← Back to sermon library

in your Bibles to 1 Peter 2. 
1 Peter 2 for our meditation before the Lord's Supper. The 
bulk of 1 Peter is practical in nature. The doctrinal foundation 
is chapter 1, verses 1 to 12. And then after that comes mostly 
practical exhortation for the people of God on how to live 
before God in this present world. There's heavy emphasis by Peter 
on submission. We are to submit to government, 
we are to submit as slaves to masters, wives are to submit 
to husbands, and younger people are to submit to their elders. 
So that is a key emphasis by the Apostle in this passage, 
or in this book. Specifically, I want to focus 
on verses 21 to 25 in 1 Peter chapter 2. but I do want to begin reading 
in verse 13. So 1 Peter 2 at verse 13, therefore 
submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether 
to the king as supreme or to governors as to those who are 
sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise 
of those who do good. For this is the will of God, 
that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish 
men, as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants 
of God. Honor all people, love the brotherhood, 
fear God, honor the King. Servants, be submissive to your 
masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also 
to the harsh. For this is commendable if, because 
of conscience toward God, one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. For what credit is it if, when 
you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when 
you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable 
before God. For to this you were called, 
because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example 
that you should follow his steps, who committed no sin, nor was 
deceit found in his mouth, who, when he was reviled, did not 
revile in return. When he suffered, he did not 
threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously, 
who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that 
we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness, by whose 
stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going 
astray, but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer 
of your souls. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for that written word that you have given to us. 
We thank you that it demonstrates from cover to cover the glory 
of Jesus Christ and the salvation of sinners. How we thank you, 
Father, for this redemptive word, how we thank you for this inspired 
word, and how we pray that even now we would receive it, that 
it would strengthen and encourage our hearts. And God, cause us 
to reflect afresh upon the sufferings of Christ on behalf of his people. 
Help us as well to reflect upon that death on the cross that 
was not for sins or crimes that he had committed, but he stood 
in our place. He was our substitute. He was 
our surety. And in this week, greatly rejoice, 
Lord God. We thank you as well that the 
grave did not contain him. We thank you for that resurrection 
on the third day and for his current session now at your right 
hand. And even now we pray that from that vantage point, He would 
send the Spirit to strengthen us, to help us, and to guide 
us as we study your holy word. And we ask these things through 
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, very simply, what 
the Bible sets forth in terms of Christ's suffering and death 
for his people is not in the first place exemplary. In other 
words, that means it's not in the first place an example for 
us on how we ought to live. Now, having said that, the apostles 
and Jesus himself did point to his example to encourage believers 
in the life of Christian ethics. The purpose primarily of Christ's 
work was redemptive, it was to secure the salvation of his people, 
but then secondarily we see Jesus himself, as I said, we see Peter 
in this particular passage, we see the Apostle Paul in Philippians 
chapter 2, point the people of God to the Lord Jesus to study 
his example on how they are to function in the world around 
them. And that is precisely what Peter is doing in this section 
in verses 18 to 25. Notice that first of all he provides 
or sets forth a duty, a responsibility, a command. That's found in verse 
18. Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not 
only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. This is 
a very curious and a very interesting sort of exhortation. We would 
think that this is contrary. No, you report those harsh masters. 
Get those harsh masters fired. You get them arrested. You get 
them removed from the scene. That's not Peter's tact. Peter 
says not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. 
You're to submit. You are paid to submit. Servants 
in this capacity were not unpaid laborers. They were paid. In 
fact, much of the Roman Empire was made up of slaves. And they 
had rights. They had a lot of blessings and 
things that the government afforded to them. So it was a bit different. 
than a shadow slavery that we have seen in our history. But 
then notice he highlights the importance of this in verse 19. 
He says, for this is commendable. If because of conscience toward 
God, one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. In other words, you 
are first and foremost responsible to the Lord. As a worker, as 
an employee, as a servant, as one, under the authority of another, 
your primary or chief responsibility is to the living and true God. 
