Peter now addresses slaves, and instructs them to submit to their masters, irrespective of whether or not they are kind and considerate. How much more should we apply this to our own situations, which are almost certainly way better than that of a 1st century slave? Behaving well, even under grossly unfair treatment, is a true sign of belonging to God. We find this sort of teaching hard to take, for our natural reaction is to complain how unjust it is.
Peter cites Jesus as an example and motivation for this teaching. He is the supreme example of suffering unjustly. We too must be prepared to do likewise, and if we do it is commendable before God. Pleasing God is to be out first priority.
The answer to the objection that this teaching is unfair or just plain impracticable is to look at Jesus. He was insulted and suffered unimaginably. Yet He did not retaliate. Remember too that Peter had sought to defend Jesus by cutting off one of the soldier's ears, but was rebuked by Jesus.
Jesus did not retaliate because He entrusted Himself to God, rather than taking the task of judging upon Himself. In so doing Jesus took upon Himself our sins, so that we could die to sin and live for righteousness. By His wounds we have been healed. This is often applied in the context of physical healing, but the primary context hear seems to be healing of sin, and we should take it in that way. By the way, Isaiah 53 does have relevance for physical healing, for Matthew quotes Isaiah 53:4 in Matthew 8:16,17, it just seems that the "by His stripes .." bit is not the relevant bit!
Once we were going astray, but now we have returned to the shepherd of our souls. We need to listen to Him and to follow His guiding and example.
Peter cites Jesus as an example and motivation for this teaching. He is the supreme example of suffering unjustly. We too must be prepared to do likewise, and if we do it is commendable before God. Pleasing God is to be out first priority.
The answer to the objection that this teaching is unfair or just plain impracticable is to look at Jesus. He was insulted and suffered unimaginably. Yet He did not retaliate. Remember too that Peter had sought to defend Jesus by cutting off one of the soldier's ears, but was rebuked by Jesus.
Jesus did not retaliate because He entrusted Himself to God, rather than taking the task of judging upon Himself. In so doing Jesus took upon Himself our sins, so that we could die to sin and live for righteousness. By His wounds we have been healed. This is often applied in the context of physical healing, but the primary context hear seems to be healing of sin, and we should take it in that way. By the way, Isaiah 53 does have relevance for physical healing, for Matthew quotes Isaiah 53:4 in Matthew 8:16,17, it just seems that the "by His stripes .." bit is not the relevant bit!
Once we were going astray, but now we have returned to the shepherd of our souls. We need to listen to Him and to follow His guiding and example.
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