Deeper Commentary
CHAPTER 2
2:1 Therefore, put away all wickedness, deceit, hypocrisies, envies and all evil
speaking- The behaviour of the exiled Jews whom Peter had once
baptized in Jerusalem wasn't good. They had allowed the stress of the
refugee life to lead them into unspirituality; they had now allowed free
operation to the gift of Holy Spirit made available to them at baptism.
“Hypocrisies” recalls how
Peter was carried away
with the “dissimulation” of the Judaizers (Gal. 2:13), and he uses the
same word when he appeals to the brethren to lay aside “all hypocrisies”
(1 Pet. 2:1); he was asking them to do what he himself had had to do. He
had been a hypocrite, in living the life of legalism within the ecclesia
whilst having the knowledge of grace.
In Jeremiah's time, gossiping was associated with 'proceeding from evil to
evil' (Jer. 9:3); it is part of a downward spiral of spirituality. Once
gossip starts a quarrel, it's like water bursting out of a dam; soon the
whole land of Israel will be flooded (Prov. 17:14 NIV). So it's best not
to start it, not only for our own sakes, but because of the effect it will
have on the rest of the body. Peter likewise points an antithesis between
gossiping and receiving "the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow
thereby" (1 Pet. 2:1,2). Real spiritual growth is impossible if we are
taken up with gossiping; and this is true on the communal as well as
individual level.
2:2 Be as newborn babes,
longing for the spiritual milk which is without deceit-
Peter was writing to those he had baptized many
years ago, who had become hardened by this world. He urges them to look
back to their conversion, and start again. Hebrews criticizes Jewish
converts for needing milk rather than meat, so Peter's exhortation here is
not without an element of criticism and regret that they had not matured
more. The euphoria of those thousands of baptisms at Pentecost must be
considered against how Peter now writes to them, years later.
‘Be babes’ he exhorts, ‘and grow as they do’ (1 Pet. 2:2). The same word
occurs in Lk. 18:15 in description of the “infants” whom Peter rebuked.
The Lord’s response had been to tell Peter to be like them (Lk. 18:17).
And, having been humbled into learning something of a child’s
teachableness, a babe’s desire for the sincere milk, Peter now asks others
to learn the lesson.
So that you may grow thereby to salvation-
“Salvation” is being like the Lord, the saved one;
we grow into it, as well as being granted it finally. James
1:18 speaks of "the word of truth", the inspired word of the basic Gospel
message. But he goes on to appeal for us to be "doers of the word" (James
1:22,23). "The word" must be that of v. 18- the word of the Gospel. He
sensed the tendency to accept the word of God as true, to show this by
baptism: and yet not to be "doers" of that word. It is in this sense that
the word of the Gospel is what we grow by (1 Pet. 2:2 cp. 1:23,25; 2:8;
3:1); by our daily response to the most basic things which we have
understood and claim to believe, we will grow spiritually. When we were
baptized, we read the simple Biblical statements about baptism and obeyed
them. That translation from Bible reading into practice is something which
we thenceforward struggle to maintain for the rest of our lives. There is
a power in the inspired word, whereby one mind- God's- can penetrate
another with no intermediary but a piece of flattened wood pulp, black
print on white paper. It's an amazing phenomenon to be part of. Lev
Tolstoy in his spiritual autobiography A Confession tells in
gripping manner how he read the words of Jesus "Sell everything you have
and give to the poor" and then finally overcame all the restraints of his
nature to do just that. He freed his serfs, gave away the copyrights to
his writings and began to dispose of his huge estate. Words on paper must
likewise lead to action in us. The more familiar we become with the text
of Scripture by daily reading, the stronger is the temptation to become
blasé, and not read the word expecting to be taught something new,
expecting to be challenged to change.
2:3- see on Rom. 2:4.
If indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious-
1 Pet.2:2,3 describes desiring "the sincere milk of
the word" as tasting the grace of the Lord, through knowing "the
word of his grace" Acts 20:32). Peter may well be alluding to Heb.6:4,5
concerning tasting "the Heavenly gift", tasting "the good
word of God", which parallels being "made partakers of the Holy Spirit".
Thus the word of Jesus is connected to the gift of the Spirit, a
connection made all the stronger once we realize that the Greek word for
"grace" sometimes refers to the gift of the Holy Spirit. Peter is quoting
here from the LXX of Ps. 34:8, so we can agree with the GNB: "As the
scripture says, "You have found out for yourselves how kind the Lord is"".
