THE REAST OF 1 PETER 2

²⁰ For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. ²¹ 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. ²² He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 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. ²⁴ 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. ²⁵ For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. ¹

However, there is a dimension of Christian behavior which goes far beyond that which is expected by others, and it is pleasing to God. That is when we do good and suffer for it, and take it patiently. This behavior is commendable before God (v. 20). This kind of behavior not only brings glory to God, but it also has the potential of ministering to our masters and to others around us.

In fact, most of us have seen the power of that kind of behavior affect the lives of others. For example, a number of years ago, I met a man who had come to personal faith in Christ through the influence of his teenage son who had personified this kind of behavior to his father.

The young man had been stricken with polio at an early age and was badly crippled in both of his legs. His father had become very bitter over this malady which had afflicted his only son. He became an alcoholic and began to badly mistreat his wife and son.

Life became literally “hell on earth” for his family. However, within this context, the mother and son began to attend church and both received Christ as Savior and Lord. Their hatred and resistance to the man’s cruelty was changed to love and concern. One evening, after the father had beaten the boy badly, he realized that the boy was expressing love to him rather than fear and hatred.

He was deeply touched by that response even in his stupor. He asked the boy why he was responding so strangely, and the young man replied, “It’s because I love you, Daddy. God loves you, and so do I!”

During the coming months, as he continued to abuse his wife and son, that simple message kept coming back to him, “God loves you, and so do I!” The more hatred and bitterness he directed toward his family, the more love they returned to him. And one evening, he could stand it no longer. He was so convicted by the Holy Spirit through the love of his own son, he blurted out to the young man, “I want to love you and your mother and God! How can I do it?”

That night, his twelve-year-old son explained how he could come to know God through personal faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The boy led his father to Christ. That is the potential power of “supernatural” living in relationship to harsh masters, bitter parents, and to all of those outside the kingdom of God.

The kind of behavior to which we have been called (v. 21) is not an option to the believer; it is expected of us by our Lord. Yet we do not need to live that kind of lifestyle without help or without an adequate example. Jesus Christ is the source for both our help and our example. Peter reminds us that He also suffered for us “leaving us an example, that [we] should follow His steps” (v. 21). Peter then quotes from Isaiah 53:9, “Who committed no sin, nor was guile found in His mouth.”

To disobey even a harsh master is to sin. To obey with bitterness or anger or accommodation as our motive is also sin. Love is the only motive which is acceptable to God for any and all of our behavior (1 Cor. 13:1–3). Indeed, we should follow the steps of Christ who did everything with the motive of love.

What a difference that makes in our attitude and conduct. For example, because Christ loved, He did not revile in return when He was reviled; when He suffered unjustly at the hands of others, He did not threaten them. He simply loved them and committed Himself to His Father (v. 23).

His love for us and for all people motivated Him to bear our sins in His own body on the Cross that we might be forgiven of our sins and live for righteousness (v. 24). That is the ultimate of love—to give our bodies, our very lives, for the unrighteous.

The marvelous result of Christ’s love for us is that we were once like sheep going astray but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls (v. 25). This is the ultimate example of love, given to us by Jesus Christ. Martin Luther summarized the example of Christ well when he wrote, “When I consider my crosses, tribulations, and temptations, I shame myself almost to death thinking what are they in comparison to the sufferings of my blessed Savior Christ Jesus.”

As Christ has so lived for us, we are able to live for Him and for others. And as we do, we are enabled to give an answer to those who ask, “Why do you have such hope and such love? Why are you so good to me when I am so bad to you? Why do you love me when I abuse you?” We should be ready to tell them about Jesus (1 Pet. 3:15).²

“For what glory is it if when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently?” “Glory” could be translated “fame or praise.” Buffeted means “to be struck with the fists.” This was often the treatment of slaves in Peter’s day. If a slave would steal or lie or become rebellious and refuse to work, his master might take him and give him a real going over with his fists. Peter is saying that if you have been beaten for any such fault, and you take it patiently, you have nothing to brag about. The beating was your own fault. God is not going to commend you for your patience in a case like that.

My friend, it may be possible that you are having problems and difficulties because you played the fool. A businessman said to me recently, “I have played the fool!” He had played the stock market and lost all his capital. He went bankrupt. When I was talking to him, he was suffering for his own foolishness. To recognize his fault and take the subsequent suffering patiently did not commend him to God.

“But if, when ye do well and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.” Of course, the natural reaction in all of us is to strike back when we have been unjustly treated. I confess that this is my first reaction, but I am learning to let God take care of it. God says in Romans 12:19, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay,” and He does a much better job of it than I could. The Lord Jesus Himself said, “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven …” (Matt. 5:11–12). And Peter says, “This is acceptable with God.”

