1 Peter 2:22

2:18-25 Servants in those days generally were slaves, and had heathen masters, who often used them cruelly; yet the apostle directs them to be subject to the masters placed over them by Providence, with a fear to dishonour or offend God. And not only to those pleased with reasonable service, but to the severe, and those angry without cause. The sinful misconduct of one relation, does not justify sinful behaviour in the other; the servant is bound to do his duty, though the master may be sinfully froward and perverse. But masters should be meek and gentle to their servants and inferiors. What glory or distinction could it be, for professed Christians to be patient when corrected for their faults? But if when they behaved well they were ill treated by proud and passionate heathen masters, yet bore it without peevish complaints, or purposes of revenge, and persevered in their duty, this would be acceptable to God as a distinguishing effect of his grace, and would be rewarded by him. Christ's death was designed not only for an example of patience under sufferings, but he bore our sins; he bore the punishment of them, and thereby satisfied Divine justice. Hereby he takes them away from us. The fruits of Christ's sufferings are the death of sin, and a new holy life of righteousness; for both which we have an example, and powerful motives, and ability to perform also, from the death and resurrection of Christ.

And our justification; Christ was bruised and crucified as a sacrifice for our sins, and by his stripes the diseases of our souls are cured. Here is man's sin; he goes astray; it is his own act. His misery; he goes astray from the pasture, from the Shepherd, and from the flock, and so exposes himself to dangers without number. Here is the recovery by conversion; they are now returned as the effect of Divine grace. This return is, from all their errors and wanderings, to Christ. Sinners, before their conversion, are always going astray; their life is a continued error.

1 Peter 2:22 . Ὃς ἁμαρτίαν οὐκ ἐποίησεν , οὐδὲ εὑρέθη δόλος , κ . τ . λ ., who did no sin, neither was guile found , etc.) Isaiah 53:9 , Septuagint, ὅτι ἀνομίαν οὐκ ἐποίησεν , οὐδὲ δόλον ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτοῦ , that is, He committed neither open nor secret sin . Words most suitable for the admonition of servants, who easily fall into sins and deceits, reproaches towards their fellow-servants, and threats, arising from anger without strength.

i.e. There was no guile in his mouth; it is a Hebraism; to be found is the same as to be, and not to be found the same as not to be, Genesis 2:20 Isaiah 39:2 : see Romans 7:10 . This signifies Christ’s absolute perfection, in that he did not offend so much as with his mouth, Jam 3:2 . The sense is, Christ was free from all manner of sin, and yet he suffered patiently; and therefore well may ye be content to suffer too, though wrongfully; seeing, though ye may be innocent in your sufferings, yet you come so far short of Christ’s perfection.

1 Peter 2:22 = Isaiah 43:9 , ἁμ . being put for ἀνομίαν ( חמם ) and εὑρ . δόλος (so [149]c[150] [151] [152], etc.) for δόλον (= Heb.) of LXX. The latter variation is due to conjunction of Zephaniah 3:13 , οὐ μὴ εὑρεθῇ έν τῷ στόματι αὐτῶν γλῶσσα δολία : Christ being identified with the Remnant. The former appears in the Targum: “that they might not remain who work sin and might not speak guile with their mouth”. [149] Codex Sinaiticus (sæc. iv.), now at St. Petersburg, published in facsimile type by its discoverer, Tischendorf, in 1862. [150]a Codex Sinaiticus (sæc. iv.), now at St. Petersburg, published in facsimile type by its discoverer, Tischendorf, in 1862. [151] Codex Alexandrinus (sæc. v.), at the British Museum, published in photographic facsimile by Sir E. M. Thompson (1879). [152] An eighth century version of Codex Vaticanus

22. Illustrating Christ's well-doing (1Pe 2:20) though suffering. did—Greek aorist. "Never in a single instance did" [Alford]. Quoted from Isa 53:9, end, Septuagint. neither—nor yet: not even [Alford]. Sinlessness as to the mouth is a mark of perfection. Guile is a common fault of servants. "If any boast of his innocency, Christ surely did not suffer as an evildoer" [Calvin], yet He took it patiently (1Pe 2:20). On Christ's sinlessness, compare 2Co 5:21; Heb 7:26.

22 . Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth ] It is suggestive as indicating the line of prophetic interpretation in which the Apostle had been led on, that as soon as he begins to speak of the sufferings of Christ, he falls, as it were, naturally into the language of Isaiah 53:9 , as he found it (with the one exception that he gives “sin” for “iniquity”) in the LXX. version. The two clauses assert for the righteous sufferer a perfect sinlessness both in act and word.

Verse 22. - Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. St. Peter is quoting the Septuagint Version of Isaiah 53:9 , almost exactly, the word ἁμαρτίαν , sin, being substituted for ἀνομίαν , lawlessness ("violence" in our version). We should notice that the Messiah, whose example is here set before Christian slaves, is called by the prophet "the Servant of Jehovah" (Isaiah lit. 13). Slaves were often tempted to deceit and guile; they must look to the Lord Jesus, and strive to copy his innocence and his truth. The verb εὑρίσκεσθαι , to be found, is sometimes said to be used, by a Hebraism, for the simple verb "to be." Winer says, "Between these two verbs, however, there is always this distinction, that, whilst εϊναι , indicates the quality of a thing in itself, εὑρίσκεσθαι indicates the quality in so far as it is discovered, detected, recognized, in the subject" ('Greek Grammar,' 65:8). 1 Peter 2:22

(22) Who did no sin. —This verse is not to be taken by itself, but in the closest conjunction with the following. It is not the sinlessness of Christ by itself that is here set as an example before the servants, but His sinlessness in combination with His ill-treatment, or rather, His meekness under the combination. St. Peter again adapts the words of Isaiah ( Isaiah 53:9 ) to his purpose. The word there was one of violent transgression; St. Peter substitutes the simple word which he had used in 1Peter 2:20 , “fault”—“who never made a fault”—such as household servants were often committing—“neither was guile found in His mouth”—again referring to what was common with servants—petty acts of dishonesty, and petty deceits to screen themselves from punishment. One thing which lends special point to the allusion to Isaiah’s prophecy is that Israel is in that passage spoken of under the title of God’s “servant,” a thought familiar to St. Peter long ago in connection with Christ. (See Note on Acts 3:13 .)

Who did no sin - Who was in all respects perfectly holy. There is an allusion here to Isaiah 53:9 ; and the sense is, that he was entirely innocent, and that he suffered without having committed any crime. In this connection the meaning is, that we are to be careful that, if we suffer, it should be without committing any crime. We should so live, as the Saviour did, as not to deserve to be punished, and thus only shall we entirely follow his example. It is as much our duty to live so as not to deserve the reproaches of others, as it is to bear them with patience when we are called to suffer them. The first thing in regard to hard treatment from others, is so to live that there shall be no just occasion for it; the next is, if reproaches come upon us when we have not deserved them, to bear them as the Saviour did. If he suffered unjustly, we should esteem it to be no strange thing that we should; if he bore the injuries done him with meekness, we should learn that it is possible for us to do it also; and should learn also that we have not the spirit of his religion unless we actually do it. On the expression used here, compare the Isaiah 53:9 note; Hebrews 7:26 note. Neither was guile found in his mouth - There was no deceit, hypocrisy, or insincerity. He was in all respects what he professed to be, and he imposed on no one by any false and unfounded claim.