1 Peter 2:21

1Pe 2:21-23. For even hereunto — Namely, to suffer wrongfully, and to bear such treatment with patience and meekness; are ye Christians called; because Christ — Whose followers you profess to be, pure and spotless as he was; suffered for us — Not only hard speeches, buffetings, and stripes, but deep and mortal wounds, even the ignominious and painful death of crucifixion; leaving us — When he returned to heaven; an example of suffering patiently for well-doing; that ye should follow his steps — Of innocence and patience. Who did no sin — And therefore did not deserve to suffer any thing; neither was guile — Any insincerity, or dissimulation, or the least mis-spoken word, found to drop from his mouth — This is an allusion to the words of Isaiah, concerning the Messiah, Isa 53:9; neither was any deceit in his mouth. Who, when he was reviled — As he frequently was, being called a Samaritan, a glutton, a wine-bibber, a blasphemer, a demoniac, one in league with Beelzebub, a perverter of the nation, and a deceiver of the people; he reviled not again — In any one instance: he did indeed once say to the Jews, Ye are of your father the devil, and the works of your father ye will do. This, however, was not a reviling speech, but a true description of their character, and a prediction that they would murder him; and when he suffered — All kinds of insults and tortures, till they ended in his death on the cross; he threatened not the vengeance which he had it in his own power to have executed; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously — The only solid ground of patience in affliction. In all these instances, the example of Christ was peculiarly adapted for the instruction of servants, who easily slide into sin or guile, reviling their fellow-servants, or threatening them, the natural result of anger without power.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1 Peter

CHRIST THE EXEMPLAR

1Pe 2:21.

These words are a very striking illustration of the way in which the Gospel brings Christ’s principles to bear upon morals and duty. The Apostle is doing nothing more than exhorting a handful of slaves to the full and complete and patient acceptance of their hard lot, and in order to teach a very homely and lowly lesson to the squalid minds of a few captives, he brings in the mightiest of all lessons by pointing to the most beautiful, most blessed, and most mysterious fact in the world’s history--the cross of Christ. It is the very spirit of Christianity that the biggest thing is to regulate the smallest duties of life. Men’s lives are made up of two or three big things and a multitude of little ones, and the greater rule the lesser; and, my friends, unless we have got a religion and a morality that can and will keep the trifles of our lives right there will be nothing right; unless we can take those deepest truths, make them the ruling principles, and lay them down side by side with the most trivial things of our lives, we are something short. Is there nothing in your life or mine so small that we cannot bring it into captivity and lift it into beauty by bringing it into connection with saving grace? Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example. This is the first thing that strikes me, and I intend it also by way of introduction. Look how the Apostle has put the points together, as though there are two aspects which go together and cannot be rendered apart, like the under side and the upper side of a coin. ‘Christ also suffered for us,’ and so for us says all the orthodox. ‘Leaving us an example’--there protests all the heretics. Yes, but we know that there is a power in both of them, and the last one is only true when we begin with the first. He suffered for us. There, there, my friends, is the deepest meaning of the cross, and if you want to get Christ for an example, begin with taking Him as the sacrifice, for He gave His life for you. Don’t part the two things. If you believe Him to be Christ, then you take Him at the cross: if you want to see the meaning of Christ as an example, begin with Him as your Saviour. ‘Because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow His steps.’ These are the words, and what God hath joined together let no man put asunder. With these few remarks I shall deal with the words a little more exhaustively, and I see in them three things--the sufferings of Christ our gain, the sufferings of Christ our pattern, and the suffering of Christ our power to imitate.

And first of all that great proclamation which underlies the whole matter--Christ also suffered for us. The sufferings of Christ are thereby our gain. I shall not dwell on the larger questions which these words naturally open for us, and I shall content myself with some of the angles and side views of thought, and one to begin with is this: It is very interesting to notice how, as his life went on, and his inspiration became more full, this Apostle got to understand, as being the very living and heart centre of his religion, the thing which at first was a stumbling-block and mystery to him. You remember when Christ was here on earth, and was surrounded by all His disciples, the man who actually led antagonism to the thought of a saving Messiah, was this very Apostle Peter. How he displayed his ignorance in the words, ‘This shall not be unto Thee, O Lord’; and you remember also how his audacity rose to the height of saying, ‘Why cannot I follow Thee now, Lord? I will lay down my life for Thy sake,’ so little did he understand the purposes of Christ’s suffering and Christ’s death. And even after His resurrection we don’t find that Peter in his early preaching had got as far as he seems to have got in this letter from which my text is taken. You will notice that in this letter he speaks a great deal about the sufferings of Christ, which he puts side by side and in contrast with God’s glorifying of His Son. Christ’s cross, which at first had come to him as a rejection, has now come to him in all its reality, and to him there was the one grand thing, ‘He suffered for us,’ as though he realises Christ in all His beauty and purity, and not only as a beautiful teacher and dear friend. That which at first seemed to him as an astounding mystery and perfect impossibility, he now comes to understand. With those two little words, ‘for us,’ where there was before impossibility, disappointment, and anomaly, the anomaly vanishes, although the mystery becomes deeper. In one sense it was incomprehensible; in another sense it was the only explanation of the fact. And, my friends, I want you to build one thought on this. Unless you and I lay hold of the grand truth that Jesus Christ died for us, it seems to me that the story of the Gospel and the story of the cross is the saddest and most depressing page of human history. That there should have been a man possessed of such a soul, such purity, such goodness, such tenderness, such compassion, and such infinite mercy--if there were all this to do nothing but touch men’s hearts and prick and irritate them into bitter enmity--if the cross were the world’s wages to the world’s best Teacher, and nothing more could be said, then, my friends, it seems to me that the hopes of humanity have, in the providence of God, suffered great disaster, and a terrible indictment stands against both God and man. Oh, yes, the death of Jesus Christ, and the whole history of the world’s treatment of Him, is an altogether incomprehensible and miserable thing--a thing to be forgotten, and a thing to be wept over in tears of blood, and no use for us unless we do as Peter did, apply all the warmth of the heart to this one master key, ‘for us,’ and then the mystery is only an infinitude of love and mercy. What before we could not understand we now begin to see, and to understand the love of God which passeth all understanding. Oh, my friends, I beseech you never think of the cross of Christ without taking those two words. It is a necessary explanation to make the picture beautiful: ‘for us,’ ‘for us’; ‘for me, for me.’ And then notice still further that throughout the whole of this Epistle the comparative vagueness of the words ‘for me’ is interpreted definitely. So far as the language of my text is concerned there can be nothing more expressive, more outspoken, or more intelligible, ‘Christ also suffered for us,’ for our realm. But that is not all that Peter would have us learn. If you want to know the nature of the work, and what the Saviour suffered on the cross for our behalf, advantage, and benefit, here is the definition in the following verse, ‘Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we being dead to sins should live unto righteousness.’ ‘For us,’ not merely as an example; ‘for us,’ not merely for His purity, His beautiful life and calm death; no, better than all that, though a glorious example it is. He has taken away our sins, we are sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ; ‘for us’ in the sense of the words in another part of the Epistle, ‘Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot,’ and if so, we are living examples of what Christ our Saviour has done for the whole world.

There is another point I want to speak about in dwelling on the first part of the text. If you will read this Epistle of Peter at your leisure, you will see that while with Paul both make the cross of Christ the centre of their teaching, Paul speaks more about His death, and Peter more about His sufferings. Throughout the letters of Peter the phrase runs, and the phrase has come almost entirely into modern Christian usage from this Apostle. Paul speaks about the death, Peter speaks of the sufferings. The eye-witness of a Loving Friend, the man who had stood by His side through much of His sufferings {though he fled at last}, a vivid imagination of His Master’s trials, and a warm heart, led Peter to dwell not only on the one fact of the death, but also on the accompaniments of that awful death, of the mental and physical pain, and especially the temper of the Saviour. I shall not dwell on this, except to make one passing remark on it, viz., that there is a kind of preaching which prevails among the Roman Catholic Church, and is not uncommon to many of the Protestant churches, which dwells unduly on the physical fact of Christ’s death and sufferings. I think, for my part, we are going to the other extreme, and a great many of us are losing a very great source of blessing to ourselves and to those whom we influence, because we don’t realise and don’t dwell sufficiently on the physical and mental sorrows and agony He went through with the death on the cross; and one bad effect of all this is that Christ’s atonement has become to be a kind of theological jungle, and I don’t know that the popular mind can have in the ordinary way any better means of the deliverance of Christ’s cross from this theological maze than a little more frankness and honesty in dwelling on the sorrows and pain of our dear Lord.