Peter doesn’t get very far without telling us about the Lord Jesus again, and here he reminds us of the sufferings of Christ, which are an example to us as believers.³

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Peter encouraged these suffering slaves by presenting three “pictures” of Jesus Christ.

He is our Example in His life (vv. 21–23). All that Jesus did on earth, as recorded in the four Gospels, is a perfect example for us to follow. But He is especially our example in the way He responded to suffering. In spite of the fact that He was sinless in both word and deed, He suffered at the hands of the authorities. This connects, of course, to Peter’s words in 1 Peter 2:19–20. We wonder how he would have responded in the same circumstances! The fact that Peter used his sword in the Garden suggests that he might have fought rather than submitted to the will of God.

Jesus proved that a person could be in the will of God, be greatly loved by God, and still suffer unjustly. There is a shallow brand of popular theology today that claims that Christians will not suffer if they are in the will of God. Those who promote such ideas have not meditated much on the Cross.

Our Lord’s humility and submission were not an evidence of weakness, but of power. Jesus could have summoned the armies of heaven to rescue Him! His words to Pilate in John 18:33–38 are proof that He was in complete command of the situation. It was Pilate who was on trial, not Jesus! Jesus had committed Himself to the Father, and the Father always judges righteously.

We are not saved by following Christ’s example, because each of us would stumble over 1 Peter 2:22: “who did no sin.” Sinners need a Saviour, not an Example. But after a person is saved, he will want to “follow closely upon His steps” (literal translation) and imitate the example of Christ.

He is our Substitute in His death (v. 24). He died as the sinner’s Substitute. This entire section reflects that great “Servant Chapter,” Isaiah 53, especially Isaiah 53:5–7, but also verses 9 and 12. Jesus did not die as a martyr; He died as a Saviour, a sinless Substitute. The word translated “bare” means “to carry as a sacrifice.” The Jewish people did not crucify criminals; they stoned them to death. But if the victim was especially evil, his dead body was hung on a tree until evening, as a mark of shame (Deut. 21:23). Jesus died on a tree—a cross—and bore the curse of the Law (Gal. 3:13).

The paradoxes of the cross never cease to amaze us. Christ was wounded that we might be healed. He died that we might live. We died with Him, and thus we are “dead to sin” (Rom. 6) so that we might “live unto righteousness.” The healing Peter mentioned in 1 Peter 2:24 is not physical healing, but rather the spiritual healing of the soul (Ps. 103:3). One day, when we have glorified bodies, all sicknesses will be gone; but meanwhile, even some of God’s choicest servants may have physical afflictions (see Phil. 2:25–30; 2 Cor. 12:1ff).

It is not Jesus the Example or the Teacher who saves us, but Jesus the spotless Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29).⁴

2:24 bore our sins. Christ suffered not simply as the Christian’s pattern (vv. 21–23), but far more importantly as the Christian’s substitute. To bear sins was to be punished for them (cf. Nu 14:33; Eze 18:20). Christ bore the punishment and the penalty for believers, thus satisfying a holy God (3:18; see notes on 2Co 5:21; Gal 3:13). This great doctrine of the substitutionary atonement is the heart of the

gospel. Actual atonement, sufficient for the sins of the whole world, was made for all who would ever believe, namely, the elect (cf. Lv 16:17; 23:27–30; Jn 3:16; 2Co 5:19; 1Ti 2:6; 4:10; Tit 2:11; Heb 2:9; 1Jn 2:2; 4:9, 10). we might die to sin. This is true by the miracle of being in Christ. We died to sin in the sense that we paid its penalty, death, by being in Christ when He died as our substitute. See notes on Ro 6:1–11. live to righteousness. Not only have we been declared just, the penalty for our sins paid by His death, but we have risen to walk in new life, empowered by the Holy Spirit (see notes on Ro 6:12–22). by His wounds you were healed. From Is 53:5 (see note). Through the wounds of Christ at the cross, believers are healed spiritually from the deadly disease of sin. Physical healing comes at glorification only, when there is no more physical pain, illness, or death (Rev 21:4). See notes on Is 53:4–6; Mt 8:17 for comments on healing in the atonement.

2:25 returned. Means “to turn toward,” and refers to the repentant faith a person has at salvation. Shepherd and Guardian. Christ is not only the Christian’s standard (vv. 21–23) and substitute (v. 24), but He is also the Christian’s shepherd (5:4; cf. Is 53:6; Jn 10:11). In the OT, the title of “shepherd” for the Lord was often messianic (Eze 34:23, 24; 37:24; cf. Jn 10:1–18). Beyond that, “Shepherd and Guardian” were the most appropriate descriptions of Christ for Peter to use in order to comfort Christians who were being persecuted and slandered (v. 12). These two terms are also used for human spiritual leaders. “Shepherd” is the word for pastor, and “Guardian” is the word for bishop (cf. Eph

4:11; Tit 1:7), both referring to the same persons who lead the church (cf. Ac 20:28).⁵

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2:22 This crucial verse underscores the sinlessness of Christ (committed no sin) and his substitutionary death for sinners (cf. 3:18). Jesus’ freedom from deceit alludes to Isa. 53:9. Isaiah 52:13–53:12 especially emphasizes that the servant of the Lord died as a substitute to remove the sins of his people.

