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In 1 Peter 2:21-25 we see that Christ is our Substitute, our Shepherd and Overseer, and our model.
First Peter 2:22-24 presents Christ as our Substitute.
Verses 22 and 23 tell us that the Lord Jesus “committed no sin, nor was guile found in His mouth; who being reviled did not revile in return; suffering, He did not threaten but kept committing all to Him who judges righteously.” It is indeed remarkable that no guile was found in the Lord’s mouth. Our lips and tongue cause much trouble. Many negative things have resulted from the improper use of our tongue and lips. It is not an easy matter to have no guile in our mouth. Consider how many mistakes we make in one day because of the things we say. Because we in ourselves cannot be without guile, Peter specifically says that no guile was found in the Lord’s mouth.
The Lord Jesus was suffering silently like a sheep before its shearers. When He was reviled, He did not revile in return. Today we need to learn of this model. If people revile us, we should not have any thought of avenging by reviling them in return.
The word all, inserted in verse 23, refers to all the sufferings of the Lord. The Lord kept committing all His insults and injuries to Him who judges righteously in His government, the righteous God, to whom He submitted Himself. This indicates that the Lord recognized God’s government while He was living a human life on earth.
When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He was under God’s government. Because the Lord lived under God’s government, He committed all His sufferings to God. Here Peter does not speak of God as the faithful One, but as the One who judges righteously. The reason for this is that judging righteously is a matter of God’s government.
When Christ was suffering under men’s persecution, He always kept committing all things to God who judges righteously, that is, to the righteous God. God the Father is the One who always judges righteously. This means that He governs in a righteous way. Christ put His trust in this righteous One. He lived a life absolutely under God’s government, and He committed everything related to Him to God’s judgment.
In verse 24 Peter goes on to tell us that Christ Himself “bore up our sins in His body on the tree, in order that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness; by whose bruise you were healed.” This verse points out that when the Lord offered up Himself as a sacrifice (Heb. 7:27) on the cross, He bore up our sins in His body on the cross, the true altar for propitiation.
First Peter 2:24 speaks of Christ as our Savior, our Redeemer. As our Savior, Christ “bore up our sins in His body on the tree.” The “tree” here is the cross made of wood, a Roman instrument of capital punishment used for the execution of malefactors, as prophesied in the Old Testament (Deut. 21:23; Gal. 3:13). First Peter 2:24 indicates that, as fallen human beings, we were dead and full of sins, but Christ put our sins upon Himself and bore them on the tree, the cross, where He suffered God’s righteous judgment for all our sins.
According to Isaiah 53:6, when Christ was on the cross, God took all our sins and put them on this Lamb of God. Hebrews 9:28 says that Christ has been “offered once to bear the sins of many.” Christ died once to bear our sins, and He suffered the judgment for us on the cross (Isa. 53:5, 11). Sins in 1 Peter 2:24, as in Hebrews 9:28, refer to sins we commit in our outward conduct, whereas sin in John 1:29 refers to the sin that is in our nature by birth. Christ died for our sins, bearing our sins on the cross, that we might be forgiven by God.
Through His death on the cross, we have died to sins. This means that through Christ’s death we were crucified with Him to sins so that we might live to righteousness, that is, live to God righteously. Literally, the expression having died to sins means “being away from; hence, having died to.” In the death of Christ we have died to sins (Rom. 6:8, 10-11, 18). We have died to sins so that we might live to righteousness. This living to righteousness is in the resurrection of Christ (Eph. 2:6; John 14:19; 2 Tim. 2:11). Righteousness is a matter of God’s government. We were saved so that we might live rightly under the government of God, that is, in a way that matches the righteous requirements of His government.
When Christ bore up our sins on the cross and died, that death accomplished many things. The death of Christ terminated us, and this termination can keep us away from sin. The best way for people to be kept from sins or from sin is for them to be put to death. No matter how many sins a person may commit, once he has died, death separates him from sins. Peter speaks of being away from sins; Paul speaks of the one who has died being free from sin (Rom. 6:1-11). Through Christ’s death we can be kept away from sins so that we may live to righteousness. Apparently, being kept away from sin terminates us; actually, it enlivens us so that we may live to righteousness.
According to 1 Peter 2:24, we have been healed by Christ’s bruise. The “bruise” in this verse is a suffering that resulted in death. According to Genesis 3:15, the seed of the woman will bruise the head of the serpent, and the serpent will bruise the heel of the woman’s seed. The bruising in Genesis 3:15 is related to the bruise in 1 Peter 2:24.
As fallen human beings, we were dead and full of sin (Eph. 2:1). But Christ put our sins upon Himself and bore them on the tree, the cross, where He suffered God’s righteous judgment for all our sins. Christ’s death on the cross was a bruise, and that bruise, that death, has healed our death. Now we have been made alive (v. 5). On the one hand, Christ’s bruise that heals us keeps us away from sins through His death; on the other hand, this healing enlivens us so that we may live to righteousness.