Now a word about the second part. The sufferings of Christ as represented here in the text are not only for our gain but our pattern, leaving us an example that we should follow His steps. We are not concerned here about the general principles of Christian ethics, and I don’t think I need dwell on them at all as being great blessings to us; and passing from that I would rather dwell on the one specific thought before us--on the beautiful life, the gracious words, the gentle deeds, the wisdom, the rectitude, the tenderness, the submission to the Father and the oblivion to Himself, which characterises the whole life of Jesus Christ, from the very first up to the agony on the cross. We have looked to Him as our gain, and as the head and beginning of our salvation, and now we have to turn from that mysterious and solemn thought and look to Him as an ideal pattern by which our life should be moulded and shaped. ‘Leaving us an example.’ Just as Elijah’s mantle dropped from him as he rose, so Christ in going up to the Father fluttered down on the world a pattern which He had in His sufferings. He goes away, but the pattern abides with us. ‘Leaving us an example.’ The word used here is translated quite correctly. The word example is a very remarkable and unusual one; it means literally a thing to be retained. You put a copyhead before a child, and tell him to copy it, and trace it over till he retains it; or, to come to modern English, you put the copyhead on the top of a page. What blots, pothooks, and angles you and I make as we are trying to write on the top of the page of life. See, there is the pattern. Lo, another man hath written above, and you are asked to make your life exactly the same, the same angles and the same corners--to make your life in all respects coincide with that. My friends, we shall all have to take our copybooks to the Master’s desk some day. There will be a headline there which Christ hath written, and one which we have written, and how do you think we shall like to put the two side by side? My friends, we had better do it to-day than have to do it then. There is the pattern life; the copy is plain. I don’t think I need say any more about the other metaphor contained here. The Divine Exemplar has left us the headline that we should follow His footsteps, and it is a blessed thought to know that we are to follow in His own steps. ‘What, cannot I follow Thee now?’ said Peter once, and you remember when the Apostle had been restored to his office, the words of the Saviour were--’Feed My lambs; feed My sheep; feed My lambs, follow thou Me.’ This is also our privilege. As a guide going across a wet moor with a traveller calls out, ‘Step where I step, or else you will be bogged,’ so we must tread in the steps of the Saviour, and then we shall come safe on the other side. Tread in His steps, aye, in the steps which are marked with bleeding feet, for ‘He suffered and left us an example.’ I will just add one word, dear friends, to deepen the thought in its impressiveness, that the cross of Christ it to be the pattern of our lives. It stands alone, thank God, for mighty power in its relation to the salvation of the world, and it stands alone in awful terror. You and I are, at the very worst, but at the edge of the storm which broke in all its dreadful fury over His head; we love to go but a little way down the hillside, while He descended to the very bottom; we love to drink but very little of the cup which He drained the last drop of and held it up empty and reversed, showing that nothing trickled from it, and exclaimed, ‘The cup which My Father hath given Me have I drunk.’ But although alone in all its mighty power, and though alone in all its awful terror, it may be copied by us in two things--perfect submission to our Maker, and non-resistance and meekness with regard to man. There is only one way of carrying the cross of Christ, which God lays on us all, and that is bowing our back. If we resist, it will crush us, and if we yield we have something to endure; and there is but one thing which enables a man to patiently bear the sorrows and griefs which come to us all, and that is the simple secret, ‘Father, not as I will, but Thy will be done.’ Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example that we should follow in His footsteps, and when we patiently do this the rod becomes a guiding staff, and the crown of thorns a crown of glory.

But my text reminds me that the sufferings of Christ are not only our gain and our pattern, but they are also our power to imitate--the power to fight the battle for Christ. Example is not all. The world wants more than that. The reason for men’s badness is not because they have not plenty of patterns of good. If a copyhead could save the world it would have been saved long ago. Patterns of good are plenty; the mischief is we don’t copy them. There are footsteps in abundance, but then our legs are lame, and we cannot tread in them, and what is the use of copies if we have a broken pen, muddy ink, and soiled paper? So we want a great deal more than that. No, my friends, the world is not to be saved by example. You and I know that the weakness and the foolishness of men know a great deal better than the wisest of men ever did, so we want something more. Examples don’t give the power nor the wish to get it. Is not that true about you? Don’t you feel that if this is all which religion has given you it stops short? The gospel comes and says, ‘If you love Christ Jesus because you know that He died for you,’ then there will be something else than the copybook. That copy and pattern will be laid to your heart and transferred there. You will not have to go on trying to make a bungling imitation; you will get it photographed on your spirit, and on your character more distinctly and more clearly down to the very minutest shade of resemblance to the Master, and with simple loving trust you will go on from strength to strength glorifying God in your life. They that begin with the cross of Christ, and make the sacrifice their all in all, will advance heavenward joyously; the cross and the sacrifice will be the pattern of your pilgrimage here, and the perfectness of your characters unto the likeness of the Son. The cross is the agency of sanctification as well as the means of forgiveness--saving grace to save us from the world, saving grace to help us everywhere and in everything for our salvation, and saving grace to help us to conquer our self-will, and saving grace to bind us to Him, whose abundant goodness and gratitude no man can tell. If we love Him we shall keep His commandments; if we love them we shall grow in grace, and not else. None else, my brother, my sister, but the Eternal Exemplar stands there as our refuge; and if you want to be filled with this all-saving grace, deep down to the bottom of His tender heart, if you want to be good, and of pure mind, then you have to begin with that Saviour who died for you, and trust to the cross for your forgiveness. Then listen to Him saying, ‘Any man who comes after Me, let him take up My cross’--take it up, mark--’and follow Me.’

Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2:21-25 While there is no explicit change of address here, the general character of these verses makes them applicable to all believers. • These verses might incorporate an early Christian hymn or confession about Christ (2:22-25). Its focus is on the redemptive sufferings of Christ in language drawn largely from Isaiah 52:13–53:12.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

1Pe 2:21. Εἰς τοῦτο, to this) to the imitation of Christ; who condescends to propose His own example to servants, as He Himself was formerly esteemed as a servant.—ἐκλήθητε, ye were called) with a heavenly calling, whereas it found you in a state of slavery.—ὑπολιμπάνων, leaving) on His departure to the Father.[19]—ὑπογραμμαὸν, an example) Ὑπογραμμὸς, a copy, a lesson for imitation, is adapted to the capacity of a tiro, learning to paint. Thus Peter in this passage plainly paints before the eyes of servants the example of Christ, expressing those features which are especially adapted to the case of servants.—ἴχνεσιν, footsteps) of innocence and patience. The same word occurs, Rom 4:12; see note.

[19] Into glory, V. g.; in contrast to the previous “shame.”

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Pe_2:21 gives the ground of the exhortation to bear undeserved suffering patiently, by a reference to the sufferings of Christ.

εἰς τοῦτο γὰρ ἐκλήθητε] εἰς τοῦτο refers to εἰ ἀγαθοποιοῦντες … ὑπομενεῖτε. Many interpreters incorrectly make it apply only to suffering as such; but, as Hemming rightly remarks: omnes pii vocati sunt, ut patienter injuriam ferant.

The construction with εἰς occurs frequently; cf. Col_3:15; 2Th_2:14.

In harmony with the connection, οἱ οἰκέται is to be thought of as the subject to ἐκλήθητε; accordingly it is the slaves in the first instance, not the Christians in general, who are addressed (as in chap. 1Pe_3:9; 1Pe_3:14; 1Pe_3:17); but as this κληθῆναι applies to them not as slaves but as believers, it holds true at the same time of all Christians.