That is the orientation that the people of God are always 
to have and possess. And then in verse 20, he says, 
what credit is it if when you are beaten for your faults, you 
take it patiently? What's the implication? You deserved 
it. You should take it patiently. 
And then he goes on to say, when you do good and suffer, if you 
take it patiently, this is commendable before God. So you see, the recurring 
emphasis in Peter is that our conduct before godless masters 
is nevertheless to bring glory and honor to our God. We live 
first and foremost for Him, and our conduct before our human 
or earthly masters is no exception. wherever you find yourself, whatever 
part of the week it is, God is the primary orientation for the 
believer's life. Now he points to the example 
of the Lord Jesus Christ as a great example of one who suffered, 
of one who did it silently, of one who, when he was reviled, 
didn't revile back. And that is the example to which 
Peter calls us to consider. So I want to look first at the 
description of Christ's redemptive suffering in verses 21 to 24a, 
and then secondly, the result of Christ's redemptive suffering 
in verses 24b and 25. Again, he's pointing to it as 
an example for how we ought to function in terms of our human 
masters. But it does not take away from 
the reality that the primary emphasis in Scripture is that 
Christ's sufferings weren't first for our example, but were first 
for our salvation and redemption. Now, in terms of the description 
of his redemptive suffering, if you look at verses 21 to 24a, 
the background is specifically Isaiah the prophet, Isaiah 53. If you look at Peter here in 
chapter 2, verse 22, it corresponds to Isaiah 53.9. It's a direct 
quotation. But verse 23 also is reminiscent 
of Isaiah 53 7. Verse 24 is reminiscent of verses 
12, 4, and 5 in Isaiah 53. And then 1 Peter 2 25 is Isaiah 
53 6. So whether it's a direct quotation 
or it's an allusion, that's the background for Peter's exhortation. He is thinking of the prophet 
Isaiah. He is thinking of Christ's redemptive work. He is thinking 
of what Christ has accomplished on behalf of his people. And 
it's what the prophet Isaiah spoke that is forefront in his 
mind. And then notice in terms of the 
person of Christ, he wants to illustrate and he wants to highlight. 
Remember that Jesus was one of us. Jesus was a true man. Jesus took on our humanity with 
all the essential properties and all the common infirmities 
thereof, yet without sin. Jesus was called to submit. Oftentimes 
women hear that word from Paul and Peter that they are to submit 
to their own husbands. And for whatever reason, the 
reflex in our day and age is to recoil. Oh no, you're not 
the boss of me. I don't have to submit to anybody. 
We all have to submit to a whole lot of folks. We all have to 
submit to governing authority. We all have to submit to governing 
authority within the context of the local church. We all have 
to submit to one another in the fear of Christ, according to 
Paul in Ephesians chapter five. Jesus submitted to his earthly 
parents and they weren't perfect. Jesus submitted to the civil 
magistrate. Jesus ultimately submitted to 
the will of his father. Submission is not bad. submission 
is a good thing. If God calls us to it, we ought 
to embrace it, and we ought to carry it out wholeheartedly. 
So Christ was one of us in context that we're not completely unsimilar 
to what we face. For to this you were called. 
Verse 21, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an 
example that you should follow his steps. And then notice in 
verse 24, he says, who himself bore our sins in his own body 
on the tree. He wants to highlight that true 
humanity of Christ. It wasn't an apparition. It wasn't 
sort of a metaphor for what it is to be submissive. He was a 
genuine man submitting to all things that fell upon him. And 
he did it without complaint. He did it without grumbling. 
He did it without whining. He did it without the sorts of 
things that oftentimes characterize his people. And so Peter is holding 
this up to us so that we may follow. And then notice as well, 
he highlights the fact that in terms of the person of Christ, 
he is the sinless one. Again, Isaiah 53, 9, quoted by 
Peter in verse 22, it says, who committed no sin, nor was deceit 
found in his mouth. I think John Gill makes a good 
observation. He says, neither was guile found 
in his mouth. Then he says, though it was diligently 
sought for by the scribes and Pharisees. Think about that for 
just a moment. We live in a day and age where 
a politician said something 35 years ago, and somebody has a 
transcript of it, and they bring it out to show what a terrible 
guy he is. There's an investigative authority 
out there that can find dirt on each and every one of us, 
I'm sure. If you think, well, you know, 
I'm untouchable, OK, just let them have a go or a run at you. 