According to our dead, fallen nature, our intention is toward sins. But now that Christ died to heal our death and to make us alive, we have a different intention. Because of the life of Christ within us, we live always with the intention toward righteousness, the inclination toward righteousness. This is our Savior, the One who died on the cross to terminate us and to heal our death wound.
The subjective aspect of the cross continues in our experience today by the Spirit. The life-giving Spirit is working within us continually to carry out the subjective aspect of Christ’s cross in our being. Daily we are undergoing the inward working of the cross of Christ, and daily we are being made alive so that we may live to righteousness. Therefore, it is not difficult to overcome sins, because through Christ’s death we are being kept away from sins. His death has drawn a separating line between us and sins. Being kept away from sins, now we are alive. There is no need for us to strive or to try to energize ourselves. We simply live, and this living always has an inclination toward righteousness. This is the experience of our Savior saving us daily. We should not have only the objective cross but the subjective cross as well. The objective cross needs to become subjective to us in our experience. This depends upon the working of the life-giving Spirit within us. When we call on the name of the Lord and have fellowship with Him, the life-giving Spirit operates within us. Spontaneously we experience the subjective working of the cross to make a separation between us and sins so that we automatically live to righteousness.
First Peter 2:25 says, “You were like sheep being led astray, but you have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your soul.” This verse reveals Christ as the Shepherd and Overseer of our soul, our inner being. Christ was our Redeemer in His death on the tree (v. 24). Now He is our soul’s Shepherd and Overseer in the resurrection life within us. As such, He is able to guide us and supply us with life that we may follow in His steps according to the model of His suffering (v. 21).
As the Shepherd and Overseer, Christ takes care of us from within our spirit, not from the heavens. Today our Shepherd and Overseer is in our spirit, indwelling us as the life-giving Spirit. His shepherding and overseeing begin from our spirit and then spread to every part of our soul. This means that from our spirit Christ reaches the parts of our soul — the mind, emotion, and will — and takes care of all our problems, needs, and wounds.
Our soul is our inner being, our real person. Our Lord, as the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls, shepherds us by caring for the welfare of our inner being and by exercising His oversight over the condition of our real person. How good it is that we have Christ as our Shepherd! All the believers, from the youngest to the most mature, sense that they need such a Shepherd to take care of them. We all need the Lord to shepherd us. No one, including the angels, can shepherd us as adequately as He can. Our Shepherd is Jehovah the Savior; He is our good Shepherd (John 10:14). Christ is the only One who has no need for shepherding. He is the unique Shepherd, and He is shepherding us all. How good, sweet, and satisfying it is to have such a Shepherd who cares for our soul!
Our problem was that we were like sheep being led astray, but now we have returned, turned back, to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls. In 1 Peter 2:25 Peter is not using soul as a synonym of spirit. A shepherd takes care of the physical needs of his flock, and Christ our Shepherd takes care of the needs of our soul. Here Peter speaks of Christ not as the Shepherd of our body but as the Shepherd of our soul, our inner being. We all have a spirit, and the spirit is our inward organ. Yet our being is a soul. Therefore, Christ shepherds us mainly by taking care of our soul. This means that He takes care of our mind, emotion, and will.
We may think that our problems are with the body. No doubt, the body does give us many problems. Nevertheless, our real problem is in our soul. Our mind, emotion, and will all have problems. Unbelievers are wanderers in the soul, and they do not have a shepherd to take care of them. But our situation is different in that we have a Shepherd who takes care of our soul. Not only do we have the Lord’s life within us, but we also have Him as our Shepherd. He is now shepherding us in our soul. First Peter was written to Jewish believers who were suffering much persecution. Apparently, persecution is related to our body outwardly; actually, persecution is aimed at the soul. Because it is our soul that suffers, it is our soul that needs the Lord’s shepherding. It is not our body that needs this kind of care, nor is it mainly our spirit. It is our soul — our mind, emotion, and will — that needs the Lord as the Shepherd.
In our experience sometimes we do not know what to think about. We do not know where to direct our thoughts. This is an indication that our mind needs the Lord Jesus as the Shepherd. As a result of His shepherding, our mind is directed and set in the right way.
Our emotion, being complicated, is easily upset. Therefore, we need the Lord Jesus to shepherd us in our emotion. His shepherding comforts our emotion.
Our will also needs the Lord’s shepherding. As human beings, we often find it difficult to make the right decision. Sometimes the most difficult thing to do is to make a decision. Unbelievers have no one to lead them and guide them in making decisions, but we have a Shepherd to lead us and guide us. The Lord’s leading and guiding is primarily related to our will. As the living Shepherd, the Lord continually directs our will. The Lord is truly the Shepherd of our soul. He directs our mind, comforts our emotion, and leads and guides our will.