ὅτι καὶ Χριστὸς ἔπαθεν ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν] ὅτι: such suffering is part of a Christians calling, for Christ also suffered: ἔπαθεν is here the emphatic word; and with it καί also must be joined (which Fronmüller erroneously interprets by even). Wiesinger incorrectly takes καί with ἔπαθεν ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν in this sense, that, as Christ suffered for us, so we should endure affliction for Him, for His sake, and for His honour and glory in the world, thus introducing a thought foreign to the context. The obligation to suffer under which we who are Christs people are laid, from the very fact that Christ also suffered, is for us all the greater that the sufferings of Christ were ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν (not: ἀνθʼ ἡμῶν, but for our advantage), and therefore such as enable us to follow the example which He has left us in His sufferings. Inasmuch as ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν implies that Christ suffered not for His own sins, but for ours, we are no doubt justified in recognising these sufferings as undeserved, but not in concluding, with Hofmann, that ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν is meant to mark only the undeservedness of Christs sufferings.

ὑμῖν ὑπολιμπάνων ὑπογραμμόν] ὑπολιμπάνω, ἅπ. λεγ. Another form of ὑπολείπω (used of the leaving behind at death, Jdt_8:7). Bengel: in abitu ad patrem. ὑπογραμμός (ἅπ. λεγ.): specimen, quod imitentur, ut pictores novitiis exemplaria dant, ad quae inter pingendum respiciant: equivalent in sense to ὑπόδειγμα, Joh_13:15 (τύπος; 2Th_3:9). It is not Christs life in general that is here presented by way of example, but the patience which He showed in the midst of undeserved sufferings.[151] The participle is connected with ἔπαθεν ὑπ. ὑμ. as giving the nearer definition of the latter: He thus suffered, as in doing so to leave you an example, withal to the end that, etc.[152]

ἵνα ἐπακολουθήσητε τοῖς ἴχνεσιν αὐτοῦ] Sicut prior metaphora a pictoribus et scriptoribus, ita haec posterior petita est a viae duce (Gerhard); with ἐπακολ. cf. 1Ti_5:10; 1Ti_5:24.

ἴχνος, besides here, in Rom_4:12 (στοιχεῖν τοῖς ἴχνεσι) and 2Co_12:18 (περιπατεῖν τοῖς ἴχνεσι).

[151] Wherever Scripture presents Christ as an example, it does so almost always with reference to His self-abasement in suffering and death; Php_2:5; Joh_13:15; Joh_15:12; 1Jn_3:16; Heb_12:2. Only in 1Jn_2:6 is Christ presented as an example in the more general sense.

[152] Hofmann wrongly asserts that ἵνα stands only in place of an infinitive clause, as after ἐντολή (Joh_13:34), βουλή (Act_27:42), inasmuch as ὑπογραμμός is no more than a direction to do likewise. But this interpretation of ὑπογραμμός is erroneous, and therefore ἵνα ἐπακολουθήσητε cannot be resolved into an infinitive clause.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Pe 2:21 . εἰς τοῦτο , sc. to do well and to suffer, if need be, without flinching, as Christ did. ἐκλήθητε , sc. by God; cf. διὰ τὴν συνείδησιν θεοῦ . ἔπαθεν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν , 1Pe 2:22 supplies the essential point, which would be readily supplied, but Christ’s suffering was undeserved ( δίκαιος ὑπὲρ ἀδίκων , 1Pe 3:18 ). καί also with reference to the similar experience of Christians; so Phi 2:5 , τοῦτο φρονεῖτε ἐν ὑμῖν ὃ καὶ ἐν Χριστῷ . ὑπογραμμόν (1) outline , 2Ma 2:28 , to enlarge upon the outlines of our abridgment ; (2) copy-head, pattern , to be traced over by writing-pupils (Plato, Protag. , 227 D; Clement ot Alexandria, Strom. , ver 8, 49, gives three examples of which βεδιζαμψχθωπληκτρον σφιγξ is one). ἐπακολουθήσητε , reminiscence of jesus’ word to Peter, ἀκολουθήσεις ὕστερον , Joh 13:36 .

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

A borrowed kind of speech taken of painters and schoolmasters.

He mitigateth the grievousness of servitude, while he showeth plainly that Christ died also for servants, that they should bear so much the more patiently this inequality betwixt men which are of one selfsame nature, moreover setting before them Christ that Lord of Lords for an ensample, he signifieth that they cannot but seem too delicate, which show themselves more grieved in bearing of injuries, than Christ himself who was most just, and most sharply of all afflicted, and yet was most patient.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Christ's example a proof that patient endurance under undeserved sufferings is acceptable with God.

hereunto--to the patient endurance of unmerited suffering (Pe1 3:9). Christ is an example to servants, even as He was once in "the form of a servant."

called--with a heavenly calling, though slaves.

for us--His dying for us is the highest exemplification of "doing well" (Pe1 2:20). Ye must patiently suffer, being innocent, as Christ also innocently suffered (not for Himself, but for us). The oldest manuscripts for "us . . . us," read, "you . . . for you." Christ's sufferings, while they are for an example, were also primarily sufferings "for us," a consideration which imposes an everlasting obligation on us to please Him.

leaving--behind: so the Greek: on His departure to the Father, to His glory.

an example--Greek, "a copy," literally, "a writing copy" set by masters for their pupils. Christ's precepts and sermons were the transcript of His life. Peter graphically sets before servants those features especially suited to their case.

follow--close upon: so the Greek.

his steps--footsteps, namely, of His patience combined with innocence.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 21. Hereunto were ye called] Ye were called to a state of suffering when ye were called to be Christians; for the world cannot endure the yoke of Christ, and they that will live godly in Christ must suffer persecution; they will meet with it in one form or other.

Christ also suffered for us] And left us the example of his meekness and gentleness; for when he was reviled, he reviled not again. Ye cannot expect to fare better than your master; imitate his example, and his Spirit shall comfort and sustain you. Many MSS. and most of the versions, instead of Christ also suffered for US, leaving US, &c., read, suffered for YOU, leaving YOU, &c. This reading, which I think is genuine, is noticed in the margin.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

21 For even hereunto were ye called For though his discourse was respecting servants, yet this passage ought not to be confined to that subject. For the Apostle here reminds all the godly in common as to what the condition of Christianity is, as though he had said, that we are called by the Lord for this end, patiently to bear wrongs; and as he says in another place that we are appointed to this. Lest, however, this should seem grievous to us, he consoles us with the example of Christ. Nothing seems more unworthy, and therefore less tolerable, than undeservedly to suffer; but when we turn our eyes to the Son of God, this bitterness is mitigated; for who would refuse to follow him going before us?

But we must notice the words, Leaving us an example For as he treats of imitation, it is necessary to know what in Christ is to be our example. He walked on the sea, he cleansed the leprous, he raised the dead, he restored sight to the blind: to try to imitate him in these things would be absurd. For when he gave these evidences of his power, it was not his object that we should thus imitate him. It has hence happened that his fasting for forty days has been made without reason an example; but what he had in view was far otherwise. We ought, therefore, to exercise in this respect a right judgment; as also Augustine somewhere reminds us, when explaining the following passage,

“Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart.” (Matthew 11:29.)

And the same thing may be learnt from the words of Peter; for he marks the difference by saying that Christ’s patience is what we ought to follow. This subject is handled more at large by Paul in Romans 8:29, where he teaches us that all the children of God are foreordained to be made conformable to the image of Christ, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren. Hence, that we may live with him, we must previously die with him.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(21) For even hereunto were ye called.—Namely, to the combination of suffering and well-doing. To this they “were called” by the Gospel which St. Paul had preached to them; it ought not to be a surprise to them when it comes. (See 1Pe_4:12.) It was a special point in St. Paul’s preaching to forewarn fairly of the tribulations attending all who wished to enter the kingdom of God. Comp. 1Th_3:3-4, and Act_14:22, which latter passage refers to preaching in the very homes of some of the recipients of this Epistle.

Because.—This justifies the last assertion. It appeared on the very face of the gospel message that we should all (slave and freeman alike) have to do well, and at the same time suffer, because the gospel told us that it was so with Him, the subject of the gospel. Notice what a fine assumption lies in this “because”—viz., that Christ’s experience must needs be that of every Christian.