They'll find something. I mean, things that you said 
in first grade, I mean, you know, a fit of passion, it can be used 
against you. I've often thought, you know, 
with reference to your emails, be careful. They may end up in 
a deposition against you. So be very careful what you say. 
how you say it, and that sort of thing. So think about what 
Gil says. The scribes and the Pharisees were looking for this. 
They were trying to find Jesus. They were trying to trap him. 
They were trying to show him to be a fraud. They were trying 
to display that he was a fake, that he wasn't what he purported 
to be. And while the prophet had said 
this, and while Peter is applying this, he committed no sin, nor 
was deceit found in his mouth. He had people out there looking 
for this. He had people out there that 
would have gladly embraced this. He had people that would have 
seized upon it. Gil goes on to say there was no deceit in his 
lips, no falsehood in his doctrine, any more than there was immorality 
in his conversation. He is the sinless one. And then 
that is magnified by Peter. And again, in example form for 
us, so that we don't whine and complain and grumble and snivel. 
Notice what he says in verse 22, who committed no sin, nor 
was deceit found in his mouth. And now a concrete illustration 
of that in verse 23, who when he was reviled, did not revile 
in return. Remember before the Sanhedrin, 
the Lord Christ is accused of horrific things, but he never 
answers back until he's abjured by the priest to swear with reference 
to his origin or with reference to his identity. But he doesn't 
revile back. He never says things like I think 
we would say. I'm framed. I'm an innocent man. 
I wasn't doing the things that you have said that I'm doing. 
This is all fake. It's a sham. It's fake news. He doesn't do that. He willingly 
submits himself in the midst of suffering. On the cross, you 
see the same thing. Those wretched, unbelieving Jews 
at the foot of the cross are mocking. He saved others. Let's see him come down from 
the cross and save himself. He doesn't revile back in that 
posture. He doesn't revile back. He doesn't 
complain at them. He doesn't grumble at them. This 
is a demonstration of his righteousness. So not only does he not revile, 
not only does he not grumble, not only does he not complain, 
but he actively committed himself to him who judges righteously. 
Notice in verse 23, he actively committed himself to him who 
judges righteously. God was his protector. God was his shield. God was his 
all in all. And if his conscience is clear 
before God, then that's what matters. That's what needs to 
matter with us. If our consciences are clear 
before God most high, it doesn't matter what men say ultimately. 
It doesn't matter what men do. If we have peace with God through 
our Lord Jesus Christ, that's everything. We're the richest 
men and women on the face of the earth. Those who have been 
justified freely by God's grace. There's no better position, there's 
no better posture, there's no better status for one to possess 
than that reality. So Christ commits himself to 
him who judges righteously. Turn for just a moment to chapter 
four. This is a disposition that the 
suffering church is to imbibe as well. 1 Peter 4, verse 17, 
for the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God. 
And if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those 
who do not obey the gospel of God? Now, if the righteous one 
is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear? 
Therefore, let those who suffer according to the will of God 
commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful 
creator. So like the Savior, so the servant. 
We need to commit ourselves to this living and true God. Now 
back to our particular text. When we look at this, He committed 
no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth. He was reviled, 
but He didn't revile in return. This highlights, again, the true 
humanity of Jesus Christ, the fact that He is sinless, but 
as well the fact that He is the acceptable offering. Leviticus 
chapter 23, the Lord God, through Moses there, makes it very, very 
plain that when you came to worship at the tabernacle and then temple, 
you didn't pick the worst of your flock. You didn't pick the 
one that was lame. You didn't pick the one that 
was blind. You didn't pick the one that lost the recent fight 
in the farm, you know, in the farmyard. You picked the best. 
