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.