Christ also suffered.—It is to be carefully observed again that he does not say “Jesus suffered;” the whole point is that these Hebrew Christians have given in their adhesion to a suffering Messiah. (See Note on 1Pe_1:11.) And the true reading immediately after is “for you, leaving you an example, that ye should follow His steps;” not, of course, that St. Peter exempts himself from the need of the atonement or the obligation of following Christ’s steps, but because it is his accustomed style to give a charge (as it were) rather than to throw himself in with those whom he addresses. (See Note on 1Pe_1:12.) There is one important point to be observed. Christ is said to have suffered “for you,” but this does not mean “in your stead” but “on your behalf, for your good.” Christ’s atonement for us is not represented in this passage as vicarious. He did not, according to St. Peter’s teaching, die as a substitute for us, any more than He rose again as our substitute. So far as the words themselves go, the death of the Messiah “for us” might have been such a death as that of the hero who, in the battle of Murgarten, gathered the Austrian spears like a sheaf into his own bosom, “for” his fellow-patriots, clearing the way for them to follow. The addition “for you” conveys the thought that in gratitude we ought to suffer with, or even for, Him.

Leaving us (you) an example.—This clause seems added as a kind of explanation of the abrupt “because” just before. “You were called to suffering, I said, because Christ, too, suffered; for in so suffering He left (“as something to survive Him” is implied in the word) an example to you.” (This last “you” stands very emphatically in the Greek). The curious word for “example,” nowhere else used in the New Testament, means primarily the “copy” given to a child to write from, or a “plan” suggested for carrying out in detail, a sketch to be filled in. It is used in this literal sense in 2Ma_2:28-29, and in the metaphorical sense it occurs repeatedly in the Epistle of St. Clement; in one passage (chap. 16) apparently with a reminiscence of this place, for the author has been quoting the passage of Isaiah to which we shall come presently, and then adds, “See then, beloved sirs, what is the copy which has been set us; for if the Lord was so lowly-minded. what shall we do who through Him have come under the yoke of His grace?” The leaving us of this copy was one of the benefits of His passion implied in “suffered for you.”

Follow his steps.—In all probability St. Peter used the word rendered “example” without any sense of its containing a metaphor, or else it would accord badly with the metaphor here. The word for “follow” is a strengthened form, and in 1Ti_5:10 is rendered “diligently follow;” in 1Pe_2:24 of the same chapter it is “follow after”—i.e., “dog;” the only other place being Mar_16:20. It means (as in 1Ti_5:24) rather “to follow up,” made still more vivid by the addition of “His steps” (Rom_4:12; 2Co_12:18). St. Peter could remember the day when he was called to follow, and he did so literally (Mat_4:19; Joh_21:19); but the Pontine Christians, who had believed without having seen (1Pe_1:8), could only “follow Him up” by the footprints which He had left.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

21. For even hereunto were ye called] The thoughts of the Apostle travel from the teaching of Christ which he had heard to the life which he had witnessed. The very calling to be a disciple involved the taking up the cross and following Him (Mat_10:38; Mat_16:24; Luk_14:27). It was the very law of the Christian life that men “must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God” (Act_14:22). And if this was true of all believers it was true in a yet higher sense of those who, when they were called to know Christ, were called as slaves, and as such were to abide in that calling and find in it a discipline of sanctification (comp. 1Co_7:22). And the Apostle had seen what that taking up the cross involved. It is not without significance that in almost every instance in which the example of Christ is referred to, it is in special connexion with His patience under sufferings. Stress is laid on his suffering for us, as making the analogy of the pattern sufferer more complete. He, too, was “buffeted” for no fault of His (Mat_26:67).

leaving us an example] The Greek noun, not found elsewhere in the New Testament, seems to have been a technical word for the drawing which was set before young students of art for them to copy. Such a picture of patience under suffering St Peter now paints, as with a few vivid touches, and sets it before those who were novices in the school of the Christ-like life that they may become artists worthy of their Master.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Who did no sin,.... He was in the likeness of sinful flesh; he looked like a sinful man, being born of a sinful woman, and keeping company with sinful men, being himself a man of sorrows, greatly afflicted, and at last put to death. He was traduced as a sinner by his enemies, and had all the sins of his people on him, which he bore, and made satisfaction for, and were the reason of his sufferings; but he had no sin in his nature, nor did he commit any in his life:

neither was guile found in his mouth; though it was diligently sought for, by the Scribes and Pharisees; there was no deceit in his lips, no falsehood in his doctrine, any more than there was immorality in his conversation; he was an Israelite indeed on all accounts, and in the fullest sense of that phrase; reference is had to Isa 53:9 and this is observed, partly to show that Christ suffered not for himself, or for any sins of his own, but for the sins of others, for which he was very fit, since he had none of his own; and partly as an argument for patience in suffering; for since Christ suffered, who had no sin, nor did any, nor could any be found in him, charged upon him, and proved against him; and which sufferings of his he bore with patience; then how much must it become sinful men to bear their sufferings patiently, though they may not be criminal with respect to the things for which they suffer, but yet are so in other things, whereas Christ was not criminal, nor blameworthy in anything?

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

Ver. 21. Leaving us an example] Gr. υπογραμμον, a copy or pattern. Christ’s actions were either moral, or mediatory. In both we must imitate him. In the former, by doing as he did. In the latter, by similitude, translating that to our spiritual life, which he did as mediator; as to die to sin, to rise to righteousness, &e., and this not only by example (as Petrus Abelardus held of old, and the Socinians at this day), but by virtue of Christ’s death and resurrection working effectually in all his people i not as an exemplary cause only, or as a moral cause by way of meditation, but as having force obtained by it, and issuing out of it, even the Spirit that kills sin, and quickens the soul to all holy practice. There is a story of an earl called Eleazar, a passionate prince, that was cured of that disordered affection by studying of Christ and his patience. Crux pendentis cathedra docentis, Christ upon the cross is a doctor in his chair, where he reads unto us all a lecture of patience. The eunuch, Act 8:32, was converted by this praise in Christ. It is said of Jerome, that having read the godly life and Christian death of Hilarion, he folded up the book, and said, Well, Hilarion shall be the champion whom I will follow. ( In Vita eius apud Surium.) Should we not much more say so of Christ?

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For even hereunto were ye called - Such a spirit is required by the very nature of your Christian vocation; you were called into the church in order that you might evince it. See the notes at 1Th 3:3.

Because Christ also suffered for us - Margin, “some read, for you.” The latest editions of the Greek Testament adopt the reading “for you.” The sense, however, is not essentially varied. The object is, to hold up the example of Christ to those who were called to suffer, and to say to them that they should bear their trials in the same spirit that he evinced in his. See the notes at Phi 3:10.

Leaving us an example - The apostle does not say that this was the only object for which Christ suffered, but that it was an object, and an important one. The word rendered “example” (ὑπογραμμὸν hupogrammon) occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It means properly “a writing copy,” such as is set for children; or an outline or sketch for a painter to fill up; and then, in general, an example, a pattern for imitation.

That ye should follow his steps - That we should follow him, as if we trod exactly along behind him, and should place our feet precisely where his were. The meaning is, that there should be the closest imitation or resemblance. The things in which we are to imitate him are specified in the following verses.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

For even hereunto; viz. to patient bearing of sufferings even for well-doing.

Were ye called; viz. to Christ and the fellowship of his kingdom; q.d. Your very calling and profession, as Christians, requires this of you.

Also; there is an emphasis in this particle, it is as much as if he had said: Even Christ our Lord and Head hath suffered for us, and therefore we that are but his servants and members must not think to escape sufferings.

For us; or, as in the margin, for you, which agrees with the beginning and end of the verse, where the second person is used; but most read it as we do, in the first person, and the sense is still the same; only the apostle from a general proposition draws a particular exhortation: Christ suffered for us, (therein he comprehends the saints to whom he writes), and left an example for us all; do ye therefore to whom, as well as to others, he left this example, follow his steps, Joh 13:15; 1Jo 2:6.

