Peter Exhorts the Persecuted Believers Volume 26

 Christ Suffered for our Sins that We (by His Grace) can now Die to Sins & live unto Righteousness

1 Peter 2:23-25 Who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously: Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. KJV Note: NKJV=New King James Version

As the Apostle Peter concludes his discourse on our submitting to the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, he once again reminds us of the conduct and behavior of our Lord Jesus Christ with these words, "Who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously:" (1 Peter 2:23) (KJV). The desire to see these people redeemed by Him was His overriding ambition, therefore, He exemplified power over anger. For us this is impossible without the grace of God working mightily within us, for in our humanity we will to and want to and wait to strike back at the reviling and to even complain bitterly because of it. We are to hand ourselves and our cause over to our Father in Heaven who sees all and knows all and will render just judgement against any who come against us with malicious intent. Here is what the JFB Commentary had to say of 1 Peter 2:23, "Servants are apt to 'answer again' (Titus 2:9). Threats of divine judgment against oppressors are often used by those who have no other arms, as for instance, slaves. Christ, who as Lord could have threatened with truth, never did so." As we see Jesus Christ our Lord and know Him, we know that He knows all of the truth and sees all that are lies that come against any of us His brethern and sisteren and will give to us tranquillity and comfort in the midst of every attack from the enemy (the devil 👿) through the two-legged devils he uses against us. Here is what Adam Clarke had to say of 1 Peter 2:23, "Though He could have inflicted any kind of punishment on His persecutors, yet to give us, in this respect also, an example that we should follow His steps, He committed His cause to Him who is the righteous Judge. To avoid evil tempers, and the uneasiness and danger of avenging ourselves, it is a great advantage in all such cases to be able to refer our cause to God, and to be assured that the Judge of all the earth will do right."

The Apostle Peter now turns our attention to the very end of Christ patience in afflictions and His not reviling back at the weak human men who believed themselves to have power over Him, remember these words spoken to Pilot, "Jesus answered, 'You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.'" (John 19:11) (NKJV), for Christ alone had the Power to give up His life or lay it down and also to take His life back up again, as it is written, "Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father." (John 10:17-18) (NKJV). Therefore, we can more clearly see what the Apostle Peter saw 'in Christ' all those years walking/living with Him during His earthly ministry (even though during much or all  of those three (3) years Peter did not understand and even allowed Satan to speak through him wanting to stop 🛑 our Lord Jesus from going to the Cross ➕ (remember), "From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, 'Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!' But He turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.'" (Matthew 16:21-23)(NKJV), but now a post Pentecost Peter/Holy Spirit filled and controlled Peter writes to those other born again Jews who have been scattered from Jerusalem do to persecution these words to them and to us today (who still receive the same persecution because the source of it comes from the same devil 👿 then and now), "Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls." (1 Peter 2:24-25) (KJV). The end goal or the ultimate aim was for Jesus Christ our Lord to 'bare' our sins in His own Body and this little English word is translated by the Greek word anapherō meaning to take up (literally or figuratively): or to carry or to offer up or to take away. In other words, Christ has offered up and carried away all of my sin (and everyone who has come to His Cross ➕ in repentance and faith) into heaven and presented them at the Mercy seat in Heaven as 'paid in full by His Blood', so then when my Father in Heaven sees me, He sees me as sinless like My Brother the Lord Jesus Christ, as it is written, "Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people." (Hebrews 2:17) (NKJV) (one named Clifford DeWayne Tate, Sr.), for as it is also written, "As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us." (Psalms 103:12) (NKJV). With this being THE Truth, why would I or any truly born again son or daughter of our King compromise for some temporary comfort or pleasure on the earth 🌎 when we will have all of eternity to bask, that is, derive or receive pleasure from; get enjoyment from; take pleasure in Him and His love forever and all the vast riches in Him and in Heaven and all of His creation, for we are back home from our wondering to the Creator of our souls and the sustainer of our earthly lives and our eternal lives. Amen!!!

Here is what the Expositors' Bible Commentary has to say of 1 Peter 2:24-25, "The Bible recognizes everywhere the analogy between sin and sickness. May we not trace some analogy between the Lord’s works of healing and that mightier deliverance from sin won by Christ upon the cross, an analogy which may help, if but a little, to give meaning to the bearing by Christ of human sins? A power went forth when the sick were healed; and through that imparted power they were restored to health, faith being the pathway which brought the Divine virtue to their aid. Thus Jesus bore their diseases and took them away. Look through this figure on the work of our redemption. Christ has borne the burden of sin. He has died for sin that men may die from sin, that sin may be slain in us, the fell disease healed by the power of His suffering. We cannot comprehend what was done for the’ sick when Christ was on earth, nor what is wrought for sinners by His grace in heaven. Those alone who reap the blessing know its certainty; and they can but say, as the blind man whose sight was restored, 'One thing I know: that, whereas I was blind, now I see.' (John 9:25). To this teaching, that Christ’s suffering wrought man’s rescue, St. Peter adds emphasis by another quotation from that chapter of Isaiah which he has so much in mind: 'by whose stripes ye were healed.' Christ was stricken, and God grants to His sufferings a power to heal the souls of those whom He loves because they strive to love Him. Healing through wounds! Soundness through that which speaks only of injury! Mysterious dispensation! But long ago it had been foreshadowed, and shown also how little connection there was to be, except through faith, between the remedy and the disease. Those who were bitten of the serpents in the wilderness gazed on the brazen serpent, and were healed. In the dead brass was no virtue, but God was pleased to make of it a speaking sacrament; so has it pleased Him to give healing of sins to those who by faith appropriate the sacrifice on Calvary. Christ has claimed the type for Himself: 'I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Myself.' (John 12:32). And now, as is so often his wont, St. Peter varies the figure. The wounded sinner finding cure becomes the wandering sheep that has been brought back into the fold: 'for ye were going astray like sheep, but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.' But the message, the teaching, the love, is all the same. He who before was the great Exemplar, whose footsteps we should follow, is now the Shepherd, the Good Shepherd, who goes before His sheep. This Shepherd has been a Sufferer, too. He has given Himself up as prey to the wolves that His flock might be saved. Now, with a voice of love, He calls His sheep by name; and hearing, they follow Him. But He is more than this. Brought within the fold, the sheep still need His care; and it is freely given. He is the Bishop, the Overseer, the Watchman for His people’s safety, who, having gathered them within the ‘fold, tends them with constant watchfulness. The figure passes over thus into the reality in the Apostle’s closing words. The cure which the great Healer desires to accomplish is in the souls of men. For them His care is bestowed, first to bring them safe out of the way of evil, then forever to keep them under the sheltering care of His abundant love."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.


Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…