In this case, we have the sense that in our receipt of salvation at the
last day, we will have a totally unique and personal experience. We will
have found out His grace for ourselves.
2:4 Come to him as to a living stone- The contrast is with the dead stones of the
temple, which had played such a crucial role in the culture and faith of
Peter's Jewish readership. Peter goes on to say that we too are "living
stones" (:5); the titles of the Lord Jesus are applied to all of us in
Christ.
Indeed rejected by men but chosen by God and precious-
The Jewish believers had been rejected by the same
group in Jerusalem who had rejected the Lord Jesus. And so Peter uses
titles of the Lord Jesus [taken from Is. 28:16 LXX] which he has just used
about the believers. They too were "chosen by God" (1:2) and were
"precious" (1:7). All that is true of Him becomes true of us.
2:5 You as living stones are
being built up- Even thought the Jewish believers being
addressed were at a low point in their spiritual growth, the Spirit was
seeking to build them up. The wise man builds his house upon the rock of
Christ (Mt. 7:26), and yet the Lord Jesus builds His church on the rock of
our faith in His resurrection (Mt. 16:18). Our efforts are confirmed by
the Lord; this is His way of working by the Spirit. The implication is
that the Lord is the builder; in contrast to the builders of the Jewish
leadership, who rejected the Lord as the chief corner stone (:7). It may
have been a frightening, scary and lonely prospect to be rejected by the
'builders' of Judaism and driven into exile, without any structure of
spiritual support and leadership. For the early Christians continued to
attend the temple and remained in the synagogues until they were cast out.
Peter is urging them to realize that the Lord Himself is their builder,
their good shepherd.
Into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood-
Exile from the temple system would have been a
frightening experience for these orthodox Jewish converts. But they were
being reminded that they are the temple, they are the priesthood.
So often, structures we depend upon are removed and we are made to realize
that it is for us to do and be what those structures were for us. Every
Israelite was intended to be a priest; they were to be "a Kingdom of
priests". The "covenant of my peace" was with both Israel (Is. 54:10) and
the priesthood (Mal. 2:5). The same is true of spiritual Israel; "a
spiritual house, an holy priesthood" (1 Pet. 2:5). The process of baptism
recalls the way in which the priests washed and then embarked on service
to the rest of Israel. Christ is the supreme priest; but because we are
"in Him", we too have some part in the priesthood. See on Rom. 12:1.
As it was God’s intention that Israel were to be a nation of priests to
the rest of the world, so the new Israel likewise are to all
discharge the priestly functions of teaching their brethren (Ex. 19:6 cp.
1 Pet. 2:5; Rev. 1:6; 5:9,10). Under the new covenant, we should all
teach and admonish one another (Col. 3:16). Indeed, God told Israel
[unrecorded in the historical records]: “Ye are gods [elohim] and
all of you are sons of the Most High” (Ps. 82:6 RV). Further, Ps. 96:9
makes the paradigm breaking statement that even the Gentiles could come
before Yahweh of Israel in holy, priestly array- they too could aspire to
the spirit of priesthood (Ps. 96:9 RVmg.). Moses spoke of how all Israel
should pray that God would establish the work of their hands (Ps. 90:17)-
but this was in fact his special request for the blessing of Levi, the
priestly tribe (Dt. 33:11). Ps. 135:19,20 parallels all Israel with the
priestly family: “Bless the Lord, O house of Israel: bless the Lord, O
house of Aaron: bless the Lord, O house of Levi: ye that fear the Lord,
bless the Lord... praise ye the Lord”. All Israel were to aspire to
the spirit of priesthood. Indeed, the Psalms often parallel the house of
Aaron (i.e. the priesthood) with the whole nation (Ps. 115:9,10,12;
118:2,3).
To offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ-
Our offerings are
acceptable to God by (Gk. dia, "in", on account of) Jesus Christ (1
Pet. 2:5); by / by being in Christ we offer to God the sacrifice of praise
(Heb. 13:15). The fact we come unto God directly dia, "by",
through, on account of the Lord Jesus does not mean that therefore Christ
must interpret our every word to God; it cannot mean that in prayer we
cannot come directly to the Father. If this were so, the Lord's model
prayer would be seriously lacking in its omission of any such clause which
reminds us that we are praying to God through the mediation /
interpretation of Christ. If English and Greek mean anything, the Lord
categorically stated that He does not transfer our prayers to God;
through Him, as a result of His work, we have a direct approach to God:
"Ye shall ask me nothing... Ye shall ask [the Father] in my
name (i.e. because you are located there, in that position / relation):
and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: for the
Father himself loveth you" (Jn. 16:23,26,27). Christ does not pray for us
in the sense of offering up our words of request to the Father; He prays
for us, according to Rom. 8, of His own freewill, with His own agenda, not
ours. The aim of His suffering and Heavenly mediation today, is that He
might "bring us to God" (1 Pet. 3:18). This refers to His reconciliation
of us to the Father, rather than His offering of our prayers. Because we
are in His Name, on account of ("by") Him and His work, we can pray
directly to the Father. He does not pray the Father for us.
We are all parts of the same body, branches on the same vine, bricks in
the same building; we are all strangers and pilgrims, lacking any rights
of a citizen. We are all members of the same priesthood, with equal
responsibility to offer up acceptable sacrifice. Don’t miss the power of
this to New Testament Jewish ears: the special responsibilities of the
priests were now applied to every believer.
2:6 Because it is contained in scripture: Look, I lay in Zion a chief
corner stone, chosen, precious- The Jewish converts who were now in
exile from Jerusalem, excommunicated from the temple, were in fact still
in Zion- spiritually. Peter is clearly aware of the sense of spiritual
loneliness which they felt after being cut off from the temple system.
They had left their homes to come and live, or retire to, Jerusalem-
because the temple was there. Peter had baptized them, and they had been
cast out of the temple system and were now refugees in Turkey. But they
were the temple and the priesthood- that is the force of his argument.
And he that believes in him shall not stumble- The Jewish refugees, cast out of the temple
system, perhaps felt they would stumble as a result of being outside the
temple structure; and perhaps Peter sensed they were close to doing so.
But he urges them to retain their faith in Christ as the true corner
stone, who like them had been rejected by Jerusalem Judaism.
2:7- see on Jn. 12:3.
Therefore, for you that believe he is precious-
The repeated emphasis upon the Lord Jesus being
"precious" connects with the preciousness of their faith (1:7). Their
faith was precious to the Lord, and He was precious to them. We see here
the mutuality between a man and his Lord.
But to those who are disobedient, the stone which the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone-
The Lord is a stone- either of stumbling, or the chief cornerstone of our
faith. Yet the Lord presents a different two options with regard to Him as
the stone. We either fall on the stone and are broken; or it falls upon us
and grinds us to powder, with full allusion to the stone of Dan. 2:44
which will grind the condemned to powder by the Lord's return (Mt. 21:44).
But stumbling over the stone means it is a stone of offence to us. We
either stumble upon the Lord, we sin and are broken by it but repent; or
else He will condemn us at the last day. It's rather like the parable of
the two sons; we are either the prodigal and end up saved, or the
self-righteous older brother who ends up outside the Lord's fellowship.
2:8- see on 1 Pet. 5:2.
A stone of stumbling and a rock of offence-
Looking back, it must have been shameful for Peter
to recollect how he had sought to dissuade the Lord from going up to
Jerusalem to die there for the world’s redemption. At that time the Lord
had called him a rock, upon whose declaration of faith he would build his
church, and then soon afterwards a stumbling-stone, an offence. Peter
combines these two descriptions in styling the Lord “the head(stone) of
the corner (upon which the ecclesia would be built), and a stone of
stumbling, and a rock of offence” (1 Pet. 2:7,8). There is undoubted
allusion to the very titles which the Lord had given Peter. And yet here
Peter applies them both to the Lord Jesus, even the “rock of offence”. His
point perhaps was to show that he saw Christ as manifest in him, and he
being “in Christ”, even in his weakness. Nothing could separate
Peter from the love of Christ; and therefore he merges the titles of
Christ with those of himself, even when they describe his weakness. This
was the unity that was possible between a man and his Lord, and Peter
holds it up in inspiration to his readers.
For being disobedient, they stumble at the word-
But the Lord Jesus is the rock or stone over which
they stumble. So "the word" refers to Him, in that attitudes to His word
are attitudes to Him. He is the word, made flesh. We cannot claim to love
Him if we disregard His word. The "disobedient" here refer to the Jews who
did not accept Jesus as the Christ; for the Greek really means to
disbelieve. So when Peter later uses the same word in warning his
readership about those who are disobedient to the Gospel, or husbands who
do not initially obey the word, he has specifically in view Jews who do
not believe in Jesus as Christ (3:1; 4:17).
