1 Peter 2:18-25 (NKJV) Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. 19 For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. 20 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. 21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:
22 “Who committed no sin,
Nor was deceit found in His mouth”;
23 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; 24 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. 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Peter now addresses employer/employee, master/servant, etc. relationships and actions. These are God’s standards.
V18 “Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh.” Servants/slaves are the same Greek word. Context helps us understand which word is correct.. So, here it is most likely slaves. For these believers this is the opportunity to be a witness to one’s masters living the Gospel and leading a godly life with good attitudes and ethics.
From IVP Bible Background commentary:
“This passage addresses household slaves, who often had more economic and social mobility than free peasants did, although most of them still did not have much. Field slaves on massive estates were more oppressed; given the regions addressed (1Pe 1:1) and the nature of household codes (see comment on 1Pe 2:13-17), they are probably not addressed here and at most are peripherally envisioned. The most oppressed slaves, who worked in the mines, were segregated from the rest of society and would not have access to Peter’s letter; they are not addressed here at all.
“It should also be kept in mind that Peter does not address the institution of slavery per se, although his sympathy is clearly with the slave (1Pe 2:21): no ancient slave war was successful, and abolition was virtually impossible in his day except through a probably doomed bloody revolution. In this situation, it was far more practical for a pastor to encourage those in the situation to deal with it constructively until they could gain freedom. On slaves and household codes, questions of subsequent application and so forth, see comment on Eph 6:4-9 and the introduction to Philemon.”
V19 “For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully.” Conscience before God refers to our desire to glorify God is what we say and do under pressures of pleasures or grief. The Greek word for “grief” is (G3077) λύπη lýpē, which means sorrows and sadness (Strong’s). It may refer to 1) mourning (2 Corinthians 2:7), 2) Paul grieving over unrepentant Israel (Romans 9:2), 3) the emotion of not wanting to do something but feels compelled to (2 Corinthians 9:7), or 4) godly sorrow of repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10). God recognizes when someone suffers for the cause of Christ or from doing the correct thing, yet is verbally, and perhaps physically, punished. If we are, then the Bible asks us to commit our souls to God (as Jesus did–Luke 23:46)–1 Peter 4:19.
V20 “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.” Beating a slave is wrong yet can be an opportunity to grow in faith and patience (Romans 5:3) and be a witness to the master. The Greek word “patience”in Romans 5:3 is defined by Thayer’s as “steadfastness, constancy, endurance–1a) in the NT the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings“ It is a crime to assault anyone (https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/assault-battery-aggravated-assault-33775.html).
V21 “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps…” Jesus’s earthly life and ministry had many sorrows in His life including verbal and physical abuse. He had verbal abuse as rejection, mocking, torture, etc. See Isaiah 53:3.
V22 “…Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth…” Being sinless was necessary for our salvation because if Jesus had sinned, He would have died for His sin. Since Jesus never sinned in thoughts, desires, words, and deeds, He is qualified to be the perfect, flawless Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7). Jesus never lied. Every word He spoke was 100% truth. He is the only human who started sinless and died sinless. V22 is a quote from Isaiah 53:9.
V23 “…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…” This is an example of Jesus’s faithfulness to God the Father. When verbally abused, He did not return abuse. When He suffered, He did not seek revenge. Instead He committed all His suffering to God His Father who would in time punish all the evil committed upon His son. This was Jesus’s mission as the suffering servant. The next time Jesus comes and all see Him is to deliver Israel (Zechariah 14) and set up the Millennium kingdom (Daniel 2:44). Then crimes will be punished.
V24 “…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.” Jesus carried our sins. This is similar what the High Priest of Israel did in Leviticus 16:21. There was a transfer of our sins to be placed upon Jesus. Jesus did not sin but suffered the punishment for our sins. The tree is the crucifixion cross. Our faith in Jesus makes us justified. This is the main motive for ur living God’s way of life (righteousness). The stripes of the flog were part of Jesus’s suffering–Matthew 27:26. All of His suffering was to provide salvation for any human who, if they humble themselves and pray for forgiveness in faith to Jesus, will be saved.
V25 “For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” Peter is writing to believers. Sheep describe Israelis and Gentiles who believe. Compare Psalm 100:3, Matthew 26:31, Isaiah 53:6, and John 21:16-17. THE Shepherd is Jesus. He is the overseer, watcher, guardian of our souls (Matthew 10:28).
We learn:
- How to live and respond to suffering
- Jesus is our example in responding to suffering
- Jesus is our sinless Passover Lamb dying on the cross bearing our sins