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.  He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.  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.  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.  For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

1 Peter 2:21-25

When Peter wrote, “For to this you have been called” (v. 21a), he was contextually speaking about God’s wish that Christians who “do good and suffer for it” choose to “endure” their hardships (v. 20).  Think of the Christian slaves who chose to respectfully serve masters who ill-treated them (vs. 18-20), the disciples who chose to be subject to and show honor towards governing authorities who persecuted them (vs. 13-17), and the Christians who worked to “keep (their) conduct among the Gentiles honorable” even though they were being slandered “as evildoers” (v. 12).  Jesus “also suffered for (us),” and by doing so “(left us) an example” (v. 21b).  Why?  “…so that you might follow in his steps” (v. 21c).  Choosing to endure suffering when it comes in response or in spite of doing good is Christ-like.  This is the reason we “have been called” by God (v. 21a; cf. 1 Thess. 2:12; 5:24; 2 Thess. 2:14).

Peter then examines further exactly how Christ suffered for us so that we can better understand, appreciate, and follow the example He set for us.  He first reminds us that Jesus “committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth” (v. 22; cf. 1 John 3:5; 2 Cor. 5:21; Is. 53:9).  The Hebrew writer adds that Christ “in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15).  Thinking about the intricacies and implications that center around the fact that Christ was tempted in every respect as we are helps me better grasp and appreciate the love He has for all of us.  Consider the temptation to avoid the cross altogether, implied in the third temptation Satan threw at Him in the wilderness (Matt. 4:8-10) and surely existing during His agony in Gethsemane when He prayed that this cup pass from Him (Matt. 26:39-42).  All that was human in Jesus of Nazareth was undoubtedly straining to give into the urge to avoid that unimaginable agony and humiliation!  Yet He resisted the temptation and willingly went through the suffering…and He did so out of love for you and me.

And while suffering, He did not give insults in return for the many thrown at Him (v. 23a).  He did not threaten painful retribution upon those who were torturing Him (v. 23b).  Most would, you know; think of all the times in movies when the villain (and even the hero) promises a violent end upon those who are harming them or their loved ones.  Yet not our Lord.  He asked His Father to forgive them instead, showing a heart-felt hope that they would come to repent and thus be saved by His sacrifice in spite of being the ones who were murdering Him.  Peter said that He chose to “continue entrusting himself to him who judges justly” (v. 23c).  The Hebrew writer would describe Jesus as “endur(ing) the cross” because of “the joy that was set before him” (Heb. 12:2).  The joy of victory in heaven.  The joy of our salvation.  The joy that comes from His love for us.

Peter wanted Christians to remember that the reason “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree,” the reason we “have been healed” by “his wounds,” was “that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (v. 24; cf. Rom. 6:1-13).  Being willing to do good to all and love even our enemies while they persecute us is a big part of that.  It is in this way that we stop “straying like sheep” and “have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of (our) souls” (v. 25).

— Jon