To which they also were appointed-
This does not just say that the wicked are disobedient; they are
appointed to this. God therefore had a hand in their disobedience-
through confirming them in their conscious rejection of Him. On the other
hand, "Whom (God) did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed
to the image of His Son" (Rom. 8:29). The predestination was not just to
know the Gospel, but to be righteous- to be able to conform our characters
to the perfect example of Jesus. Thus "I have chosen you... to bring forth
fruit" (Jn. 15:16), i.e. spiritual attributes.
2:9 But you are an elect race- They who believed in Christ were the
true Israel of God, and not those back in Palestine who had rejected and
persecuted them.
A royal priesthood, a holy nation- God intended Israel to be "a
Kingdom of priests" (Ex. 19:6). “All the people of Israel” were the
builders of the spiritual house of God, i.e. His people (Acts 4:10,11).
All Israel were to lay their hands on the Levites to show that they were
truly Israel’s representatives (Num. 8:10). When Israel were rejected,
they were told that they as a nation could no longer be God’s priest (Hos.
4:6). By baptism, we become spiritual Israel; and this idea is relevant to
us too. Peter picks up these words in Exodus and applies them to every one
of us: "Ye also are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood,
to offer up spiritual sacrifices" (1 Pet. 2:5,9). The Lord Jesus is a
King-priest after the order of Melchizedek (Heb. 6:13-18; Ps. 110:4); and
through being in Him, we share this position. Through what He achieved for
us on the cross, we have been made now king-priests, with the
future hope of reigning on earth (Rev. 1:6; 5:10). Israel were constituted
a Kingdom of priests; a whole nation who would preach forth God's ways to
those about them. And this designation and commission is applied now to
the new Israel (1 Pet. 2:5,9 cp. Ex. 20:5). Males who could not procreate
were barred from the congregation (Dt. 23:1), possibly in prototype of how
spiritual procreation was to be a vital characteristic of the future
Israel.
Israel were called out of Egypt in order to declare among the surrounding
nations the character and greatness of Israel's God. In this calling to be
a missionary nation they failed miserably (what similarities with the new
Israel?). The very reason why we are a "chosen race, a royal priesthood
(is) that we should shew forth the praises of him who hath called
you out of darkness (cp. Egypt)". Our separation from this world is
therefore related to our praise of God. We don't shew forth the knowledge
and praise of God to this world by singing to them; but rather by showing
in our lives and preaching that we have been separated unto a glorious
Kingdom of light. This is the true shewing forth of praise.
A
people for God's own possession, that you may
show forth the excellence of Him who called you out of darkness into his
marvellous light-
Judaism was therefore
"darkness".
2:10 Who in times past were no people- The true Israel of God are
those who are the baptized seed of Abraham. The very negative language and
imagery used here about Judaism and natural Israel was designed to comfort
the Jewish refugees who had been rejected by Orthodox Judaism and the
"Jerusalem that now is". Paul in Galatians 4 likewise speaks most
negatively of the then current Jerusalem.
But now are the people of God-
After their baptism at the Red Sea, Israel were declared the Kingdom of
God by reason of God being their King through their promised obedience to
His word (Ex. 19:5,6). They were "saved" (Jude 5) from the power of Egypt
(cp.sin). Yet they had to walk through the wilderness (cp. our
probations), behaving according to the responsibilities of being God's
Kingdom, and yet still capable of backsliding before they became
established as the physical Kingdom in the land. Those very same Abrahamic
promises of inheriting the land of Canaan as the centre of the coming
Kingdom are made to us through our Red Sea baptism. Abraham lived in the
land of promise in his mortal life, but did not of course experience what
it would be like in the Kingdom (Heb. 11:9). That he had to look forward
to in faith, as do we, his seed. Peter leaves us with no doubt as to the
validity of this parallel: "You are a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood (cp. "a Kingdom of priests and a holy nation", Ex. 19:6), an
holy nation, a peculiar (i.e. purchased) people; that you should shew
forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness (Egypt) into
His marvellous light (cp. the glory at Sinai?). Which in time past were
not a people (Kingdom), but are now the people of God" (1 Pet. 2:9,10).
