Lesson 12

The Suffering Jesus: Our Substitute And Shepherd

I Peter 2:24-25

Jesus is our example. That's what Peter says in I Peter 2:21. "For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps."

The example of which Peter is speaking, is the example of a submissive attitude. Peter is instructing his readers about the kind of life that will most effectively manifest Christ to an ungodly culture. He says that as believers we are called to a submissive role in society, even when we are mistreated and abused.

That is the example that Jesus set. He was harshly mistreated. "He suffered" (v. 23) but did not sin, did not mis-speak at all. Christ maintained a quiet and submissive attitude during a time of intense suffering. And Peter says that in this way Jesus was our example. We, like Jesus are to be submissive, as we have already learned, to civil authority (2:13-17) and in the workplace (2:18-20). Peter points to Jesus as a model and as an example for us to follow.

But Peter wants us very much to know that Jesus is much more than just an example. The suffering of Jesus served as example for us, but it was much more than just a good example for us to follow. And so, in the last two verses of I Peter 2, Peter tells us that Jesus is more than an example. Christ is our substitute and our shepherd. (Let's read what the text says).

Christ, Our Substitute, 2:24.

This verse indicates the substitionary work of Christ on the cross. Earlier in this epistle, Peter referred to Christ as a "lamb without blemish and without spot" (1:19) whose blood redeemed us. Here, Peter returns to the theme.

It is the theme of a substitution - that an innocent victim gives his life for the guilty. That theme begins all the way back in the beginning, in Genesis 3, when God killed animals that He might clothe Adam and Eve. A ram died for Isaac (Genesis 22:13) and the Passover Lamb was slain annually for each Jewish household (Exodus 12). Here, Peter, who witnessed firsthand the suffering of Christ, explains why Jesus died on the cross. He wasn't just a martyr dying for a good cause. He wasn't just an example suffering in silence. He was God's own Lamb dying on the cross for our sins. "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree..."

II Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree. Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. I Peter 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God..."

Christ is our substitute. He himself (emphatic) bore our sins.

Whose sins? Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 1 John 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. Hebrews 2:9 But we see Jesus, who ... taste(d) death for every man.

How did Christ bear our sins? The text says that He did it "in his own body on the tree..." The death of Christ on the cross was the means by which Christ became the substitute for our sins.

"I should have been crucified

I should have suffered and died

I should have hung on the cross in disgrace

But Jesus God's Son took my place."

And the result of that is a three-fold blessing for me ...

1. I am now, "dead to sin"

2. I am now, "alive unto righteousness."

(See Romans 6:1-11).

3. I am now "healed by his stripes". This is a quotation from Isaiah 53:5 The punishment that Jesus bore in His body - the scourging, the mockery, the crucifixion - became a means for our spiritual healing.

Jesus is more than just our example. He is our substitute. He is God's own sacrificial Lamb.

Christ, Our Shepherd, 2:25.

Christ is not only God's sacrificial Lamb. He is "the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls."

Here, again, Peter is referring to Isaiah 53:6 "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way ..."

In Peter's words there is a contrast. You were (past tense) as sheep going astray. But now you are (present tense) returned to the Shepherd and Bishop (overseer) of your soul.

Jesus is the "good shepherd that laid down his life for the sheep" (John 10:11). He is one who shepherds and guards our souls.

Jesus is a good example to us. His example teaches us to be submissive even when we suffer for doing what is right.

But Jesus is much more than just a good example for us to follow. He is our Savior, our substitute, the One who took upon Himself our sins and died in our place. His suffering - our sins. His stripes - our spiritual health. And He is our Shepherd who guards and protects our souls.

Someone here needs to come to Christ and be saved. That's why we offer an invitation.