1 Peter 2:21-25

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To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should
follow in his steps.
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“He committed no sin,
and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
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When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats.
Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the
tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 25
For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of
your souls.

God calls us into 'this', the suffering for, and while, doing good.
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Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good
and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. 19 For it is commendable if a man bears up
under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. 20 But how is it to your
credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing
good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. (1 Peter 2:18-20)
• This call “applies to us not as slaves but as believers, it holds true at the same time of all
Christians.” It is a clear reminder to all believers that "We must go through many hardships
to enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22).
9
Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were
called so that you may inherit a blessing. (1 Peter 3:9)
We see here, twice, that through suffering, we are blessed by God, we can enter his
kingdom. As Christians we are called to suffer and are blessed in return.
• “Because Christ also suffered for you” is a persuasive line showing the similarity between
Christ's sufferings and our own, he bore the same sin we do. The fact that Christ had
Himself suffer undeservedly is an inherent element of the gospel message.
• “Leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps” what was his example?

Peter identifies four things Jesus did not do and the central feature in
what He did do.
1. “He committed no sin,
2. and no deceit was found in his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:9)
3. When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate;
4. when he suffered, he made no threats.
• Point 1st and 2nd show Jesus did not succumb to any act of sin and He demonstrated his
sinlessness under the most intense provocation and undeserved suffering. Neither were His
sufferings due to sinful speech.
 • Point 3rd depicts Christ's patient endurance under suffering, again in word and action. While
suffering, He uttered no threats. He was struck in His face, crowned with thorns, beaten with
a reed, savagely scourged, forced to bear His own cross, and crucified, the most painful
method of execution ever devised. Yet through it all He never retaliatory revenge on His
tormentors, nor even predicted that they would be duly punished for it. Even the Apostle
Paul on one occasion, when abused in court, did not resist the temptation to threaten his
executioners.
3
Then Paul said to him (the high priest), “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You
sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding
that I be struck!” (Acts 23:3)
Are we able to follow all or any of these examples?
• Peters 4th point shows the essence of Jesus positive response to unjust suffering: He
“entrusted himself to him who judges justly”. It is here that we can follow “in” His steps. As
sinful people we cannot fully place our feet "in" His footprints, but by His grace we can
commit ourselves to follow His example of entrusting ourselves to God in all circumstances.

Why is Christ's suffering important?

• The nature of Jesus' sufferings
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree” shows the essence of the sufferings. “Our
sins” stresses the point of who's sins: all of man's, Peters, yours, mine, everyone’s. Which
“He Himself” bore; no one else could have done it. Christ Himself as the sinless One was so
identified with man's sins that as our Substitute He bore the consequences of those sins; the
separation from God.
• The redemptive purpose of His sufferings
“So that we might die to sins and live for righteousness” emphasises our sinful past and
shows God's purpose for our present life. It shows that we must actually enter in on a life of
righteousness. Only in this way is the full purpose of the Cross realised.
• The resultant experiences of the redeemed
“By his wounds you have been healed.” Not will be, have been.
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For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and
Overseer of your souls. (1 Peter 2:25)