Alluding to this same idea, our guardian Angels, speaking on our behalf,
welcomed the risen Lord into Heaven with the song "You... have made us
unto our God (now) a Kingdom of priests; and we shall (in the full
manifestation of that Kingdom) reign on earth" (Rev. 5:10). Hebrews 12
describes our being in Christ in language referring back to God's
declaration of Israel as His Kingdom at Sinai (Heb. 12:18,29= Ex. 24:17).
See on Acts 7:36.
Who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy-
Hos. 2:23 is being alluded to. The son of the whore Gomer was
adopted by grace by the faithful Israelite Hosea, into his prophetic
family. Clearly that child represented the Gentiles. But it also
represented Israel. In this beautiful way, Jew and Gentile are united by
grace within God’s family.
2:11 Beloved, I urge you as temporary residents and pilgrims- Language directly
relevant to their position as refugees in exile from Jerusalem, but also
reminding them that thereby they were in fellowship with Abraham, father
of the faithful, and were thus his true seed.
To abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul-
It could seem that the
exiled Jewish Christians were slipping away into fleshly lusts. Such lusts
war against the soul in that the Christ-man within us is our real being,
our true self. But this comes under attack if we give in to fleshly lusts.
Such internal warfare is not therefore how things should be. Gal. 5:17,18
likewise speaks as if this kind of internal lusting is not how things
should be in those led of the Spirit: "For the flesh lusts against the
Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. For these are contrary to each
other, so that you cannot do the things you should. But if you are led by
the Spirit, you are not under the law". Their soul, their real person, was
the spirit, the spirit person formed in them, potentially, by the work of
the spirit. I take this to be a criticism of how things were with the
Galatian believers, rather than a general statement of how things are for
all those possessing human nature.
2:12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honourable- It would seem
that the cash strapped exiles were not behaving as honestly as they might
as they lived amongst the Gentiles of Turkey.
So that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God-
Peter, like Paul, seems
to have expected the Lord's coming very soon. He reasons that the Gentiles
observing them may be persuaded by their good deeds, so that when Christ
comes, they would glorify God and accept the Lord then. This principle is
valuable for us in this age.
On the day of visitation-
The “day of visitation” is coming for us all (1 Pet. 2:12). The
Greek is related to the word describing how after the denials, Christ
turned and looked upon Peter (Lk. 22:61). This was for him his day
of judgment, which we must all pass through. He called down Divine curses
upon himself if he knew Jesus of Nazareth- and thus brought the
curse of God upon himself (the record of his cursing and swearing refers
to this rather than to the use of expletives). This was for him his day of
judgment, which we must all pass through.
2:13 Be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake- They
were to consider the Gentile rulers as the Lord; just as the obedience of
slaves to their masters was reckoned as serving the Lord, so submitting to
rulers would likewise be reckoned as submission to the Lord.
Whether to the king, as supreme leader-
Maybe an allusion to Caesar, but he is called “the
king” rather than the emperor because Peter wants us to figure that the
real king is the Lord Jesus.
Peter asks his sheep: “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man… unto
governors… as free… honour all men” (1 Pet. 2:13-17). This is all evident
allusion to the way he had once felt that as free in Christ and in Israel,
he didn’t need to submit to men and pay taxes. But the Lord had gently
rebuked him, and provided the coin to pay for them both (Mt. 17:25-27).
The Gospels records would have been well known amongst the early
believers; there is a tradition that at least the Gospel of Mark was
learnt by heart as part of instruction for baptism. Peter’s readers would
have known of the incident, and now, here he is telling them to learn the
lesson he had had to learn.
2:14 Or to
governors as those sent by him to punish evil-doers and for the praise of
those that do well- This is hard to understand when not all
civil leaders in history have done this; and it was soon not true at all
in the Roman empire. But "the king" could refer to the Lord Jesus, and the
governors could refer to church elders. But the more comfortable reading
is that at that time and place Peter is writing about, the governors were
as stated, and should be obeyed. This would then go to show that the NT
letters are not always to be read as global statements for all time, but
are specific to a time and place in the commands they give.
2:15 For so is the will of God, that
by well-doing you should put to
silence the ignorance of foolish men- As in Paul's pastoral
letters to Timothy and Titus (e.g. Tit. 2:8), there is great concern that
the Lord's Name should not be brought into dishonour in a situation where
the believers were surrounded by critics eager to slander them.