Leaving us an example, as of other graces, so especially of patience.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

21. Were… called—To this patient endurance as a result of their call to follow Christ; and him they were called to follow whithersoever he might go, whether to the mount of transfiguration, where St. Peter found it good to be, (Mat_17:4,) or to Gethsemane and Calvary. Php_1:29. The innocent Christ also suffered unjustly, and he suffered for us, which, with its other and larger benefits, furnishes a pattern for us to follow. A wonderful change has come upon the spirit of the apostle since his indignant cry at the bare suggestion of his Master’s suffering, “Be it far from thee, Lord; this thing shall not be unto thee.” Mat_16:22. In no thought does he now more exult, save in that of the glory in which He will be revealed.

For us—And so not for himself; pointing also to the vicarious character of his sufferings, more fully treated in 1Pe_2:24.

Example—Literally, a writing copy, set by a master, which his pupils are to imitate. It is a pattern of both personal innocence and patient submission.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For even hereunto were ye called; that is, to do good and to suffer patiently. (comp. 1Th_3:3) Omit "even," for which there is no authority. St. Peter is speaking of slaves, but what he says of slaves is true in some sense of all Christians. (comp. Act_14:22) Because Christ also suffered for us; rather, for you, with the oldest manuscripts. You do not suffer alone; Christ also suffered, and that for you slaves, on your behalf. "Christ himself," says Bengel, "was treated as a slave; he deigns to exhibit his own conduct as an example to slaves.

Leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps. The oldest manuscripts have the second person here in both places. Leaving (uJolimpanwn), leaving behind; Bengel says, "in abitu ad pattern." The Greek for "example" is uJpogrammov a word which occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It means a copy set by a writing or drawing master, which was to be exactly reproduced by his pupils. (see RAPC 2Ma 2:28, in the Greek) The life of Christ is our model. In particular St. Peter urges us to imitate the Lord"s patience in suffering undeserved afflictions. In the last clause the figure is changed to that of a guide along a difficult route, so difficult that those who follow must put their feet in his footprints. We should follow his steps, one by one, closely following him, as the word ejpakolouqhshte means. (comp. Mar_16:20; 1Ti_5:10, 1Ti_5:24)

Christ"s Passion our peace and pattern.

Christianity brings its highest principles to bear on the lowliest duties. If it did not regulate these, what would there be for it to regulate? Life is made up of a great many little things and a very few great ones. The clock only strikes twelve twice in the twenty-four hours. The apostle is engaged in exhorting a handful of Christian slaves to patience and submission, and he points to the solemn mystery of the cross, and bids them look to it amid their squalid miseries, and take pattern from the infinite meekness and unmurmuring submission seen there. The supreme truth of revelation is fitly used for so lowly a purpose. Further, note how here the two views of Christ"s work which have been often held apart, and even made antagonistic, are united suffering for us, and example to us.

I THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST OUR GAIN.

It is interesting to notice the change in the apostle"s insight into the meaning of Christ"s sufferings. At first, it was he especially to whom they were a stumbling-block. The very intensity of his belief that his Master was "the Christ, the Son of the living God," made him recoil from the thought of his violent death as an inconceivable contradiction. "Be it far from thee, Lord. This shall not be unto thee!" expressed with characteristic vehemence at once his blindness and his love. Even after the Resurrection, Peter"s earlier preaching, as recorded in the Acts, does not go beyond putting in contrast the two things the death as man"s crime, the rising again as God"s seal. He does notseem, in these first days of transition, to have reached the harmonizing thought of the purpose of the sufferings. But in this Epistle these sufferings have become the very keystone of the arch. The references to them are continual. The whole fabric of his theological and moral teaching is built on them. The black thunder-cloud has been discerned to be the source of all-refreshing rains and the cause of fruitfulness, and the inexplicable anomaly has been unfolded as the deepest truth on which faith and hope and soul-transforming love, the mother of all practical obedience, may fasten and feed. The one thought which has thus illuminated the darkness is the recognition of Christ"s sufferings as for us. The world has admitted that the Sufferer had no sin of his own. Unless we see in them suffering on behalf of others, his life becomes the great indictment of God"s providence. Only when we see that he was wounded for our transgressions do we understand the mystery of the cross. The text does not define the manner in which these sufferings work on our behalf. "For us" is not necessarily "instead of us." But there can be no doubt as to what that manner was in the view of the apostle. "His own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree," says the context. His death was a sacrifice; by the sprinkling of his blood we are hallowed. No other view does justice to the plain import of these and other passages than that which takes Christ"s sufferings to be substitutionary in their character and propitiatory in their operation, and therefore to be for our advantage. Note, too, that the apostle dwells on the sufferings, the actual mental and physical pain, and not only on the that of death. The loving memory of the eye-witness of his Lord"s Passion retains each incident of the slow torture, the buffeting, the mocking, the livid weals of the cruel scourge, the fainting form bearing the heavy cross, and the unmoved meekness in it all. Sensuous representations of Christ"s sufferings have often been carried too far, but surely there is a danger of going to the other extreme; and every Christian life needs for its vigor a believing and realizing contemplation of the sufferings of Christ endured for and instead of us.

II THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST OUR PATTERN.

We are familiar with the idea that our Lord"s life is our pattern. But here we have his Passion presented not only for our faith, but for our imitation.

1. Note the special force of the two metaphors here. "Example" is only used here in the New Testament. It means a copy of writing set to a scholar to be traced over by his unaccustomed hand. Think of the clear firm characters below, and the wavering clumsy ones scrawled over them. How the figure speaks of careful observance of the example, of laborious effort after reproducing it, and of the hope of constant gradual improvement! The view of the whole Christian life which is involved in the

2. figure is that in it all we are like schoolboys writing our copybooks, which have to be examined by the Master one day. What we have written, we have written. Let us live as remembering that we have to take up our books to the Master"s desk when school is ever! The other metaphor is remarkable on Peter"s lips. Did he remember how rashly he had asked, "Why cannot I follow thee now?" and the last solemn command by the fire of coals on the lake-side? The word employed has the force of "follow closely." We are to take Christ for our Guide, as men walking across a glacier might do by their guide, stepping in the prints of his footsteps, and keeping very near him.

3. Notice the solemn thought that Christ"s sufferings can be imitated by us. They stand alone in their bearing on man"s salvation, and in certain respects, in their severity and awfulness. We have but, at the most, to go a little way down the awful descent which he traveled to its depths, to drink a little of the cup which he drained to its dregs, t, stand on the edge or" the storm through the worst of which he passed. But yet the same spirit and temper may be ours. Not the mocking but the meekness, not the scourging but the submission, not the dread desertion by the Father"s love but the Son"s cry to the Father, may be copied by each of us in our lighter griefs. Complete surrender to the will of God and meek endurance of the enmity of men are to be our patterns. The highest ideal of human character is the Christ who, when he was reviled, reviled not again. How utterly opposed to it are the so-called virtues of high-spirited resistance, and the whole practice of most of us in regard to slights, insults, and injuries! We call ourselves Christians, and say that we take Christ for our Example: do we ever remember that his cross is not only the ground of all our peace and hope, but the law of our lives? or bethink ourselves that whatever more "being made conformable to his death" may mean, it means that "when we do well and suffer for it, we take it patiently," and let no anger, or revenge, or bitterness to our worst enemy ever ruffle the clear waters of our hearts?

III THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST OUR POWER.

The world has plenty of examples. Men do not go wrong for want of patterns. The worst man knows more of goodness than the best man does. Models make us neither willing nor able to copy them. What is the use of a headline in a copy, be it ever so beautifully written, if the scholar has no will to imitate it, has a lame hand, and a bad pen with no ink in it? We want something more than examples if we whose disease is that we know the good and choose the evil are ever to be better. So all types of Christianity which merely take Christ as an Example fail to get his example imitated. We must begin with "Christ suffered for us" if we are to live like Christ. Only when I look to his cross as the great act of his love, by which he gave himself wholly for me and bore the burden of my sin, do I receive the power to follow him and live as he lived. That death, if I look to it with faith, opens the deepest springs of love in my heart, which make obedience to and imitation of him necessary and delightful. It joins me to him in a union so close that in him I am crucified to the world, and a new life, the life of Christ himself, is implanted within me. It brings to me a new power of holiness in the Spirit which he gives. Unless the sufferings of Christ are to us the propitiation for our sins, they will never be to us the pattern for our lives. Unless they are the pattern for our lives, it is vain to fancy that they are the propitiation for our sins. What God has joined together let not man put asunder. "Christ has suffered for us there is the whole gospel; "leaving us an example there is the whole Law. A.M.