2:23 when he suffered, he did not threaten. It is common to long for retaliation in the face of unjust criticism or suffering, but Jesus behaved like the meek lamb of Isa. 53:7. He could do so because he continued entrusting both himself and those who mistreated him entirely to God, knowing that God is just and will make all things right in the end. Likewise believers, knowing that God judges justly, are able to forgive others and to entrust all judgment and vengeance to God (cf. Rom. 12:19). Every wrong deed in the universe will be either covered by the blood of Christ or repaid justly by God at the final judgment.⁶

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 (v. 24). That last phrase is a quotation from Isaiah 53, and it is the supreme proof-text used by those of the so-called Word of Faith ministry, those who proclaim that God always wills healing. Someone recently said, “Do not tell me about Epaphroditus, Paul’s thorn in the flesh, or Timothy’s upset stomach. Those examples only prove the sinful character of those who didn’t have enough faith to believe that God would heal them.” Those who hold to this view misapply this verse from Isaiah. If we were to do an exhaustive study of the word heal using a theological dictionary, we would see that the primary reference has nothing to do with being cured of physical diseases or ailments. It has to do with being healed of the consequences of sin. When the Suffering Servant was put before the lash in our stead, the beating left grizzly welts on His back that looked like stripes. Those were stripes of punishment, and by those stripes, we escape punishment for sin. The passage does not offer a blanket promise of healing for sickness.

Very few people in the history of the world, no matter how much devotion they practice or piety they exhibit, have escaped the final illness. Enoch was translated; Elijah walked with God and was not. Most succumbed to their final illness, because the healing that is in the cross, with respect to physical disease, is not something that we are guaranteed to receive in this world. We believe in a comprehensive healing of the body at the final resurrection, but what Peter is speaking about here, echoing the teaching of Isaiah, is healing from the punishment due us for sin.

Overseer of Our Souls

Peter ends the chapter with these words: For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls (v. 25). Sheep imagery is used often in the Bible to describe our behavior. If you have seen a loose group of sheep, you know that it is chaos in motion. They do not stay together. They run to and fro and trip over themselves. They go astray and lose their way. We are all like that. We wander here and there and do not stay on the road that God has set before us.

An extraordinary occurrence once took place in the middle of an academic convocation at a theological seminary where I was teaching. Such convocations are customary in academia. A celebrated scholar is brought in, and he will read a paper or deliver a technical message that explores some esoteric point of theology. It is part of the academic protocol. On this particular occasion, the speaker stood and began reciting a list of titles: “Messiah, Savior, Lord, Son of David, Son of Man, Son of God, Bright and Morning Star, The Rose of Sharon, Emmanuel.” He continued for thirty or forty minutes reciting this litany of titles ascribed to Jesus in the New Testament. It was overwhelming. We can make the grievous mistake of rushing over titles given to Jesus.

There are two titles here at the end of 1 Peter 2: “Shepherd” and “Overseer” or, as some translate, “Bishop.” Jesus uses the metaphor of the shepherd to define His identity. He describes Himself as “the good shepherd” (John 10:11). He said, “A hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them” (v. 12). The hireling is not a good shepherd but a bad one. In contrast, Jesus said:

I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. (vv. 14–16)

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Ps. 23:1). He is the Good Shepherd who is constantly watching out for the well-being of His sheep.

Jesus confronted Peter by the shore and said, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?” and Peter responded, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love you.” Then Jesus said, “Feed my sheep” (John 21:16–17). Jesus did not ask Peter to entertain His sheep or to poison them. Jesus commanded Peter to feed His sheep.

A friend, who hardly ever darkened the door of a church, came to St. Andrew’s once and sat through a service. Afterward he greeted me and said, “Today, R.C., I was part of your flock”; however, it is not my flock. It is Jesus’ flock. He is our Shepherd, and when we go astray, He uses the crooked end of the staff to grab us around the neck and draw us back into line. Being corralled by the Shepherd may be uncomfortable, but His rod and staff ultimately bring comfort, because it is part of His care.⁷

1 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2001). (1 Pe 2:20–25). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

2 Cedar, P. A., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1984). James / 1 & 2 Peter / Jude (Vol. 34, pp. 148–150). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.

3 McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Epistles (1 Peter) (electronic ed., Vol. 54, pp. 59–60). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

4 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, pp. 406–407). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

5 MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (1 Pe 2:24–25). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

6 Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 2409). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

7 Sproul, R. C. (2011). 1-2 Peter (pp. 85–87). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.