2:16 As free and not using your freedom for a cloak of wickedness, but
as bondservants of God- Here again we see Peter influenced by the
letter to the Romans, which is understandable if he had been in Rome when
the letter arrived (5:13). We are free and yet slaves of God. That freedom
from law was it seems leading them into sin; hence the need for the appeal
not to continue in sin because grace abounds. The Gentile Galatians, who
were in the same geographical area as these Jewish exiles, had to be
warned likewise not to use their freedom in Christ as an excuse for sin
(Gal. 5:13). So this was clearly a problem in the churches of that area.
2:17 Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king-"The
King" could refer to the Lord Jesus. See on :13. But it may be an allusion
to the Lord's comment that His people were to render to Caesar what was
Caesar's. For he was "the king" of the Roman empire. The Jews strongly
disliked this and had a tendency not to honour him, and Peter is asking
them to act outside of their cultural inclination- again a principle which
is valid for all time. These calls to respect others are psychologically
understandable- for exiled refugees would have a tendency to bitterness
and therefore disrespect of others.
2:18 Servants, be in subjection to your masters with all fear, not only
to the good and gentle but also to the harsh- I have argued that Peter
is writing to those he had baptized on Pentecost, who had now been
scattered from Jerusalem by Jewish persecution of the church. Perhaps some
of them were wealthy and had slaves; and some of those masters were
"harsh". Or perhaps some of the exiles were so poor that they had ended up
selling themselves into slavery, and detested them. Yet they are exhorted
to live in a spirit of respect to all people, as stated in :17. Human
beings should be respected, whoever they are and whoever you are in
relation to them, even if they are bad- because they too are made in the
image of God.
2:19 For it is commendable if because of conscience toward God one
endures grief - suffering unjustly- For the sake of our conscience, we
should endure persecution after the pattern of Christ on the cross
(1 Pet. 2:19-22). He did not hang there fearing a bad conscience; it was
his clear, sinless conscience before God which motivated him to endure.
See on 1 Jn. 3:18. "Commendable" is charis, "grace" or "gift". In
this case, we could look upon unjust suffering as a gift. In the context
of :18, the reference would be to slaves who refused to be obedient to
their masters for the sake of their conscience toward God. Masters owned
their slaves and used their bodies just as they wished; it would be
understandable if Christian slaves refused to be obedient, and refused to
accept that their minds and bodies belonged to an earthly master. For they
knew they were God's slaves (:16).
2:20 For what glory is it, if, when
you sin and are beaten, you shall take it patiently?-
The reference is to
Christian slaves being beaten by their masters (:18). “Beaten” is the s.w.
in Mt. 26:67 about Christ being struck with a fist- something Peter would
have probably watched out of the corner of his eye from where he was.
But if when you do well, and suffer, you shall take it patiently-
By a slave refusing to
obey the master's commands to do sinful things. See on :19.
This is acceptable with God-
The parallel is with the reference to "glory" in the first half of the
verse. Those who refused to be obedient to their master's sinful demands
will be praised for this in glory when they are accepted at the last day
with God. Those slaves would be glorified for their quiet words of refusal
in a villa in southern Turkey, and their endurance of a beating for it in
the garden shed...
2:21- see on Jn. 21:19.
For this were you called-
The letter begins with a reference to our calling, and the way the Spirit
strengthens us to follow that calling to its final end in salvation at the
last day. It is interesting to note the changes of pronouns in 1 Pet. 2:20
ff: “Hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for
you, leaving you an example, that ye should follow his
steps... who his own self bare our sins... that we having
died to sin, might live unto righteousness; by whose stripes ye
were healed”. In the context, Peter is speaking about the need for slaves
to live out the death and life of Christ; but when he comes to speak of
the Lord’s death for sin, he cannot but include himself as a sinner and a
beneficiary in the cross. In Peter’s final maturity, his mind was full of
the cross. His letters and preaching were full of allusion to Isaiah’s
prophecies of the suffering servant (especially Acts 3:13,26; 4:25-30; 1
Pet. 2:21 ff.); he and Philip are the only preachers to explicitly make
this connection. It could be that Peter was so impressed by the way the
Lord washed his feet that his mind was evermore transfixed with this image
and the Biblical allusions behind it. And note that initially, Peter had
totally failed to grasp that Jesus was indeed “the servant”. Every
allusion he makes to Jesus as the servant was a reflection of his
recognition of his earlier failure to perceive it.