You pick the very best. And when Jesus comes, John the 
Baptist says, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin 
of the world. God provided the best when it came time to provide 
a sacrifice. And that emphasis is obvious 
in Peter's teaching here. He was reviled, he didn't revile 
in return. When he suffered, he did not 
threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously. 
He is true man, he is sinless, and he is in fact the acceptable 
one with reference to this sacrifice to God on behalf of his people. So that's his person, but then 
notice the work of Christ, the fact that he suffered and died. Verse 24, who himself bore our 
sins in his own body on the tree, that we having died to sins might 
live for righteousness. He suffers and he dies on behalf 
of his people. Turn back for just a moment to 
the book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy chapter 21. Peter 
refers to this tree that Jesus died on. Contrary to Jehovah's 
Witnesses and their nonsense about the stake or the cross 
or whatever, it really doesn't matter if you call it a tree 
or you call it a cross. The idea is the same. There was 
this instrument of execution that our Lord Jesus Christ was 
hung on. This instrument of death that 
he was hung on. whether it was a tree or a cross. It was a cross made of a tree. 
So we ought to have no confusion about this. For those of you 
who have never been sort of exposed to Jehovah's Witness, they think 
the whole idea of a cross is just crazy and ludicrous and 
it was this state. What difference does it make? 
It was a cross, according to scripture, made out of wood from 
a tree. But I think the use of tree does 
reminiscently suggest a connection to Deuteronomy 21. Notice in 
verse 22, if a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and 
he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall 
not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him 
that day, so that you do not defile the land which the Lord 
your God is giving you as an inheritance, for he who is hanged 
is accursed of God. See that idea, that concept, 
he was hung on a cross, he was hung on a tree, that means he 
was accursed and you must remove his body before the sunset. But 
notice prior to that in verse 18, it's a passage that I think 
we visited some months ago in terms of corporal punishment 
for criminal offenders. Notice what it says in verse 
18. If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey 
the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and who, 
when they have chastened him, will not heed them, then his 
father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out 
to the elders of his city, to the gate of his city. "'And they 
shall say to the elders of his city, "'This son of ours is stubborn 
and rebellious. "'He will not obey our voice. 
"'He is a glutton and a drunkard. "'Then all the men of his city 
"'shall stone him to death with stones. "'So you shall put away 
the evil from among you "'and all Israel shall hear and fear.'" 
Now, it is intriguing that in Matthew's gospel, I don't wanna 
get too far afield here, but I wanna show you a connection 
that I think the New Testament picks up on with reference to 
this passage in Deuteronomy 21, not just verses 22 and 23, but 
also verses 18 to 21. Remember the complaint of the 
religious leaders about Jesus in Matthew's gospel in Matthew 
chapter 11? They said he was a wine bibber 
and a glutton. He was a wine-bibber and a glutton. The two offenses that are brought 
out in this passage with reference to the incorrigible son. In other 
words, when these parents brought their son, their adult son, who 
was criminal, to the elders of the city in order to be stoned, 
that was the formal accusation. He's a wine-bibber and a glutton. Well, in Matthew's gospel, Jesus 
recognizes that his contemporaries accuse him of the same thing. 
I think the allusion is to Deuteronomy. They were suggesting that he 
was an apostate. They were suggesting that he 
was worthy of death. They were suggesting that he 
should be executed already at that particular vantage point. 
In Matthew chapter 12 at verse 14, after a Sabbath controversy, 
we see that the Jews plotted to put him to death. So they 
looked at him as the incorrigible son of Deuteronomy chapter 21. 
Well, that Paul quotes Galatians 3, or in Galatians 3 quotes this 
section about the cursed one hanging on a cross. I think that 
this is the illusion. I think that they thought Jesus 
was the apostate that was deserving of death. What they failed to 
meditate upon or muse on is that they were the apostates and they 
were the ones ultimately liable to the just judgment of God Most 
High. But Peter refers to this particular 
maxim that you do not leave this offender on the tree. because 
accursed is he who is hung on a tree. So back to our particular 
passage. In terms of his suffering, it 
was not first and foremost for our example. Verse 24 highlights 
that. Who himself bore our sins in 
his own body on the tree. That is crucial information that 
you and I need to digest on a daily basis. He bore our sins in his 
own body on the tree. That's why we have forgiveness. 