According to our experience, there is a difference between leading and guiding. Leading, like a road map, points us to a destination, whereas guidance directs us to the exact place where we want to go. In the Bible some verses speak of the Lord’s leading, and others, of His guiding. The Lord leads His people to the holy land (Amos 2:10; Gen. 15:18-21), but once He has led them there, He guides them to Mount Zion (Exo. 15:13, 17; Isa. 8:18; 18:7). As our Shepherd, the Lord leads us first and then guides us. He leads us to the right place, and He guides us to the exact spot. This is Christ, our Shepherd.
In order to be our living Shepherd, Christ needs to dwell within us. If Christ today were not the life-giving Spirit in us, if He were only the exalted Lord in an objective way in the third heaven, how could He be our Shepherd? For Christ to be our Shepherd, He must be with us, even in us.
Many times Christ goes along with us in order to turn us back. Consider how the Lord was the Shepherd to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus. These disciples were going in one direction, but the Lord went with them in order to turn them to go in another direction. Luke 24:15 says, “While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.” Then He asked them what they were talking about. In a sense, these disciples rebuked the Lord when one of them said, “Do You alone dwell as a stranger in Jerusalem and not know the things which have taken place in it in these days?” (v. 18). Then the Lord asked, “What things?” (v. 19). After walking a while together, they constrained the Lord to stay with them (v. 29). Then as He took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them, “their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him” (vv. 30-31). This is an example of the Lord’s shepherding.
Sometimes the Lord shepherds us in the same way that He shepherded the disciples on the road to Emmaus. We also may speak to Him in a nonsensical way or ask Him nonsensical questions. We may even rebuke Him, and He may pretend not to know what we are talking about. Many of us can testify of having the Lord Jesus shepherd us in this way. As the life-giving Spirit dwelling within us, He is the Shepherd to us in our experience.
According to the word in 1 Peter 2:25, Christ is also the Overseer of our souls. The Greek word for overseer means “one who oversees a particular condition or situation.” As the Overseer of our soul, our being, He is looking after us and watching over us. He always follows us, watching over us. No human being, whether he or she be our parent or spouse, can accompany us and oversee us constantly. Only the Lord Jesus can oversee our soul all the time. How blessed we are to have such an overseer!
According to our experience, the Lord as the Overseer is the One who cares for us. For Him to oversee us means that He takes care of us. As the Overseer, the Lord does not govern us or rule over us; rather, He cares for us as a mother oversees her child with the purpose of caring for the child and meeting his every need.
Christ’s shepherding of His flock includes His caring for their outward things and also their inner being, their soul. He takes care of the things concerning their soul by overseeing their soul. Christ indwells us to be our life and everything, but He is also overseeing, observing, the condition and situation of our inner being.
In verses 19 and 20, Peter says, “This is grace, if anyone, because of a consciousness of God, bears sorrows by suffering unjustly. For what glory is it if, while sinning and being buffeted, you endure? But if, while doing good and suffering, you endure, this is grace with God.” Based upon what he says in verses 19 and 20, Peter goes on to say in verse 21, “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered on your behalf, leaving you a model so that you may follow in His steps.” Christ’s living on earth was a model of this grace. We were called to follow Him in His steps, taking Him as the model of our Christian life.
Verse 21 opens with the words, “For to this you were called.” The word this in verse 21 refers to the unjust sufferings, the suffering for doing good, mentioned in verses 19 and 20. This means that we were called to suffer unjustly. We would be happy to hear that we have been called to the kingdom and to God’s glory. These are marvelous things. But probably very few of us, whether young or old, have realized from verse 21 that we have been called to suffer unjust treatment.
Verse 21 clearly says that we have been called to suffer unjustly because Christ suffered on our behalf and left us a model so that we may follow in His steps. Literally, the Greek word rendered “model” means “a writing copy, an underwriting (used by students to trace letters and thereby learn to draw them).” The Lord has set His suffering life before us so that we can copy it by tracing and following His steps. This does not refer to a mere imitation of Him and His life but to a reproduction of Him that comes from enjoying Him as grace in our sufferings so that He Himself as the indwelling Spirit, with all the riches of His life, reproduces Himself in us. We become the reproduction of the original writing copy, not a mere imitation of Him produced by taking Him as our outward model.
As we read 2:18-25, we see that Peter was very rich in the experience of Christ. In this portion he speaks of grace, the model, the Substitute, the Shepherd, and the Overseer. Christ is the life within us, and He is also the model for us to follow. If we live by Christ as our inward life, that is, by the indwelling Christ Himself, we will become a reproduction of Christ. At the same time, we will experience Him as the Substitute saving us, as the Shepherd leading and guiding us, and as the Overseer caring for us. May we all practice to enjoy Christ according to what is revealed in these verses. May we all enjoy Him as grace, as the model, and as the wonderful Savior, Shepherd, and Overseer.
