April 11, 2018 -1 Peter 2:24
FROM
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers:
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers:
(24)
Who his own self.—This verse, like the “for you” in 1Peter 2:21, is intended to
make the readers feel the claims of gratitude, not to set before them another
point in which Christ was to be imitated. But at the same time it serves to
enforce still more strongly the two points already mentioned—i.e., sinlessness
and suffering. So far was Christ from “doing sins,” that He actually His own
self bore ours, and in so doing endured the extremity of anguish “in His own
body,” so that He could sympathise with the corporal chastisements of these
poor servants; and “on the tree,” too, the wicked slave’s death.
Who his own self.—This verse, like the “for you” in 1Peter 2:21, is intended to
make the readers feel the claims of gratitude, not to set before them another
point in which Christ was to be imitated. But at the same time it serves to
enforce still more strongly the two points already mentioned—i.e., sinlessness
and suffering. So far was Christ from “doing sins,” that He actually His own
self bore ours, and in so doing endured the extremity of anguish “in His own
body,” so that He could sympathise with the corporal chastisements of these
poor servants; and “on the tree,” too, the wicked slave’s death.
Bare
our sins . . . on the tree.—This brings us face to face with a great mystery;
and to add to the difficulty of the interpretation, almost each word is capable
of being taken in several different ways. Most modern scholars are agreed to
reject “on the tree,” in favour of the marginal “to,” the proper meaning of the
Greek preposition, when connected (as here) with the accusative, being what is
expressed in colloquial English by the useful compound “on-to the tree.” It is,
however, not obligatory to see motion consciously intended in this preposition
and accusative everywhere. It is used, for instance, Mark 4:38, of sleeping on
the pillow; in 2Corinthians 3:15, of the veil resting upon their hearts; in
Revelation 4:4, of the elders sitting upon their thrones. This word, then, will
give us but little help to discover the meaning of the word translated “bare.”
(1) That verb means literally “to carry or take up,” and is used thus in
Matthew 17:1, Mark 9:2, of taking the disciples up the Mount of Transfiguration;
and in Luke 24:51, of Jesus being carried up into heaven: therefore Hammond,
Grimm, and others would here understand it to be, “He carried our sins up with
Him on-to the tree,” there to expiate them by His death. (2) A much commoner
meaning of the word is that which it bears in 1Peter 2:5, “to offer up” (so
also in Hebrews 7:27; Hebrews 13:15; James 2:21). The substantive formed from
it (Anaphora) is still the liturgical term for the sacrificial section of the
Eucharistic service. This interpretation is somewhat tempting, because the very
preposition here used, with the very same case, appears in James 2:21, and
frequently in the Old Testament, together with our present verb, for “to offer
up upon the altar.” In this way it would be, “He offered up our sins in His own
body on the altar of the cross.” So Luther and others take it. This would be
perfect, were it not for the strangeness of regarding the sins themselves as a
sacrifice to be offered on the altar. The only way to make sense of it in that
case would be to join very closely “our sins in His own body”—i.e., as
contained and gathered up in His own sinless body, which might come to nearly
the same thing as saying that He “offered up His own body laden with our sins”
upon that altar. (3) Both these renderings, however, pass over the fact that
St. Peter is referring to Isaiah 53. In the English version of that chapter,
“hath borne,” “shall bear,” “bare,” appears in 1Peter 2:4; 1Peter 2:11-12,
indifferently; but the Hebrew is not the same in each case, for in 1Peter 2:11
the word for “shall bear” is identical with that rightly rendered “carry” in
1Peter 2:4, and has not the same signification as that which appears as “to
bear” in 1Peter 2:4; 1Peter 2:12. The difference between these two Hebrew roots
seems to be that the verb sabal in 1Peter 2:11 means “to carry,” as a porter
carries a load, or as our Lord carried His cross; while the verb nasa,’ used in
1Peter 2:4 and 1Peter 2:12, means rather “to lift or raise,” which might, of
course, be the action preparatory to that other of “carrying.” Now, the Greek
word which we have here undoubtedly better represents nasa’ than sabal, but the
question is complicated by the fact that the LXX. uses it to express both alike
in 1Peter 2:11-12, observing at the same time the distinction between
“iniquities” and “sin,” while in 1Peter 2:4 (where again it reads “our sins”
instead of “our griefs”) it adopts a simpler verb; and St. Peter’s language
here seems to be affected by all three passages. The expression “our sins” (which
comes in so strangely with the use of “you” all round) seems a reminiscence of
1Peter 2:4 (LXX.). The order in which the words occur is precisely the order of
1Peter 2:11, and the tense points to 1Peter 2:12, as well as the parallel use
in Hebrews 9:28, where the presence of the words “of many” proves that the
writer was thinking of 1Peter 2:12. We cannot say for certain, then, whether
St. Peter meant to represent nasa’ or sabal. We have some clue, however, to the
way in which the Greek word was used, by finding it in Numbers 14:33, where the
“whoredoms” of the fathers are said to be “borne” by their children (the Hebrew
there being nasa’). Many instances in classical Greek lead to the conclusion
that in such cases it implies something being laid or inflicted from without
upon the person who “bears.” Thus, in Numbers 14:33, it will be, “your children
will have to bear your whoredoms,” or, “will have laid upon them your
whoredoms.” In Hebrews 9:28 it will be, “Christ was once for all presented (at
the altar), to have the sins of many laid upon Him.” Here it will be, “Who His
own self had our sins laid upon His body on the tree.” Then comes a further
question. The persons who hold the substitute theory of the Atonement assert
that “our sins” here stands for “the punishment of our sins.” This is, however,
to use violence with words; we might with as good reason translate 1Peter 2:22,
“Who did, or performed, no punishment for sin.” St. Peter asserts that Christ,
in His boundless sympathy with fallen man, in His union with all mankind
through the Incarnation whereby He became the second Adam, actually took, as
His own, our sins, as well as everything else belonging to us. He was so
identified with us, that in the great Psalm of the Messianic sacrifice, He
calls them “My sins” (Psalm 40:12), sinless as He was. (See St. Matthew’s
interpretation of the same thought, Matthew 8:17.)
