peter explains to this scattered group of believers, as well as you and I this evening, that this suffering Jesus experienced is an example to you and I. Jesus’s suffering is an example you and I are to follow in our lives as we endure unjust suffering.

This is the basis and the foundation of this calling here in v. 21. Jesus suffered not only to provide salvation for you, but to leave you an example to live by. Which leads us to the second thing to not about this call, The Purpose of the Call.

b. The Purpose of the Call - “...that ye should follow his steps...”

The word ‘example’ here is vivid and illuminating. It is the Greek word hypogrammon.

Hypogrammon is a Greek word used as ‘to model.’ It is most closely associated with a grammar teacher modeling for a student how to write. The teacher would write a word or statement for the purpose of teaching. The student would then take that writing and trace the letters as way of learning to form them through writing.

It’s similar to those worksheets we see in preschool and kindergarten classrooms on which letters are formed by dots. The student is instructed to connect the dots as a method of learning to form the letters on a page.

This is the underlying picture found in hypogrammon.

The purpose of Jesus’s example in enduring unjust suffering is so that we might use His model as an example for our own lives, similar to the way in which the student traces out those letters.

So, now that we’ve laid out the basis of the call and the purpose of the call, as Peter expresses them in v. 21, let’s move to the next thought in our passage. The second concept to recognize is that “The Christian’s Example Requires Suffering Submission.”

2. The Christian’s Example Requires Suffering Submission (v. 21b-24)

a. Jesus as The Perfect Picture - “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth...”

One of the most amazing things about Jesus, that often doesn’t get near the attention it should in gospel presentations, is the sinless perfection of Jesus.

It will turn your brain to mush trying to think about what sinless perfection must have looked like. We are so used to sin and war with our flesh, it may even be impossible to picture it.

Jesus is set up in the entirety of the Bible as the Perfect picture of sinless.

He was the spotless, perfect, and complete sacrifice necessary to purchase redemption for all those who would believe.

The writer of Hebrews tells us that, “...we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15)

You know....the greatest thing about the Christian’s glorification isn’t having a healthy new body, but existing for all eternity, free from war with the flesh and sin, to worship and serve God.

Jesus, in the midst of unjust suffering and torment, remained sinless and perfect. He maintained that sinless perfection even to the point to having no guile in his mouth.

There wasn’t a word of deceit, trickery, or sly attempts to avoid the mistreatment or to get one over on the oppressors.

This points us to the next aspect of Jesus’s Example. Not only should we see Jesus as the Perfect Picture, but we should also see “Jesus as the Silent Sufferer.”

b. Jesus as The Silent Sufferer - “Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again...”

Here in verse 23, Peter expands on the concepts of Jesus’s sinless perfection. He first points out Jesus’s patient silence in the midst of unjust suffering.

What is interesting here in the Greek, that isn’t readily obvious in the King’s English, is the different words used for ‘was reviled’ and reviled not.’

‘was reviled’ is the action that had Jesus as its object. It was an action committed against Jesus.

The Greek word here means ‘to slander.’

Jesus was openly insulted with false claims maliciously intended to hurt his reputation, to make people believe things about Him that were untrue.

This is a strong action word.

‘reviled not’ just after the first phrase is the exact opposite.

To the same extent that ‘was reviled’ is a strong action word, ‘reviled not’ is just as strong a lack of action.

The word here means ‘to insult in return to false accusations and insults.’

Just as fervently as Jesus’s opponents slandered him, he matched that fervency in saying nothing in defense of Himself.

Our natural tendency is to fervently respond to false accusations and slander in kind or in defense of ourselves.

We are like the child has something blamed on us by another kid in class, who lashes out in defense saying “Nuh uh! He did it!”

Jesus example kicks up against the natural human tendency. His example is different for a reason. Not so much because He was perfect, but because of His perfect understanding of God, as we’ll see in a moment.

This brings us to the next aspect of Jesus’s example. He is Jesus as The perfect picture, Jesus as the silent sufferer, and, further, “Jesus as The Submissive Servant.”

c. Jesus as The Submissive Servant - “when he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously...”

Of course, the suffering mentioned here is the same suffering we briefly outlined earlier in addressing the basis of this call. That is, the unjust suffering Jesus experienced in his journey to the cross and on the cross.

