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First Peter, part 10

After urging the ex-Israelites of the dispersion to “be submissive to your masters,” Peter then explains in 1 Peter 2:19-21,

¹⁹ For this find favor [charis, “grace, favor”], if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. ²⁰ For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it, you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. ²¹ For you have been called [ἐκλήθητε, “summoned”] for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.

These verses explain why believers should endure unjust treatment, especially in the situation described in verse 18. Peter moves from practical instruction to the theology of suffering, grounding the believer’s response in the example of Christ Himself.

The phrase “finds favor” translates the Greek word χάρις(charis), which normally means “grace.” Here it means something pleasing in God’s sight, or, more to the point, compliance with the Judge’s verdict in the divine court. Legally speaking, a judge either rules for or against men in the divine court. The judge either “condemns” or “justifies” in resolving a dispute. He may sentence the guilty and put them “under the law” until full restitution has been paid—or he may justify (extend grace, charis) to the innocent.

The entire background of Peter’s letter is the divine ruling against the Israelites when He sent them into exile into Assyria. (See 2 Kings 17:13-18.) Peter was writing to a small group of these ex-Israelites (1 Peter 1:1), showing them how to live the life that is pleasing to God and that conforms to the divine court ruling that was still in effect.

The Assyrians, as well as their successors, were not righteous, because they followed the commandments of men and knew little about the laws of God. Hence, many had suffered unjustly under the rule of beast empires. The purpose of the divine law was to make sinners live under the laws of men for a season, so that they would learn by experience that God’s laws were much better.

The Divine Summoning

If these ex-Israelites, then, would submit to the rule of Assyria (and later, Rome) in conformity to the ruling in the divine court, the Judge would view them favorably and give them grace. The suffering itself is not the virtue—the godly response to it is. Peter reminds them that “you have been summoned for this purpose.” Peter begins his epistle (1:1) with foreknowledge and election, and later (2:21) tells them that they have been summoned to follow the path of Christ.

It is really about how to comply satisfactorily with God’s verdict against their Israelite ancestors. In fact, this is simply a subset of the deeper problem dating back to Adam. Adam, too, had been exiled from the Garden, and so Peter’s advice applied to him and all who are mortal on account of Adam’s sin. How does any man, suffering under the sentence of death (mortality) live in compliance with God’s ruling?

All mortals are being summoned by the preaching of the gospel to return to God. We cannot return to the literal Garden of Eden anymore, but we can and will return to a covenant relationship with Him. This is Sionism on a global level, for all mankind is called to the Mount of Transfiguration (Mount Hermon, Deuteronomy 4:48), where Jesus was proclaimed to be “My beloved Son” (Matthew 17:5; Hebrews 12:22 KJV).

Modern Zionism is the carnal version of Sionism. Zionism thinks that by returning to the old land—by changing one’s street address—the covenant with God can be renewed. The prophets speak of returning to God (i.e., repenting) as the only acceptable way to restore a covenant relationship—and it must be done through the New Covenant and its Mediator, Jesus Christ.

Following in Christ’s Footsteps

The phrase in 1 Peter 2:21 literally means “follow closely behind His footprints.” It evokes the image of a traveler stepping precisely where another has walked. It also reflects the usual practice of disciples following their rabbi along the road. This practice was supposed to picture faithful disciples learning the rabbi’s ways and following his teachings precisely.

Thus Peter presents Christ as the pathfinder of suffering and the model of righteous endurance. The verses that follow (2:22–24) will describe how Christ endured injustice without retaliation.

The Flow of Peter’s Argument

Peter’s reasoning progresses logically:

1. Unjust suffering endured for God pleases Him (v.19)
2. Suffering for wrongdoing has no virtue (v.20)
3. Believers are called to endure suffering for righteousness (v.21)
4. Christ Himself set the pattern (v.21)

Thus Christian endurance is not passive resignation but active imitation of Christ. This was how the dispersed ex-Israelites were summoned to conduct themselves, and (more broadly) this is how mortals in general were summoned to live as well.

1 Peter 2:22-25 concludes,

²² who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; ²³ and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; ²⁴ and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. ²⁵ For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.

Verse 22 is almost a direct quotation of Isaiah 53:9 (Septuagint). Peter slightly adapts the wording but keeps the same meaning. Two aspects of Christ’s sinlessness are emphasized: sinless actions and sinless speech. This correlates with Hebrews 4:15,

¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but the One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.

In verse 23 Peter describes how Christ behaved during His suffering. “While being reviled” (λοιδορούμενος, “to be insulted, abused, or slandered”) describes Jesus’ experience. Soldiers mocked Him, leaders ridiculed Him, and crowds taunted Him, yet “He did not revile in return.” He refused retaliation.

Furthermore, “while suffering, He uttered no threats.” Even while enduring torture, Christ did not threaten vengeance. This fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy in Isaiah 53:7,

⁷ He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth.

Instead of retaliation, He “kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously.” Christ placed His case in the hands of the righteous Judge—God the Father. This is a powerful model for believers facing injustice.

Christ the Substitute

In verse 24 Peter moves from Christ as example to Christ as substitute. “He Himself bore our sins.” The verb ἀνήνεγκεν (anēnenken) means “to carry or bear up,” often used in sacrificial language. This echoes Isaiah 53:4, 11–12, where the Servant “bore the sins of many.” Christ did not merely suffer injustice—He carried the sins of humanity.

The term “many” does not imply a limited number of people. In the Hebrew language, “the many” (rabbim) refers to a collective body of people, not merely a subset. In Isaiah 53:11–12, the Servant prophecy says: “He will justify the many (רַבִּים, rabbim)… and He bore the sin of many.” We see the same terminology in Daniel 12:2, speaking of the general resurrection of the dead:

² Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.

This does not describe the first resurrection, which is limited (Revelation 20:5, 6). It describes the general resurrection in Revelation 20:12, where all of the dead are raised. This was also the resurrection that Jesus spoke about in John 5:28, 29.

Paul too used this term in Romans 5:18, 19, equating “many” to “all men.” In this case, “many” stands in contrast to “one.” Hence, all men are the many who were condemned through the actions of one man, Adam, and who are also justified by the actions of one Man, Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 2:24 says that Christ “bore our sins in the body on the cross.” This, of course, was the main feature of Isaiah 53, to which Peter was referring. “On the cross” reads literally in the Greek text “on the tree” (ἐπὶ τὸ ξύλον). This expression echoes Deuteronomy 21:23, quoted in Galatians 3:13, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.”

Thus the crucifixion fulfilled the covenant curse. Christ paid the penalty (debt) for the sin of the world—not merely for the sin of a few (John 3:16, 17; 1 John 2:2). Those who acknowledge His work by faith and who are overcomers will receive the reward of immortality in the first resurrection. Those who believe but did not qualify for the first resurrection will receive life at the general resurrection a thousand years later (John 5:28, 29; Revelation 20:12).

The rest of humanity will learn righteousness through the judgments of God (“lake of fire”) and finally receive immortality at the Creation Jubilee, when all debts are cancelled by grace alone.