1 Peter 2:20b1-25 is given as the theological motive for the attitude that baptized house slaves should have towards the suffering they experience as they go about their daily lives. Understood within the context of a family code for Christiansa, in an epistle that takes into consideration the situation of Christians in a world that is hostile to them, these passages can also become an inspiration for any Christian placed in a context where he/she faces the reality of unjust suffering on a daily basis.
1 Peter 2:20b-25 can be divided as follows:
- Your calling: To bear your suffering patiently (vv. 20b-21)
- The example of Christ, the Innocent One who Suffered (vv. 22-24)
- Following such an example is consistent with what you have become (v. 25)
"...to this you have been called..." (v.21)
The author prefaces his description of Christ's suffering with the declaration "to this you have been called (v. 21)". The phrase is found again in 3:9. In the epistle, the verb for "to call", whether in the passive or active form, appears six times (1:15;2:9.21;3:6.21;5:10). Except for 3:6 (here, Sara is the subject of the verb), all the occurences refer to the new dignity in which the Christians have been placed by God and the responsibilities that flow from their status. They are called to be holy as God is holy (1:15), called out of darkness to dwell in His light (2:9), to inherit a blessing (3:9), and called to be in eternal glory (5:10). Among the responsibilities flowing from their status is to follow the example left by Christ.
The example (hypogrammon) left by Christ is described in 21b-24. In a previous section (1:17-19), the readers of 1 Peter were exhorted to
pass the time of your sojourning here in reverent fear
knowing that you were redeemed,
not with corruptible things
, with silver or gold,
from the useless way of life handed down from your fathers,
but with the precious blood, as of a lamb without spot, the blood of Christ
They are therefore exhorted to spend their "time of sojourning" (cf. 2:11 "travelling foreigners and pilgrims") constantly reminded of the price of their new existence (cf. 1:3.23). A feature of existence that Christians are also subjected to is suffering. The author underlines this in 1:6-7. In a world that is hostile to them, the tribulations Christians undergo is for bringing out the genuineness of thier faith. Like a piece of coal before it is revealed to be a diamond, the Christian's patient endurance to suffering becomes the way for what is beautiful and precious in him/her to come to light.
The example of Christ, the Suffering Just One
The description of the example that Christ left behind is couched in the language of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53:4-7. Below is an illustration of how Isaiah 53 is used in 1 Peter 2:22-24.
It has been suggested that 1 Peter 2:22-24 is part of a hymn based on Isaiah 53 and incorporated into the epistle. If this is correct then the source of this section would be the liturgy2. In 2 Peter 2:22-23, stress is given on the silence of Jesus. No deceit was in his mouth (22), he didn't curse back, not threatening (23). The synoptic account of Jesus trial, suffering and death emphasize his silence before those who accused him wrongly, struck him blows and reviled him on the cross. Isaiah 53:7 is at the background of Jesus' silence: he was mute, "like the lamb led to slaughter". In 1 Peter 2: 24, the vicarious aspect of the suffering of Christ on the cross ("on the tree") is emphasized, as exemplified in the reference to Isaiah 53:5 "by his wounds we are healed" and the allussion to 53:6b "Yahweh laid on him the iniquity of us all" (cf. 1 Pet. 2:24a).
Interwoven among these allussions and references to Isaiah 53:4-7 are three ideas about Jesus that are drawn from Christian conviction:
(a) Jesus did not suffer because of his own sins ("He did not sin") ;
(b) Jesus all throughout his passion, entrusted himself "to the one who judges justly"
(c) Jesus died in order that Christians, after having died to sins (in baptism) may live in righteousness
"He did not sin..."
The first item -- "He did not sin" -- is a conviction that other New Testament writers express in their proclamation about the Innocent One. It is part of the early Church's kerygma, as shown in the Acts of the Apostles. Here in 1 Peter, there is an added nuance. In 1 Peter 2:19-20, the author exhorts members of the Christian community who are house slaves (hoi oiketai) to bear their sufferings with patience as a feature of their "beautiful behavior" and "good works" (kala ... erga ) during this time of sojourning (cf. 2:12), provided that such sufferings do not derive from their "sins"
19This is grace:
if because of one's consciousness (syneidesis) of God one bears some grief, suffering unjustly.
For what honor is there if you endure blows because of your sins?
But if in doing what is good, you are made to bear suffering
then this is grace before God.
"To suffer though innocent" is called "grace" here. While the word itself has different meanings throughout the epistle, here, it can mean the quality which makes one "commendable" (a synonym of the Greek word kleoV, kleos "credit, honor"). Later in the epistle, the author will refer to this as "sharing in the sufferings of Christ" (cf. 4:13)
Jesus entrusted himself to the Father.