The key point for Peter here is, once again, the negative term in the statement: ‘threatened not.’

Star Wars - Obi-Wan Kenobi Illustration:

I love Star Wars! It has been one of my favorite cinematic universes since I was a child. Well, I’ve been watching the new series that Disney has developed outlining the life of Obi-Wan Kenobi between Episode III and Episode IV. The basic story line of the show is Obi-Wan’s attempt to rescue Princess Leia, who has been kidnapped. Leia ends up in the hands of Darth Vader, the primary villian’s, inquisitor force. During an interrogation of this little girl, she proclaims to the inquisitor questioning her, “You cannot keep me here! I am a princess of Alderan! Obi-Wan will come for me, and you’ll be sorry!”

I won’t spoil the rest for you if you haven’t watched the show.

Little Princess Leia’s response to her interrogator is typical human nature in the midst of unjust mistreatment.

“You just wait until my lawyer gets here!” “You’ll be sorry for this!” “When my dad gets here you’re gonna be in BIG trouble!”

But Jesus, as The Submissive Servant, made no threats, though they would have had merit and weight.

Instead, Jesus’s understanding of God as the righteous judge, lead Him to submit to God the Father’s role in the midst of unjust suffering.

Romans 12:19 “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”

Jesus recognized God’s role as avenger of unjust sufferers.

On this basis, Jesus wholly submitted his present, unjust suffering and mistreatment to the Father who judges righteously.

So, Jesus’s example is quite clear and understandable. We’ve seen Jesus as The Perfect Picture, Silent Sufferer, and Submissive Servant. All of these things were necessary for the redemptive plan of God to see “Jesus as The Sinner’s Substitute. “

d. Jesus as The Sinner’s Substitute - “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree...”

2 Corinthians 5:21 “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Colossians 2:13-14 “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;”

Jesus ‘bore’ our sins, your’s and mine, in his physical body. He ‘bore’ those sins, in the sense that Paul mentions in 2 Corinthians 5, by being made sin for us.

Then, as Paul mentions here in Colossians 2, being made sin for us was nailed to the cross as a substitute for the punishment you and I deserved.

Only Jesus as the Perfect Picture, Silent Sufferer, and Submissive Servant could be made the Sinner’s Substitute.

No other could fill the position of Sinner’s Substitute because no other could claim the first three prerequisites. Only Jesus met all the requirements necessary to make atonement on our behalf.

Praise God that Jesus met those requirements, and in His grace and mercy was willing to become that Substitute for your sin and mine!

It is an amazing thing that Jesus was “...not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) And so, He took on human flesh and headed for the cross! I am forever grateful for the example found in Christ.

Let us now move to the last aspect of the Christian’s suffering submission. We’ve discussed that The Christian’s Call Requires Suffering Submission and how The Christian’s Example Requires Suffering Submission, now let us turn our attention to how The Christian’s Condition Requires Suffering Submission.

3. The Christian’s Condition Requires Suffering Submission (v. 25)

Peter points to two relationships that inform our condition as humans. The first of those is in Our Relation to Sin:

a. In Relation to Sin (v. 24)

1 Peter 2:24 (AV)

Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

i. ‘dead to sins’

First of all, Peter asserts that we are ‘dead unto sin.’

In Romans 6, Paul deals with the rhetorical question, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” (Romans 6:1)

Of course the answer is obviously a resounding, No! The forgiveness found in Christ is NOT a license to sin by any stretch of the imagination.

Peter affirms that in our passage with the phrase ‘dead to sins.’

Paul continues by asking “...How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Romans 6:2)

The premise behind Paul’s question is that if one is truly ‘dead to sin,’ their life will no longer be patterned by sin.

Peter suggests, as Paul does in Romans, that the believer’s life should, instead, be patterned by righteousness.

ii. ‘live unto righteousness’

Peter further point to the fact that, in relation to sin, Christians are to be dead to sin, but also, in the opposite direction, to ‘live unto righteousness.’

The word here translated as “live” is a word that points to one’s conduct or behavior. In other words, how you conduct yourself should be unto righteousness.

To frame it the same way we left ‘dead to sins,’ our lives as believers should not be patterned by sin, but they should be patterned by righteousness.