Vers. 21-24.

The purpose of the Savior"s sufferings.

One thing must be observed and admired in the religious life and the religious teaching of the inspired apostles everything they did and everything they said led their minds to the Lord Jesus. If Christ be the Son of God and the Savior of mankind, this is not to be wondered at. He is not only the central figure of human history; he is at the core of each Christian"s heart, at the spring of each Christian"s life. The Christianity which is apart from men"s thinking and duty and interest has no likeness to the Christianity of the apostles. Every subject they treated was, in their view, related to the Lord Jesus. Especially did they look at every relationship of society, and every duty of man, in the light of Christ"s Deity, Christ"s humanity, Christ"s cross! It was natural to them to think thus. Their hearts were full of Christ, and whatever path of inquiry, instruction, or action they took, it was sure to lead them to him. And this was not vain enthusiasm; it was most reasonable and right. We, too, cannot see things as they are in God"s sight, we cannot act as he would have us, unless we connect all our experience and all our duty with him who has brought God to us, who has brought us to God. Peter was a very practical man. When he wrote his Epistle, he wrote it to actual living men and women. God be praised that we are taught our doctrines, not in theological treatises, but in letters which were the outpouring of soul to soul. Certain superfine religionists think the real occupations and relations of life as something quite beneath their notice. So did not the apostle. For instance, he knew that some of the Christian people who would read his letter were slaves; and accordingly he wrote to them as to slaves. There is no doubt that Christianity introduced among mankind principles which first ameliorated, and then abolished, slavery. But Peter had to deal with facts as they were. Christianity was to help men, not only to rise above slavery, but whilst slavery still endured as an institution to make the best of it. So Peter told these slaves that there was a work for them to do, a witness for them to offer, whilst they were still slaves. He bade them remember how their Master Christ, who was at the same time their Redeemer, had borne himself amidst injustice, false accusation, contumely, and suffering. And he brought to bear the willing sacrifice of Christ for them upon their hearts, as a Divine motive to endurance and patience. They were not so ill treated as their great Savior had been; and, whilst he was perfectly innocent and good, they were not free from human infirmities. It was certainly their duty to display the spirit of their Lord, to do what he had done, to endure as he had endured. Thus they should honor him. Thus they should be in the way of reaping some wholesome fruit of blessing for themselves. Thus they should win others to the faith which none could help admiring. And thus they should secure for themselves a sure recompense of reward.

I LOOK AT THE FACT OF CHRIST"S SUFFERING.

That the Founder of our religion should suffer is itself an astonishing and instructive fact. Buffering and shame, sub mission to violence and cruelty, these are not usually associated with power and victory. Yet the Author of the religion which has the greatest influence over mankind, and is molding the history of the world, was pre-eminently a Sufferer. We believe that this was foretold. It cannot be questioned that the first Christian preachers and writer"s proclaimed, without any reserve, the humiliation and the woe of their great Lord. They even gloried in the cross. Peter was, perhaps better than any man, able to witness to the sufferings and to the demeanor of Jesus Christ. He was "with him in the garden;" and although he fell asleep, yet, on waking, he saw on his Master"s brow the "bloody sweat," and read upon his Master"s features the agony of soul through which he had passed, with no human sympathy, with none to share his awful watch. Peter was there when Judas betrayed the Lord with a kiss, and beheld the meekness with which he yielded himself into the hands of his foes. It was Peter who drew the sword in defense of his Master, and who heard that Master"s rebuke, and his language of pathetic resignation, "The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?" The same Peter followed Jesus into the judgment-hall, and saw the Lord whom he loved bound and reviled, and witnessed his meekness under insult and injustice. Upon himself Jesus had turned the glance of affectionate reproach, which smote him to the heart, and opened the fountain of his tears. It was Peter who entered the empty grave of the risen Immanuel. It was Peter who, when forgiven his faithlessness and fear, was assured by the Lord of a share in the humiliation and agony of the cross. Who, then, so fit as Simon Peter both by his opportunities of observing the Lord"s sorrow and anguish, and by his warm and tender love for Christ to speak of the Redeemer"s woes, and to testify of his bearing and his spirit, when he "endured the contradiction of sinners against himself"? The witness of this companion and friend of Christ Jesus is that he suffered. That our Lord endured weariness, hunger, and thirst; that acutest pain was suffered by him in the closing hours of his life; this the whole record abundantly proves. And his mental sufferings were made evident by the tears he shed, the sighs he heaved, the groans and cries he uttered. His soul was "exceeding sorrowful;" it was "troubled." Keenly susceptible to human emotions, he was distressed at his rejection by his countrymen, at his desertion by his friends, at his betrayal by one disciple, his denial by another. A yet further and a more mysterious woe was that which he endured when he bare the burden of the sins and sorrows of mankind, and "tasted death for every man." As the Son of man, the Head and Representative of the race whose nature he assumed, Christ Jesus shared our lot in more than all its grief and anguish. Great stress is laid upon the fact that Jesus was reviled. It was woe enough, so it might be thought, to suffer in our stead; but what shall be said of the endurance of the taunts and mockery of those for whom he came to die, whom he came to save? This was the bitterest earthly ingredient in the bitter cup which Jesus drank. Now, all these sufferings were undeserved. The apostle observes upon Christ"s innocence. He "did no sin." With a reference to Isaiah"s prediction, he boldly proclaims his Master"s guilelessness. Whatever afflictions befall us in this life, candor constrains us to admit that we deserve all, and more than all, that we endure. If they are punishment, the strokes inflicted are lighter than the guilt they chasten. But nothing of this kind can be said of our Savior"s pains. tits very enemies could substantiate no charge against him, and in this their testimony supports the assertions of his friends. And Paul says, "He knew no sin." "In him is no sin," says John. And Peter"s witness is in the text, "He did no sin." To complete the picture, we must observe the demeanor of our Savior when enduring these afflictions. Men too often complain and murmur, whilst some rebel against the trials appointed for them. No one here is perfected in patience. But we are well reminded of the meekness and the patience of Christ. He endured more than we are ever called upon to suffer, yet he uttered no word of impatience. He endured his sufferings at the hands of injustice, and was cruelly and unpardonably wronged; yet he had only submission no resentment to return to his injurers, and a prayer to offer for their forgiveness. "He was reviled, but he reviled not again." The impenitent malefactor by his side joined in the jeers of the rulers and the people around the cross. But Jesus held his peace. When his sufferings were acute, he gave way to no impulse of revenge against his persecutors. Although he might have come down from the cross, or have summoned legions of angels to his rescue, "he threatened not." He was content that the will of God should be done. Men might judge unjustly. God is he who judgeth righteously. To him, accordingly, the Lord Jesus committed all himself and his cause. What a picture is this of superhuman self-forgetfulness and self-sacrifice! As we contemplate the sinless Sufferer, first in the garden, then before his judges, and finally upon the cross, we are constrained to acknowledge with the centurion, "Certainly this was a righteous man! Truly this was the Son of God!" The scene surpasses all that man has invented. The character exhibited is one beyond the attainment of human virtue. We cannot wonder that the name of Jesus has become, and must ever remain, the symbol of love and meekness, patience and long-suffering, submission and self-restraint and self-denial.

II The apostle, however, does more than state a fact HE EXHIBITS THE PURPOSE for which our Savior thus suffered.