our sins . . . on the tree.—This brings us face to face with a great mystery;
and to add to the difficulty of the interpretation, almost each word is capable
of being taken in several different ways. Most modern scholars are agreed to
reject “on the tree,” in favour of the marginal “to,” the proper meaning of the
Greek preposition, when connected (as here) with the accusative, being what is
expressed in colloquial English by the useful compound “on-to the tree.” It is,
however, not obligatory to see motion consciously intended in this preposition
and accusative everywhere. It is used, for instance, Mark 4:38, of sleeping on
the pillow; in 2Corinthians 3:15, of the veil resting upon their hearts; in
Revelation 4:4, of the elders sitting upon their thrones. This word, then, will
give us but little help to discover the meaning of the word translated “bare.”
(1) That verb means literally “to carry or take up,” and is used thus in
Matthew 17:1, Mark 9:2, of taking the disciples up the Mount of Transfiguration;
and in Luke 24:51, of Jesus being carried up into heaven: therefore Hammond,
Grimm, and others would here understand it to be, “He carried our sins up with
Him on-to the tree,” there to expiate them by His death. (2) A much commoner
meaning of the word is that which it bears in 1Peter 2:5, “to offer up” (so
also in Hebrews 7:27; Hebrews 13:15; James 2:21). The substantive formed from
it (Anaphora) is still the liturgical term for the sacrificial section of the
Eucharistic service. This interpretation is somewhat tempting, because the very
preposition here used, with the very same case, appears in James 2:21, and
frequently in the Old Testament, together with our present verb, for “to offer
up upon the altar.” In this way it would be, “He offered up our sins in His own
body on the altar of the cross.” So Luther and others take it. This would be
perfect, were it not for the strangeness of regarding the sins themselves as a
sacrifice to be offered on the altar. The only way to make sense of it in that
case would be to join very closely “our sins in His own body”—i.e., as
contained and gathered up in His own sinless body, which might come to nearly
the same thing as saying that He “offered up His own body laden with our sins”
upon that altar. (3) Both these renderings, however, pass over the fact that
St. Peter is referring to Isaiah 53. In the English version of that chapter,
“hath borne,” “shall bear,” “bare,” appears in 1Peter 2:4; 1Peter 2:11-12,
indifferently; but the Hebrew is not the same in each case, for in 1Peter 2:11
the word for “shall bear” is identical with that rightly rendered “carry” in
1Peter 2:4, and has not the same signification as that which appears as “to
bear” in 1Peter 2:4; 1Peter 2:12. The difference between these two Hebrew roots
seems to be that the verb sabal in 1Peter 2:11 means “to carry,” as a porter
carries a load, or as our Lord carried His cross; while the verb nasa,’ used in
1Peter 2:4 and 1Peter 2:12, means rather “to lift or raise,” which might, of
course, be the action preparatory to that other of “carrying.” Now, the Greek
word which we have here undoubtedly better represents nasa’ than sabal, but the
question is complicated by the fact that the LXX. uses it to express both alike
in 1Peter 2:11-12, observing at the same time the distinction between
“iniquities” and “sin,” while in 1Peter 2:4 (where again it reads “our sins”
instead of “our griefs”) it adopts a simpler verb; and St. Peter’s language
here seems to be affected by all three passages. The expression “our sins” (which
comes in so strangely with the use of “you” all round) seems a reminiscence of
1Peter 2:4 (LXX.). The order in which the words occur is precisely the order of
1Peter 2:11, and the tense points to 1Peter 2:12, as well as the parallel use
in Hebrews 9:28, where the presence of the words “of many” proves that the
writer was thinking of 1Peter 2:12. We cannot say for certain, then, whether
St. Peter meant to represent nasa’ or sabal. We have some clue, however, to the
way in which the Greek word was used, by finding it in Numbers 14:33, where the
“whoredoms” of the fathers are said to be “borne” by their children (the Hebrew
there being nasa’). Many instances in classical Greek lead to the conclusion
that in such cases it implies something being laid or inflicted from without
upon the person who “bears.” Thus, in Numbers 14:33, it will be, “your children
will have to bear your whoredoms,” or, “will have laid upon them your
whoredoms.” In Hebrews 9:28 it will be, “Christ was once for all presented (at
the altar), to have the sins of many laid upon Him.” Here it will be, “Who His
own self had our sins laid upon His body on the tree.” Then comes a further
question. The persons who hold the substitute theory of the Atonement assert
that “our sins” here stands for “the punishment of our sins.” This is, however,
to use violence with words; we might with as good reason translate 1Peter 2:22,
“Who did, or performed, no punishment for sin.” St. Peter asserts that Christ,
in His boundless sympathy with fallen man, in His union with all mankind
through the Incarnation whereby He became the second Adam, actually took, as
His own, our sins, as well as everything else belonging to us. He was so
identified with us, that in the great Psalm of the Messianic sacrifice, He
calls them “My sins” (Psalm 40:12), sinless as He was. (See St. Matthew’s
interpretation of the same thought, Matthew 8:17.)
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