Because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example- The brutal beating of
the Christian slave woman in the garden shed of a villa in southern Turkey
connected her directly with the Lord's sufferings. And she would share in
His resurrection. His cross and experience was such that we can find
direct connection with Him there, through our experiences of aspects of
His sufferings in our own. Truly He was our representative.
That you should follow His steps- The beating of the Christian slaves was to be connected with the Lord's
beating; and after that, He walked to Golgotha. And the slaves were to
follow even further- in His steps there.
2:22 He did no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth- Through
being justified, any repentant sinner will then have the characteristics
of Christ, in God's sight. In Christ there was no guile, as there was not
in David (or any other believer) after the justification of forgiveness
(Ps. 32:2). The Lord's trial attempted to find evidence that He had spoken
bad words during His ministry, but no evidence was found. “Found”
translates a legal word, s.w. Mt. 26:60; Jn. 18:38; 19:4,6 concerning
Christ’s trial, parts of which Peter would have seen or heard first hand.
And yet it was ultimately God's judgment which found no deceit in the
Lord's mouth- note how never deceiving, being totally honest, is
paralleled with not sinning. Sin is a lie, the devil [sin] is a false
accuser. All sin is a form of dishonesty.
2:23
Who, when he was insulted, did
not retaliate with insults, when he suffered, he did not threaten, but
committed himself to Him that
judges righteously-
a reference to the Lord’s final words on the cross: “Into thy hand I
commit my spirit”? We likewise should follow that example in our dying
with Him, in that we too “commit the keeping of [our] souls to him in well
doing” (4:19). See on Mt. 27:26. At the Lord's death, the Father judged
both His Son's righteousness and the world's rejection of it at that time.
See on Jn. 12:42; 19:13,37. It’s as if the Father judged the world as
unworthy and His Son as worthy in the time of the Lord’s death.
2:24- see on Heb. 2:9; 1 Pet. 5:1.
Whom himself bore our sins-
“Who his own self bare our sins in his body up on to the tree” (2:24
RVmg.) suggests the watching Peter reflecting, as the Lord’s body was
lifted up vertical, that his sins of denial and pride were somehow with
his Lord, being lifted up by Him.
In his body upon the tree- An unusual term for the cross (he also
uses it in Acts 5:30; 10:39). Perhaps because he saw the crucifixion (5:1)
and was struck by the way the Lord carried a piece of a tree and was
impaled upon it. He carried our sins in His own self (AV), in His body. I
take this to mean that He was totally identified with us in our
sinfulness; not that our sins were part of His body in some metaphysical
sense. His physical body was like ours; there was nothing unique in that
body of itself which carried our sins. The language speaks of identity
rather than anything else.
That we, having died to sin, might live to righteousness-
A reference to baptism, our identity with Him in response to His
identification with us.
The Lord died as He did so that we might live righteously (1 Pet. 2:24);
the account of the crucifixion is written as it is so that we might be
inspired to a true faith (Jn. 19:35). He “his own self bare our sins in
his own body on the tree, that we might die to sin [Gk.] and live
to righteousness" (1 Pet. 2:24). He died for our sins, there all our
weakness met their death in His death- so close was the association
between Him and our sins. Our response to that is to put those sins to
death in our bodies, as He put them to death in His on the tree. He
carried our sins “that we, being dead to sin, should live unto
righteousness: by whose stripes (Gk. weals- Peter saw them) ye were
healed" (1 Pet. 2:24). Because of the suffering entailed in the putting to
death of our sins by the Lord’s cross, we should respond in likewise
mortifying them. Because He died, so should we. We recognize that
principle in baptism and are to continue living it out.
By whose stripes you were healed- Gk. ‘weals’, the
swollen up bruises, which Peter would have seen when Christ turned and
looked at him through blackened eyes (after the beating of Mt. 26:67). See
on Mk. 15:15.
2:25 - see on Lk. 15:4-6; Acts 2:39; 3:19.
For you were going astray like sheep-
Peter is clearly concerned that they were going
astray, but he now writes as if they had stabilized and returned. He spoke
of his hopes for them as if they had happened. Or perhaps the reference is
to how their lives in Judaism had in fact been no better than sheep going
astray.
But are now returned to the
shepherd and overseer of your souls-
The same word for "converted". Peter reminds his sheep of how they are now
“returned” (s.w. ‘converted’) to the Lord Jesus, just as he had been. His
experience of the Lord’s gracious spirit inspired him. Time and again in
his letters he alludes to his own weaknesses in order to inspire his
flock.
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