It was "for us for our advantage, on our behalf. It was certainly not for his own sake. Jesus neither deserved to suffer, for he was faultless, blameless; nor did he stand in need, as we do, of the discipline of affliction, for there was no dross to purge away, and no gain could accrue to the pure gold by its being cast into the furnace. The end for which our blessed Redeemer consented to endure the humiliations of his life and the agonies of his death was no personal end; he suffered "for our sake." There were two distinct and yet closely related purposes which the Savior had before him in his sufferings. Both are stated in this passage very explicitly. There are some minds that look only at the one of these purposes; there are different minds that regard only the other. But the sober and attentive student of Scripture cannot fail to recognize the necessity of both, and their harmony with each other. Christ"s endurance of sufferings, being exemplary, furnishes us with the model of our patience and submission; and the same endurance of sufferings, being sacrificial and substitutionary, supply us with ore" highest motive. That Christ is an Example for our imitation is not only taught in Scripture; it is a truth seized upon by every Christian whose Christianity is not merely nominal who is by the Holy Spirit awakened to spiritual life. When he said, "Learn of me," "Follow me," Jesus sanctioned this view of the religious endeavor and prayerful aim of his disciples. And the apostles frequently admonish their converts to imitate the conduct, to share and display the spirit, of the Divine Leader and Lord. His obedience to the Father, his holy life, his benevolent disposition, his self-denying labors, are all put before us as a model which we are to study and to copy. In this passage the especial point selected for imitation is the meekness and long-suffering of our Lord. This is represented as a "copy" which he has left behind, that we may place it before our eyes, and try to produce a good, correct, well-studied imitation of it. We are told to follow in his steps; he is the Guide, to whom we entrust our way, in whose wisdom we have confidence; where he treads it is for us to follow, placing our feet in the footmarks he has left behind him. By these two simple and beautiful figures it is shown how we should lay to heart the perfect example of our Lord, and seek to make it ours. Human examples are so faulty, and human characters, even when noble, so lacking in sympathy, that hero-worship (as it has been called) is a very perilous proceeding. The young are more likely to emulate the questionable side of a great man"s character, if that side be dazzling. Thankful should we be that our Creator, who has implanted within us the principle of imitation, has made provision for calling out that principle, and giving it full scope. The imitation of Christ is the lifelong practice and discipline of every pupil and learner in the spiritual school of God. The Divine Spirit must be the Teacher, revealing and applying the lesson to the scholar"s heart, firing that heart with a holy ambition to be conformed to the sacred likeness of the Lord. But this is no such easy matter. Our gracious God and Father, who knows our nature perfectly, knows that it would be vain to set before men a perfect example of holiness and of patience, and then bid them and leave them to aspire to conformity thereto. Hence the further purpose of the Savior"s sufferings. We are happily familiar with the great and precious truth, so strikingly exhibited in the twenty-fourth verse, "who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree." When Christ suffered as he did, it was not simply as an illustration of the grace of patience. It was both to secure to us the pardon of our sins, and to provide us with a motive of holiness, in the experience of his sacrificial grace. Without himself becoming a sinner, he nevertheless took the sinner"s place, entered into the case of the sinner, and took upon him the sinner"s burden, dying the death of the cross appropriate, indeed, to the sinner, but only appropriate to the holy Christ as the sinner"s Representative and Savior. By "bearing our sins" we are to understand a sacrificial, and therefore a redemptive, act. Whilst many popular teachers are insisting that sin can never be forgiven, and that every man must bear to the uttermost the consequences of his sins, the gospel comes with the good news of the remission of sins, and the favor of God for those who receive the Christ as their Mediator and Redeemer, in humility faith, and penitence.

III The apostle traces THE OPERATION OF THIS DIVINE PRINCIPLE.

It is not enough to tell that Jesus died, and died for us sinners. We need to show what is the result of Christ"s sacrifice that is, upon the heart and life of Christians. For whilst it has a relation to God and his government, it has also a relation and one naturally more comprehensible by us to our own moral life and conduct. "That we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness." Now, you need not to be told that these poor Galatian and Cappadocian bondmen must have been, before their conversion, in a position very unfavorable for the formation of a just and pure character, for living a blameless and benevolent life. They must have been alive to sin and dead to righteousness, No power but that of the cross could be "the power of God unto salvation" to such men. And in this they were representatives of mankind. The gospel of Christ both kills and makes alive. It slays the principle of sin; it quickens the principle of obedience to God. Those who are pardoned and justified by the grace of God, and through faith in that Christ who "loved us, and gave himself for us," are brought under the power of new and spiritual motives the motives of gratitude, devotion, and love. Righteousness thus becomes the atmosphere the Christian breathes, the element in which he lives. It is for Christ"s sake that he aspires to participation in Christ"s character. And by fellowship with Christ he grows into what his Lord would have him be. The two motives thus coalesce. Believing in Jesus, the Christian comes to live, as a ransomed being, a life of devotion to his Redeemer and Liberator. Honoring Jesus, pondering his character, studying his will, he is "changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." Thus is verified the exquisite and figurative language of Peter, "By whose stripes ye were healed." He walked in darkness, that you might walk in the light. He was vanquished, that yon might conquer. He suffered and stooped, that you might reign. He tasted the gall and the wormwood of the crucified, that you might drink the wine of the kingdom and share the banquet of the blessed. He entered the prison-house, that you might go forth into glorious liberty. He died, that you might live. He gave himself up to the blows and stripes of the smiter that your wounds might be healed, that you might come to spiritual strength and soundness. Christian people! the practical lesson of the text is plain for you to read. Whether by persecution, or by opposition and enmity, or by misunderstanding or calumny, you must needs have something to bear in this world of probation and discipline. Remember what this Apostle Peter says, "This is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully." "If when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called." When distressed by the treatment you receive from wicked, unjust, or unreasonable men, forget not this. Then is the time to prove the reality of your religious principles. Flee to the mediation and sympathy of Christ. Ponder the example, and cultivate the spirit of Christ. Act as a friend, slave, of Christ. Revile not again. Commit yourselves to him that judgeth righteously. Fret not yourselves because of evil-doers. Trust in the Lord. He shall bring out your righteousness as the light, and your judgment as the noonday. Hearers of the gospel! the principles of life now unfolded must appear to you the noblest, the purest, and the best in the universe of God. Yet, as sinners, you have not acted under the influence of those principles. Understand that you are in need of the blessings of that redemption which Jesus wrought, in order that you may die unto sin, and live unto righteousness. It is good- news for you that Christ died for you, that the past of sin and anger and hatred may be slain, and that yours may be the new creation, which is the incorruptible seed of the new, spiritual, and endless life. J.R.T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Hereunto are ye - Christians. Called - To suffer wrongfully. Leaving you an example - When he went to God. That ye might follow his steps - Of innocence and patience.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

The inspiring example of Christ:

v. 21. For even hereunto were ye called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps;

v. 22. who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth;

v. 23. who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, he threatened not, but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously;

v. 24. who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed.

v. 25. For ye were as sheep going astray, but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

The first reason for suffering wrong readily is the good pleasure of God, the second is that of the Christian’s calling, as it is typified in the example of Christ: For to this end you were called, because also Christ suffered for us, leaving you an example that you should follow His footsteps. That is a part of the believer’s calling, that is the fate which was held out before him at the very time of his conversion, namely, that he will indeed be an heir of eternal glory, but that the way leading to this glorious bliss is also one of much tribulation, Act 14:22. Incidentally, the disciple is not above his Master, and Christ Himself serves as a type, example, or pattern to the believers that we should follow His footsteps, be as much like Him as possible, grow more like Him every day. This example He set before us in His suffering during His whole life, and particularly at the time of His last great Passion. The meekness and humility, the patience and endurance which Christ showed at this time should always stand out strongly before the eyes of the Christians.

The individual instances in which His example stands out with such marked emphasis are now named: Who did not commit sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth, who, being reviled, reviled not in return, suffering did not threaten, but left it to Him that judges righteously. See Isa 53:9. The suffering of the Messiah was in no way merited by His own transgressions of the divine Law; even upon His direct challenge the Jews were unable to convict Him of a single sin, Joh 8:46. In both His actions and His words Christ was unblamable. Even those sayings of Christ which were deliberately branded as lies by His enemies were without guile, altogether true. Not one of the accusations which the members of the Sanhedrin brought against the Lord was substantiated. When Christ was scorned, cursed, covered with the vilest epithets, He did not return in kind in a single instance. What He had taught His disciples in the Sermon on the Mount He kept in every way. Even His apparently harsh rebukes were not personal vilifications, no expressions of hatred, but words of warning to show His opponent the foolishness of his self-hardening. In the midst of the most bitter sufferings, as when He was nailed to the cross, He did not threaten His jubilant persecutors, but, instead, pleaded with His heavenly Father to forgive them their sin. Far from seeking His own revenge, He placed the entire matter into the hands of His heavenly Father, the just Judge, that He might adjust the affair as He should think best. Surely we believers that confess Christ, that bear His name, should be willing to bear His reproach with the same patience.

