1 Peter 2:23 Commentary and Bible Study

By taking our nature the Lord put himself within reach of sinful men and women who by their harsh words and cruel actions took the opportunity to pour contempt upon him. He suffered ill treatment not deserved by any law-abiding man, let alone by the eternal Son of God. In amazing humility he was ready to accept this without doing anything in return. He never retaliated. He never answered in kind maliciously. When he suffered so grievously, vastly more than we would ever suffer, he threatened not. But he could have done. He of all people could have done. He could have said to them, ‘You do this to me, and I will condemn you everlastingly’, and he could have shown some token. ‘But committed himself to him that judgeth righteously’, to the Father. He was God himself, but of course, while he was on earth – until his resurrection, right through Calvary – he was living as a man. Though he kept the power of God, the power of divinity, which he could have exercised, he did not do so, because he was representing us and taking our place. He had to live a perfect life as a man in order to be our Saviour, to suffer and die on our behalf. It was his life of perfect obedience, under phenomenal provocation, that earns heaven for all of us. His suffering and death did away with our guilt; his life of obedience and righteousness deserved our eternal bliss – the two sides of the work of Christ. So, because he was taking our place and humbling himself and accepting humiliation like a man, he committed himself to the fairness of Almighty God. The secret of his equanimity was his trust in his God and Father. Peter tells us how he maintained his walk, because we too can overcome the world by following Christ’s example: he committed his way ‘to him that judgeth righteously’. That name is particularly relevant because the judgment that he received at the hands of men was by contrast so unrighteous. What did the Father do in response? He approved the resurrection. By his own power he was raised from the dead with the full approval of the Father, to show that his offering on Calvary was successful. He ascended into heaven, and on the Day of Pentecost he poured out from heaven above his all-powerful blessing and 3000 people were converted in one day, followed by another 5000, and the gospel went throughout the known world. God vindicated him. God gave him a people, and the Holy Spirit came down and, over time, worked in the hearts of millions and millions of people: the massive vindication of Christ, patiently carrying out his duty. We cannot measure the magnitude of the injustice against him, because we do not know the full dignity of his person, and yet he did not respond as so many do in this world with angry indignation. He was content for his Godhead to be unknown, and to wait for the time that God would exalt him to the highest position and give him a name which is above every name. Until then he was content that his Father knew who he was, even though ignorant men and women remain in darkness about his true identity. If men did not know him during his life, it was by the will of God, and he knew that a time was coming when every knee would bow to him. The unbelief of men could take nothing of real value from him, and he remained the same, yesterday, today, and forever. He did not cling to the recognition of his heavenly glory which he had with the Father before he came into the world.