Peter
the apostle told the Christians who were “scattered” that
Jesus left “an example” of how they were to manage
suffering. Jesus “did no sin, nor was guile found in his mouth”
and when he was “reviled, he reviled not again”, and when
he “suffered”, he didn't “threaten”, but rather
“committed himself to him that judges
righteously”. In chapter two
and verse twenty-four of his letter, Peter referred to how Jesus
“bore our sins” where
we read:
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.
The
verse begins, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own
body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins,...”
Peter began with the words, “Who his own self”
which refers to “Jesus Himself” “bare”
or “carried, brought or lead up” “our sins”
which means “to be without a share in, to miss the mark, to err and
be mistaken” “in his own body”
or “his living body” “on the tree”
which refers to “wood or a beam from which any one is suspended, a
gibbet and a cross”, “that we”
which refers to “the living and alive scattered Christians and
Peter”, “being dead”
or “removed and departed from and to be dead” “to
sins” which means “to be
without a share in, to miss the mark, to err and be mistaken”.
Jesus took the penalty for our sins upon His own body as He died upon
the cross.
The
verse goes on to say, “...should live unto righteousness:
by whose stripes you were healed.”
Peter continued with the words, “should live”
or “breathe, be among the living or to enjoy real life” “unto
righteously” which means “with
integrity, virtue, purity of life, correctness of thinking, feeling
and acting”: “by whose stripes”
which means “bruises, wales and wound that trickle with blood”
“you were healed”
or “cured, made whole and free from errors and sins and to bring
about salvation”. The reason Jesus “bore our sins”
was so we “should live righteously”,
and as an additional benefit, we were cured and made whole by the
“stripes” He
received upon His back.
When
we think upon Peter's words, we are humbled as we consider that Jesus
“bore our sins” upon
the cross. Because we believe and trust in His provision for “our
sins”, we should “live
righteously”, and we have the
promise that “with his stripes”
we are “healed”.
We can find no other “example”
better than Jesus, and we should be grateful for all He has done for
us.
Next
time Peter shares how the Christians were “as
sheep going astray”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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