Just wherein the secret of the Christian’s ability to bear injustice and wrong lies, is shown in the next verse: Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the wood, in order that we, having gotten rid of our sins, should live to righteousness, by whose wounds you are healed. Here the vicarious suffering of Christ is plainly taught, as in Isa 53:4. Christ, of whom it had been stated that He had no sin, stepped into our place and took upon Himself the burden of our sins, as our great Substitute. They were laid upon His body, His person: He was considered the greatest sinner of all times. Thus He assumed also the guilt of our sins, He took upon Himself their punishment. He ascended the wooden altar of the cross, the accursed tree, loaded down with their terrible weight. And all this He did in order to give us the benefit of His suffering and death. It is now possible for us, having gotten rid of our sins in the manner indicated, to spend our entire life in living in conformity with the holy will of God, in true righteousness. Without the vicarious suffering and death of Christ we should never have been able to reach this state, to obtain this ability; but faith in His redemption gives us the power, since He became wounded that we might be healed, since He became sick that we might be made whole. What an inspiring example, what a compelling motive, what a divine source of power!

But the apostle repeats his thought, clothing it in another picture, in order to give it the proper emphasis: For you were like sheep gone astray, but you have now been turned back to the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. See Isa 53:6. That is true of all men by nature; they have turned away from the God of their life, of their salvation, following their own sinful bent, walking the way of sin and of destruction. It is due to the redemption of Christ and to the proclamation of this redemption in the Word of the Gospel that we have been turned, brought back, literally turned ourselves back, from the ways of sin and death to God and life, by the power transmitted to us in the Gospel-call. In accepting God as our Father, we, at the same time, have turned to Christ, to the Bishop and Shepherd of our souls, to Him who, as the one Good Shepherd, brought us home out of the desert of sin and is now daily leading us in the green pastures of His gracious Word. Truly, the sheep of Christ are provided for in a wonderful way, they live secure under the guiding staff of Him who laid down His life for them.

Summary

In continuing his admonitions, the apostle describes the true growth in holiness on Jesus Christ as the true Foundation, resulting in the spiritual house of the royal priesthood which the Christians form; he gives specific admonitions to be obedient to the government and to masters, holding up before his readers the inspiring example of Christ.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Observe here, two farther arguments to excite and move Christians to patience under unjust sufferings.

1. Hereunto, says the apostle, were ye called, that is, by your profession of Christianity: religion obliges you to suffer with patience; you must bear the cross, before you wear the crown; to this you are called, and with this you have been acquainted.

2. You should not think much to suffer patiently, when you suffer unjustly, because Christ, your captain and guide, did so freely before you; he was the most meek and patient endurer that ever was, of the greatest and most wrongful sufferings that ever were.

Note here, That although the example of our Saviour be here propounded to us with a special regard to the particular virtue of patience under unjust sufferings, yet ought it to be extended to all graces and duties, and improved as a pattern for the love and practice of universal holiness: Leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps.

The practice and example of the holy Jesus, in all the ordinary acts of his obedience, ought to be propounded by all his disciples and followers as the grand pattern of our imitation; it being a safe and unerring example, an easy familiar example, a powerful and encouraging example, and the most instructive and universal example that ever was given to the world, being a most absolute and perfect pattern of holiness.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

21–25. Hereunto were ye called. It was the experience of the Christian calling in that age to suffer for right doing. Even so Christ our Lord suffered. He is our example.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

Connecting Statement:

Peter continues speaking to people who are servants in people's houses.

it is to this that you were called

Here the word "this" refers to believers enduring while suffering for doing good, as Peter has just described. This can be stated in active form. AT: "God has called you to this" (See: Active or Passive)

for you to follow in his steps

"so that you would follow his footprints." Peter speaks of following Jesus' example in the way that they suffer as if one were walking on the same path that Jesus had taken. AT: "so that you would imitate his behavior" (See: Metaphor)

neither was any deceit found in his mouth

This can be stated in active form. AT: "neither did anyone find deceit in his mouth" (See: Active or Passive)

neither was any deceit found in his mouth

Here "deceit" refers to words that a person speaks that are intended to deceive other people. AT: "neither did he speak any lies" (See: Metonymy)

When he was reviled, he did not revile back

To "revile" someone is to speak abusively to another person. This can be stated in active form. AT: "When people insulted him, he did not insult them back" (See: Active or Passive)

gave himself to the one who judges justly

"he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly." This means that he trusted God to take away his shame, which had been put on him by those who treated him harshly.

translationWords

call

Christ

suffer

commit

sin

deceive

judge

just

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

21. εἰς τοῦτο ἐκλήθητε. The call to follow Christ is not only to imitate Him in well-doing but also to share His sufferings, cf. 1Pe 5:10; Mat 16:24; 1Th 3:3; 2Ti 2:11; Heb 2:10.

If the Captain of salvation was made perfect through suffering the same process is employed by God in bringing His other sons to glory.

ὑπολιμπάνων. λιμπάνειν is a late form for λείπειν, leaving behind.

ὑπογραμμός (in classical Greek ὑπογραφή), means a drawing to be traced over, or an outline to be filled in and coloured, cf. ὑποτύπωσις, a rough model, 1Ti 1:16; 2Ti 1:13. Neither ὑπολιμπάνειν nor ὑπογραμμός occur again.

ἐπακολουθεῖν, to follow close upon, like climbers treading in the steps of an Alpine guide. Cf. 1Ti 5:10; 1Ti 5:24; Mar 16:20.

ἴχνεσιν, cf. Rom 4:12; 2Co 12:18.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

21.] For (proof that undeserved suffering is χάρις παρὰ θεῷ, by the instance of Christ’s sufferings, which were our example) to this (state, viz. the endurance of wrongful sufferings) ye were called: because (ground of the assertion εἰς τοῦτο ἐκλήθητε) Christ also (the καί applies to the ἔπαθεν ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν, the words ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν carrying with them the ἀγαθοποιῶν, as explained below, ver. 24) suffered for you, leaving behind for you (emphatic repetition from the former ὑμῶν. Tischendorf’s reasoning, edn. 7, that ἡμῶν, ὑμῖν was probably the original reading, and has given rise to ἡμῶν ἡμῖν and ὑμῶν ὑμῖν, may be met by the above consideration in favour of the more ancient reading. [In edn. 8 Tischdf. reads as in text.] ὑπολιμπάνω is a late form of ὑπολείπω. Themist. Orat. x. p. 139 d, is the only place quoted for this sense: Dion. Hal. i. 23 uses the 2 aor. in an intransitive sense, of streams failing,—τὰ δʼ ὑπελίμπανε θέρους, τὰ δʼ εἰς τέλος ἀπεσβέννυτο. On the pres. part. here, Bengel remarks, “in abitu ad Patrem.” It gives the abiding intent of the single fact ἔπαθεν: and might be rendered ‘ut relinqueret’) a copy (ὑπογραμμός, a pattern to write or paint by: technically, ὑπογραμμοὶ παιδικοί were formulæ given by writing-masters to their pupils, containing all the letters of the alphabet. Clem. Strom, v. 8. 50, p. 675 P., who gives examples of them) that ye should follow upon (ἐπακολουθέω, follow close upon, the ἐπί denoting close application to: it is a word commonly used of following behind another) His footsteps (so in reff.):

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Leaving [υπολιμπανων] . Only here in the New Testament.

An example [υπογραμμον] . Only here in the New Testament. A graphic word, meaning a copy set by writing - masters for their pupils. Some explain it as a copy of characters over which the student is to trace the lines.

Follow [επακολουθησητε] . Lit., follow upon. The compound verb implies close following. From writers and painters, the metaphor changes now to a guide.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.