That's why we've received a righteousness. That's why you and I will go 
to heaven. And in light of that reality, 
Peter says you need to function as servants towards your masters 
in a manner that is consistent with his redemptive suffering 
and death that was wrought out for you. He saved you, not so 
you can be a whiner at work. He saved you not so you can be, 
you know, a pathetic performer at work. He saved you not so 
you could be lazy and lay around all day, but he saved you to 
go to work, to work hard, and to glorify God in the midst of 
it. So don't revile, don't complain, 
don't whine, don't grumble. Do what you're supposed to do 
the way that your master did it. He didn't revile when he 
was reviled. Now let's look secondly at the 
result of his redemptive suffering. So Peter sets forth what Jesus 
did on our behalf. Now he sets forth what we accrue 
from this. And in verses 24b and 25, I would 
suggest first we have the freedom of his people, and then secondly, 
the recovery of his people. In the first place, notice the 
freedom. Who himself, verse 24, bore our sins in his own body 
on the tree, that we, here's the first aspect, having died 
to sin. It's a beautiful thing, isn't 
it? Having died to sins. Now, conceptually, that might 
be hard to entertain because you probably just sinned. or 
at least this afternoon at some point. I'm just spitballing here, 
right? Do you realize that if you're 
not loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, 
and loving all your neighbors as yourself right now, you're 
sinning? Did you know that? Here's the good news for you. 
Actually, that's not good news. That's what makes the good news 
good news. Praise God Almighty that He has 
forgiven us that we don't do what we're supposed to do with 
reference to the two chief commandments, love to God, love to men. with 
reference to this whole idea, having died to sins. Again, we 
are so experientially connected to sin, it's tough to conceptualize 
this. But it's first and foremost a 
reference to our position. We have died to sins. Paul the 
Apostle brings that out very clearly in the book of Romans, 
at Romans chapter 6. After having dealt with justification 
by faith alone, the imputation of the righteousness of Christ 
in 3, 4, and 5, he then gets into the practical ramifications 
in terms of our sanctification in Romans chapter 6. And he uses 
this sort of language. We've died to sin. We're no longer 
sins slaves. We're no longer subject to sin. We're no longer subjects in a 
mindless sort of way that we always do sins bidding. Again, 
there is that aspect of remaining corruption and the things that 
we wanna do, we don't do, and the things that we don't wanna 
do, we find ourselves doing. There is still that going on 
in the lives of God's people, but positionally, we have died 
to sin is what the apostle brings out. And to tease this out a 
little bit further, the believer is delivered from the condemnation 
of sin. Turn to Romans chapter eight. 
Romans chapter eight, the believer is freed from the condemnation 
of sin. Romans chapter eight, verse one, 
there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Beautiful thing, isn't it? There 
is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. What does that mean, are in Christ 
Jesus? How are we in Christ Jesus? By 
belief in the gospel, by accepting the propositional revelation 
given to us from Genesis to Revelation, by by God's grace, laying hold 
of it in faith, receiving and resting upon Jesus Christ and 
his righteousness alone for salvation. That's what it means to be in 
Christ. And as a result of that, there is therefore now No condemnation 
for those who are in Christ Jesus. The believer is delivered from 
the curse of the law. You can turn to Galatians 3. 
Galatians 3, verse 10, For as many as are of the works of the 
law are under the curse, for it is written, Cursed is everyone 
who does not continue in all things which are written in the 
book of the law to do them. See, this is where the impossibility 
of a covenant of works is seen. God demands not partial obedience 
to his law, God demands complete obedience to his law. So Paul 
says, as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse, 
for it is written, curse it is everyone who does not continue 
in all things which are written in the book of the law to do 
them, but that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God 
is evident, for the just shall live by faith. Yet the law is 
not a faith, but the man who does them shall live by them. 
Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become 
a curse for us, for it is written, cursed is everyone who hangs 
on a tree, that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the 
Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise 
of the Spirit through faith. Christ has redeemed us from the 
curse of the law. That doesn't mean there's no 
law for the believer. We certainly have law as blood-bought 
children of God. The Lord Jesus justifies us freely 
by his grace. Once we are justified freely 
by grace, he then points us to the law as a pattern for sanctification. 
We call this the normative use of the law, which means normally 
using the law for our day-in, day-out activity and conduct. But in terms of being under the 
law as a covenant of works, That curse is gone. It has been abrogated 
by our blessed Jesus. And then the believer is delivered 
from the wrath of God. You can turn to Romans 3. Romans 
3. I mentioned this word propitiation 
a couple of weeks ago and said there was a gold mine of great 
things in it. Romans 3, 24, being justified 
freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ 
Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood through 
faith, to demonstrate His righteousness because in His forbearance God 
had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to 
demonstrate at the present time His righteousness that he might 
be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 
This word propitiation is a great gospel word. The presupposition 
is God's wrath. See, Paul starts his presentation 
of the good news with the bad news. And the bad news, according 
to Paul in Romans 1.18, is that the wrath of God is revealed 
from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. The 
wrath of God is revealed from heaven. Psalm 7.11 tells us that 
God is angry with the wicked every day. The wrath, the fury, 
the judgment of God is directed towards sinners. Well, this word 
propitiation means that Christ took that on our behalf. It's 
not the case that he deflected it or diverted it, but it is 
the case that he received it himself. It was spent on him. He drank the cup of God's wrath 
to the final drags and satisfied divine justice. Propitiation 
is a wonderful gospel word that ought to speak great encouragement 
and comfort to our soul. One of the fathers, the Edoret, 
said, a new and strange method of healing. The doctor suffers 
the cost and the sick receive the healing. I think that's beautiful. Back to 1 Peter chapter 2. We 
are freed from the penalty of sin. But if we continue in Peter's 
section there, we see that we're freed from the power of sin. 
This is important, brethren. The grace that justifies is the 
grace that sanctifies. Not to conflate the two, keeping 
them in their proper categories, keeping them in their proper 
compartments, we do need to appreciate the reality that we have freedom 
under God to not engage in the acts of lawlessness that once 
characterized our lives. Going back to verse 24, who himself 
bore our sins in his own body on the tree that we, having died 
to sins, might do what? We might live for righteousness. 
I don't think we appreciate that fact. Now, maybe you do, and 
I don't, and I'm showing something about, you know, me here, but 
it's almost like, maybe it was, you know, my Roman Catholic upbringing. Maybe some of you have that, 
if you were brought up Catholic, or maybe in other sorts of religious 
contexts where they were heavy on guilt, and heavy on shame, 
and heavy on God's always mad at you, and God's always angry, 
and He's always out to get you. I mean, you know, this is one 
of the tendencies that we have, perhaps, as we come into the 
state of grace, to realize that we now have the freedom to actually 
do something that pleases God. Yeah, we do. Not perfect, not 
exactly, not entirely, not perpetually, but we do. You know, the letters 
to the churches in the book of Revelation, those seven churches 
in Asia Minor, several of them contain commendation. Commendation 
from our Lord. I know your works. I know that 
you're being faithful. I know that you're persevering. 
I know that you've tested those who claim to be apostles and 
are not. Christ sees the good that we 
do and actually commends those churches in Asia Minor. It's 
a blessed thought. Again, it's not the case that 
we wake up in the morning, I'm going to go out and do 50 great 
things so God's happy with me. No, it's not that way at all. 
It's a reflex of our salvation. It's a reflex of our having been 
born again. We've died to sins and now we 
live unto righteousness. Now we don't let sin reign in 
our mortal members. We do not present our members 
as instruments of unrighteousness like we used to do so often. 
In fact, look at Peter in 1 Peter 2 at verse 11. He tells them, don't live the 
way that you once lived, but rather live unto righteousness. 