Paul helps us advance our understanding of this pattern by suggesting that “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

According to Paul, in some sense you and I become the righteousness of God in Christ.

Rather than something that we do or attempt to achieve, ‘living unto righteousness’ is a transformation that happens to us as a result of Christ’s death and our faith in Him.

Therefore, in relation to sin, the Christian is dead to sin and living unto righteousness. Additionally, Peter adds that the Christian is ‘healed.’

iii. ‘healed’

Peter closes out the thought with “…by whose stripes ye are healed.”

In paraphrasing Isaiah 53’s words here, Peter is obviously not concerned with his audience’s physical or biological health in this context. ‘Ye are healed’ is quite clearly meant to address their spiritual condition in Christ as a result of his suffering.

In fact, the Greek word used for ‘healed’ here means ‘to renew, or the figurative extension of healing.’

Jesus uses the same word in Matthew 13:15 “For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.”

Here again, Jesus’s use of this word is quite obviously utilized in the context as a spiritual healing, or the forgiveness and atonement that takes place through faith in Him.

Peter is clear that ‘Jesus bore our sins in His own body on the tree,’ so that we might live lives patterned by righteousness, not sin. Beyond the pattern of our life, in relation to sin we are ‘healed’ or forgiven.

Our condition in relation to sin, in Christ, should be cause for praise and worship of the Savior who made it possible. So, let’s address, as Peter does in v. 25, our condition “In Relation to the Savior.”

b. In Relation to the Savior (v. 25)

1 Peter 2:25 AV

For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

First of all, take not of our Past Plight.

i. Past Plight - “as sheep going astray”

This idea of ‘going astray’ in v. 25 is interesting.

It doesn’t mean wondered off like a kid in a store, “Oooo, shiny!” All of the sudden you don’t know where they are.

It’s a Greek word that means ‘to be deceived or deluded.’

In other words, when Peter says “ye were as sheep going astray,” he means you were deceived by something not of Christ.

You didn’t just wonder off, you allowed yourself to be led astray by a deceiver or deceiving idea, narrative, or concept.

Remember, Peter is addressing a group of scattered and persecuted group of believers. It is entirely possible that they had ‘gone astray’ in the face of persecution abroad.

I do not believe Peter is talking about salvation here.

Though he utilizes a paraphrase of Isaiah 53, which obviously is a reference to salvation, he uses the word ‘return.’ Lost people don’t return to Christ, as if they wondered off for a while. No they come to Christ.

So, let’s make a connection from the Past Plight Peter addresses in ‘ye were as sheep going astray,’ and the Present Reality found in ‘but are now returned...’

ii. Present Reality - “returned”

Peter closes the thought with “…but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.”

The word ‘returned,’ or ‘turned back’ in some translations, means “to change one’s beliefs or opinion regarding a truth they previously denied.”

This Greek word is what seems to further suggest Peter is not talking about salvation, but rather about backslidden believers in the face of unjust suffering.

Paul uses the same word in asking this question in Galatians 4:9 “But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?”

Paul asks essentially the same question as Peter implies in our text:

How in the world, after tasting of Jesus, could you turn back to the world because of something as temporary as unjust suffering?! Don’t you remember the example Jesus modeled in His unjust suffering?!

Thankfully, Peter seems to praise this group of scattered believers because they have ‘returned.’

They have returned to Jesus, who is the Good Shepherd (as John 10:11 suggests) and the Bishop, or Guardian, of their souls.

-Conclusion:

Remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 18:12-14 “How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.”

I would encourage you this evening with this:

As a follower of Christ, unjust suffering is guaranteed to show up at some point or another in this life.

Like the African Missionary worker we mentioned at the start, rather than letting mistreatment be a cause to go astray, let it be an encouragement that you are on the right path.

Remember in the midst of it, that Christ unjustly suffered in ways you and I can’t fathom or comprehend as a model for us to follow.

So, if you’ve gone astray tonight, return. It’s as simple as that.

If you’ve never come to Christ tonight, know that all these things we’ve mentioned this evening about His unjust suffering were endured for you.

All you have to do to find forgiveness of your sins and be made right with God this evening is to come to Jesus in faith.

Don’t leave here tonight without Jesus.

Let’s Pray....

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