1 Peter 2:22 - Printer Friendly

ESV: He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.

NIV: "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth."

NASB: HE who committed no sin, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT found IN HIS MOUTH;

CSB: He did not commit sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth;

NLT: He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone.

KJV: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:

NKJV: “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”;

Peter is making the case that Jesus' suffering during His earthly life was unjust. He suffered because He was doing what was right. That is, He endured the pain and sadness of His trials willingly, out of submission to His Father, and for our sake. However, this was never as a result of any wrongdoing on His part. Peter quotes from the prophecy of Isaiah 53:9, pointing to the coming Messiah. Jesus' innocence from sin included never being deceitful in any way.

This verse builds on 1 Peter 2:18–21. There, Peter has asserted that Christians are called to follow Jesus' example. We are to walk in His steps, and those steps may well cause us to suffering for doing good. We should expect this, and not see all suffering as a sign of our failure or of God's faithlessness (John 17:14–19). We will, in fact, be commended for enduring under that kind of suffering (1 Peter 2:20).

1 Peter 2:13–25 reveals God’s will for those who are free in Christ: to willingly submit to every human authority for God’s sake. This includes emperors, governors, kings, and even slave masters. Peter does not endorse slavery, but he does instruct Christian slaves to endure unjust suffering, as Jesus did for our sake on the cross. He does not expect us to ''obey'' when the instructions are sinful. Rather, Christians are called to imitate Christ by suffering for doing good. Because Jesus was willing to do so, we lost sheep are now under the protection of our shepherd.

Peter gets specific about what it means to live as God’s set-apart people. Christ is the foundation stone of the spiritual house God is building. We must engage in battle with our selfishness and desire to sin. This includes submitting to human authorities, no matter how evil or harsh. It means enduring suffering, as Christ did for our sake when He died on the cross. Our role is not to fight a physical war for justice here; we will be going home soon.

First Peter 1 described the glorious reality of our present and future as God’s children, by His grace and through our faith in Jesus. He called us a holy people redeemed by God for new purposes. That means believers must live differently than those in the world around us. In this chapter, Peter narrows down exactly what it means to lead a holy life, including doing battle with our own desire to sin. This also means suffering under human authorities, even unjust ones.

Some 30 years after the resurrection of Jesus, Christians are facing greater persecution for their faith. How should they respond? How should we respond to suffering today? The apostle Peter writes this letter both to comfort believers and to encourage them to stay strong. He urges them to put all their hope in their perfect future with Christ, and to obey and trust Him in the present, even in their suffering. Christ suffered greatly; now the Christ-followers have the opportunity to follow Him even in this, showing His grace and power in their hopefulness, obedience, and faith.

Accessed 12/21/2024 5:39:31 AM