That is something that's in our wheelhouse now. That is something 
that we have the capability of actually engaging in. The Spirit 
filling the people of God who have been saved by grace through 
faith in Jesus Christ can live unto righteousness. Again, not 
holy perfectionism, not Wesleyanism, not second work of grace. higher 
life blessing or any of the other sanctification nonsense that 
sort of attached itself to this doctrine, but we can live unto 
righteousness. We can do those things that are 
pleasing to God, not for our salvation, but because God has 
saved us. The believer now has the spiritual 
freedom that brings true joy and everlasting happiness. The 
reality is, is that we have died to sins and now we live for righteousness. By whose stripes you were healed. It never lets us forget the reason 
this is, not because you're great, it's not because you're wonderful, 
it's not because you're perfect, but because through the stripes 
of Christ you have been healed from your sin and malady. And then look finally at the 
recovery of this people. Verse 25 is a blessed statement 
of what God in the gospel does with us. Christ does. For you 
are like sheep going astray. It's Isaiah 53, 6, right? All 
we, like sheep, have gone astray. You are like sheep going astray, 
but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your 
souls. Now, we think sheep, we think 
cuddly, don't we? White, fluffy, happy, careless. That's what I think. I mean, 
I see sheep once in a while. They look nice to me. They look 
cute. They look like you could give 
them a big hug and it'd be quite nice. But when the Bible compares 
us to sheep, that's not a good thing. It's not saying you guys 
are fluffy and cuddly and huggable and all that sort of thing. When 
it speaks about sheep, it is not reflecting well on people. John Gill says, not that they 
have the agreeable properties of sheep as to be meek, harmless, 
innocent, clean, and profitable, for they are the reverse of all 
this. I think he's right. And then 
D. Edmund Hebert, an Armenian commentator, 
excellent commentator, on 1 Peter says, the comparison of sinners 
to straying sheep is a common biblical figure. It is not a 
complementary comparison since sheep are notoriously dull, prone 
to stray, and helpless to find their way back. Straying sheep 
lost in the wilderness or mountains and exposed to wild beasts and 
destruction present a wretched picture of the needy state of 
the lost. So it's not complimentary. You 
were like sheep. Oh, cuddly, white, clean, lovable, 
huggable. That's not it at all. Ignorant 
and dull. I remember years ago, my daughter 
Kelly showed me a story about a sheep that jumped off a cliff, 
and as sheep are wont to do, everyone followed after it. Now, 
of course, the initial sheep fell and died, but by the time 
there was a good base of sheep, other subsequent sheep jumping 
into it didn't die because there was enough sheep cushion so that 
they wouldn't hit the ground and die. That's what sheep do. They follow the leader and they 
jump off cliffs. That is not a complimentary comparison. All we like sheep have gone astray, 
but the shepherd came and sought us. The shepherd came and caught 
us. The shepherd came and put us 
on his shoulders. The shepherd went back into heaven 
rejoicing over this one sheep that was lost and is now found. And Peter highlights, you were 
like sheep, going astray, but have returned to the shepherd. 
Jesus Christ is the shepherd of his people. Psalm 23, the 
Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Isaiah 40, Ezekiel 
34. All of these passages prophesy 
concerning the new covenant era where Christ is the Davidic shepherd 
over his people. And then he uses the language 
of overseer. You've all heard that word before. 
