1 Peter 2:23 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

NIV: When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.

NASB: and while being abusively insulted, He did not insult in return; while suffering, He did not threaten, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;

CSB: when he was insulted, he did not insult in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.

NLT: He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.

KJV: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:

NKJV: 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;

Peter builds on the theme of previous verses. Christians are called to suffer for doing good because we follow in the steps of Jesus. He endured extreme suffering while being completely innocent. He serves as our example of how to live as Christians when we are mistreated though guiltless. This verse explains how the innocent Christ responded when He was victimized. To be reviled is to be abusively insulted. Our human instinct is to throw insults back. Jesus refused to retaliate to the angry insults of Jewish religious leaders, the Roman guards, or those taunting Him while He was on the cross.

More, when physically attacked, beaten, tortured, and crucified, He refused even to threaten those who were hurting Him. Jesus would not have had to rely on bluffs, or empty threats, of course. After Peter cut off the ear of the high priest's servant in a foolish attempt to defend Jesus from being arrested, Jesus said to him, "Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?" (Matthew 26:53).

Instead, Jesus exercised great self-control. He resisted any urge to retaliate, insult, or even rightly describe the coming judgment of God. How did He do it? It wasn't just self-control. Jesus made a choice in the moment to trust God, His Father, to be the perfect judge at the perfect time. He trusted that His Father would vindicate Him, would execute justice, would provide all that was needed. So Jesus was free to fulfill His purpose and not make justice for Himself.

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.