First, a word about the translation of 2:23b
tradebat autem iudicanti se iniuste (Vulg. Clem.)
he handed himself over to the one who judges justly (NAB)
placed his hopes in God, the righteous judge (Good News)
This apparent diversity in translations is due to the verb paredidou not having an object. Translators have to supply the missing object (although there are some manuscripts that bear "himself" as an object) . Another difficulty -- albeit minor -- is in some variant readings having "to the one who judges unjustly" like the Vulgate. This is owed to a manuscript -- from Cyprian -- having "adikwV" instead of " dikaiwV". The adverb "unjustly" (adikwV) was used because the verb "paradidomi" is the verb of betrayal in the Passion narratives. Is this the case of a copyist trying to make the text look more familiar? What probably surprised the copyist was that the verb for betrayal had an indirect object that has no equivalent in the passion accounts: a just judge. This is a difficult reading that would make any textual critic vote for the originality of "to the who judges justly." In any case, the sense of 1 Peter 2:23 is that Jesus handed himself over to God, the Judge "who judges justly". The NAB is closer here to the wording of the original. The Good News translation, inspired by Psalm 22 (which is extensively used in the Passion narratives) makes the phrase easier to understand.
In 1 Peter 1:17 the author describes the "Father" as "no respecter of persons". It is a description that echoes Old Testament descriptions of God as impartial in judgment, the epitome of the Just Judge. In describing Jesus as one who "handed himself" over to the Father, the author has in mind a definite attitude that he wishes his addressees to adopt: to take up their whole situation in life and put it in the hands of the Father. It is like the attitude of the Innocent Sufferer in Psalm 22 who entrusts himself to the judgment of God and knows he will be vindicated.
Jesus died that the baptized may live for righteousness.
The line "so that we, having no part in sins may live for righteousness" is found framed between lines describing how Jesus took up our sins on the cross. The present situation of Christians -- those living for righteousness -- derives from the cross of Christ. The example that Jesus left behind is also the basis for the present status of Christians as those "living for righteousness". It is not something external to the Christian life but is the very ground so to speak from which it springs.
Now, you are restored...
Verse 25 is based on Isaiah 53:6 that the author changes to suit the present situation of his community. The first two lines of Isaiah 53 goes
All of us were like sheep gone astray
everyone turned to his own way...
The author transforms the second line to fit the new situation of his hearers as those who have been purchased by Christ. He uses the verb epistrefein, the NT word for conversion with the indirect object as "the Shepherd and Overseer (episkopos) of your souls" rather than the original "to his own way". In this epistle, Jesus is "the Great Shepherd" (archipoimenos) (5:4). The phrase "Shepherd ... of your souls" may mean to some that Jesus has something to do with the "spiritual" aspect of the human life. However, the word "soul" is used in 1 Peter as meaning "person/self" (cf. 3:20. Or, the "I". This is also a meaning of the Hebrew nephesh.). Thus, an exact -- though not necessarily nice translation -- of the phrase is "the Shepherd ... of yourselves." There is no dichotomy in the expression, as if there is an aspect of the Christian's life that does not fall under the care of the Great Shepherd.
A note for Good Shepherd Sunday (Year A)
The present text is combined with John 10:1-10 for the liturgy of the Fourth Sunday of Easter (Good Shepherd Sunday). The relevant section of the letter that justifies the combination is verse 25 where Christ is called "the Shepherd and "Bishop" (EpiskopoV, literally, "Overseer")". The context of this verse is a description of the passion and death of Christ, as was described above. The theme of the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep as found in John 10 relates well with the passage.
a 1 Peter 2:11 - 3:12 constitutes the second part of the first epistle of Peter. It contains the ethical consequences of the dignity and status of Christians. 2:11-12 and 3:8-9 are general exhortatons that form a frame around a central more specific set of guidelines for Christian living. The whole is concluded in 3:10-12 with a quotation from the Psalms.
The central portion can be divided thus:
2:13-17 Submit to all human creatures because of the Lord
2:18-25 Instruction to slaves...
3:1-6 ... to wives
3:7 ... to husbands
One of the keywords in this section is "to submit oneself". Christians find themselves inserted in a social situation where the general populace do not share their convictions. They are "strangers", "sojourners", a minority whose new existence is owed, not to the society that surrounds them, but to God who, like them, is a stranger in that society. Common decency requires that people who are staying in a place not their own behave in such a way that the owners do not have anything against them. The author of 1 Peter "theologizes" on this ethical principle in composing his "encyclical" on Christian presence in a hostile world. 1 The letter following a verse number indicates that the verse specified is just a part of a longer verse. As it stands, 1 Peter 2:20 runs this way:
20 (a)But what credit is there if you are patient when beaten for doing wrong?
(b) But if you are patient when you suffer for doing what is good, this is a grace before God.
If you would notice, the first line is already a complete sentence followed by another also with a complete idea. The letters in parenthesis were added as an additional reference. Like the numbered verses themselves, these merely facilitate referencing parts of Scriptures and not inspired. This "additional" way of referencing scriptural passages is most often found in liturgical texts and in books or articles where not only whole verses but also their parts are discussed and explained.
2. As is also the case, for example, of Phil. 2:6-11.