It's the Greek word episkopos, where we get the word episcopalian. It means simply that, to be an 
overseer. Praise God Almighty that he doesn't 
leave us on our own. Praise God Almighty that Christ 
is our shepherd, that Christ is our overseer, that Christ 
is that chief bishop that left heaven above to come into this 
world on a mission of recovery, to save us from our sins. That is the emphasis of the apostle 
in this particular passage. Gil says, not returned themselves, 
but were returned by powerful and efficacious grace. Saints 
are passive and not active in first conversion. They are turned, 
not by the power of their own free will, but by the power of 
God's free grace. They are returned under the illuminations 
and quickenings of the Blessed Spirit and through the efficacious 
drawings of the Father's love unto Christ. That's Peter's emphasis. Christ, the true man, was the 
sinless one who presented an acceptable sacrifice to God Almighty. That one bore in his own body 
our sins on the tree, that we might die to sin, that we might 
live unto righteousness, having been recovered by the shepherd, 
the one with whom there is no want, and the one who is the 
overseer, the bishop, the episkopos over our souls. He has sought 
us, he has found us, he has put us on his shoulders, and he has 
gone back rejoicing over sinners who have repented by God's grace 
and for his glory. So Peter's argument in context 
is, don't whine, Don't grumble. Don't complain at work. Peter's 
argument in context is be like the Savior. He didn't revile 
when he was reviled. He didn't whine when he was put 
into excruciating circumstances. He didn't sort of, you know, 
maintain his innocence or demand his rights or demand mediation. No, he submitted himself, he 
committed himself to the father who judges righteously. So believers, 
all of us, we need to be like Jesus when it comes to these 
particular things in our lives. But in the larger scheme of redemptive 
history, this isn't exemplary first, it is redemptive. Christ 
went through what he went through in order to save us from our 
sins. He went through what he went through so that you and 
I might die to sin and live unto righteousness. He went through 
what he went through so that the wrath of God is no longer 
our foe. The Lord God Almighty has sent 
his Son into this world for sinners, for the likes of you and I. And 
I just want to conclude with this sort of summary statement. 
He took upon himself man's nature, for our salvation. He rendered, 
in the language of our confession of faith, personal, entire, exact, 
and perpetual obedience to God's law. He was holy, harmless, and 
undefiled. He was separate from sinners. 
He was, in the language of the prophet and the apostle, he had 
committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth. This is demonstrated 
in the fact that he didn't revile when he was reviled. He committed 
himself to him who judges righteously, and he does this. He does this 
for you and I. He does this so that we might 
have salvation. He does this that we might have 
the forgiveness of sins and the imputed righteousness of Jesus, 
and that we might live lives that are somewhat pleasing to 
God Almighty. Let's remember that together, 
the reality that we might live for righteousness. Things that 
we do don't matter in terms of, now listen to what I'm saying, 
trying to distinguish and qualify, in terms of our acceptance with 
God. We're justified on the basis of the active and the passive 
obedience of Jesus Christ. But in terms of our sanctification 
and what we do, that stuff does matter. As, you know, I think 
it was Luther said, God doesn't need your good works, but your 
neighbor does. Now, you know, we need to make sure we understand 
that as well. It does bring glory to God. You 
see that in the Apostle Peter here. They see your good works. 
It may silence them. It will glorify God Almighty. 
Jesus makes the same emphasis in the Sermon on the Mount. Let 
your lights so shine before men that they may see your good works 
and do what? Give glory to God. In other words, when you and 
I do something right, it's not that you and I get the credit, 
it's that God gets the glory, and that's the way it's designed 
to be. So take this particular passage to heart, praise God 
Almighty for it, and rejoice in the one who is the shepherd 
and overseer. Curiously, these are terms applied to the pastoral 
ministry, shepherd and overseer. We need to remember, under-shepherd 
and under-overseer. We are under the Lord Jesus Christ. 
He is the shepherd. He is the overseer. He is the 
owner of, the master of, and the one who has rule and authority 
over his church. Shepherds and overseers in a 
local church context are ministers. They are servants. They carry 
out the will of the master. They don't engage in authoritative, 
dictatorial sort of conduct. They are always bought with a 
price and they're called. to serve the Lord God Most High 
in a manner that is consistent with His revealed will. Let us 
pray. Father, we thank You for Your 
Word. We thank You for Christ's redemptive sufferings and death 
on behalf of His people. Thank You for including us in 
that blessed number. And God, may this passage speak 
great comfort to our hearts, because it tells us what Jesus 
did for us. As well, may it speak comfort 
to our hearts as it as it shows us what freedom we have, freedom 
from sin, freedom to righteousness, and the things that we see oftentimes 
in the New Testament. Give us grace, Lord God, to live 
in a manner that is consistent with your holy gospel, and do 
continue to conform us unto the image of your beloved Son. And 
we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.