Daily Verse Daily Verse by Faithlife | 1 Peter 2:25
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2:25 were going astray like sheep Here Peter draws on Isa 53:6 but updates the language to apply it to his own audience—indicating, as the fourth servant song from Isaiah had, that all people have turned away from God and are in need of the savior Jesus.
shepherd and guardian of your souls Jesus is the shepherd in view here (compare John 10:1–14; Heb 13:20–21). Jesus can protect the souls of believers because of His death and resurrection, which the fourth servant song of Isaiah foretold (see Isa 53:10 and note).
Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (1 Pe 2:25). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
25 ἦτε γὰρ ὡς πρόβατα πανώμενοι ἀλὰ ἐπεστράφητε νῦν ἐπὶ τὸν ποιμένα καὶ ἐπίσκοπον τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν, “For you were going astray like sheep, but you have turned now to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.” The thought of Isa 53:5b directs Peter’s attention to 53:6, which he paraphrases in such a way that only the simile ὡς πρόβατα from the Isaiah text remains intact. Having switched back to his customary second person plural in v 24b, Peter continues by changing the prophet’s first person plural ἐπλανήθημεν to a periphrastic in the second person (τε … πλανώμενοι; cf. BDF §353). At the same time, his insertion of a connecting γάρ links the metaphor of the straying sheep more closely to the metaphor of healing than was the case in Isaiah (once again contrast the exact citation of the Isaiah text in 1 Clem 16.6). In effect, v 25 defines what Peter means (and what he thinks Isaiah means) by healing.
ἦτε looks back at the pre-Christian past of the epistle’s readers (cf. 1:14, 18; 2:10). Where Isaiah (and Jewish tradition in general) saw the straying sheep as the Jewish people alienated from their God (e.g., Ezek 34:5–6; cf. Matt 9:36; 10:6; 15:24, where they are the “lost sheep of the house of Israel”), Peter sees them as Gentiles. Peter’s perspective is similar to that of John’s Gospel, with its vision of “other sheep … not of this fold” (John 10:16), and of “the scattered children of God” in contrast to the nation of Israel (11:52). Once more Peter adapts to his Gentile readers the terminology of Israel’s ancient relationship to God (cf. his application of Hos 1:6, 9 to Gentile Christians in 2:10).
In the last clause of v 25, Peter moves beyond Isa 53 by announcing an end to the straying of the sheep and introducing the figure of the Shepherd. The ἐπεστράφτε of this clause corresponds to the ἰάθητε at the end of v 24. Peter may have in mind here, as Goppelt suggests (211), the association between “turning” and “healing” in Isa 6:10b LXX (μήποτε … ἐποστρεΨωσιν καί ἱάσομαι αὐτούς), a text well known to NT writers (cf. Matt 13:14; Mark 4:12; Acts 28:27; and note the linking of Isa 53:1 and Isa 6:10 in John 12:38–40), but it is just as likely that “turning” suggested itself naturally as the remedy for “going astray” (note the transitive use of ἐπιστρέφειν for “turning back the wanderers,” with God as the subject in 1 Clem 59.4, and with church elders as the subject in Pol. Phil. 6.1; cf. also 2 Clem 17.2).
νῦν contrasts the present with the past, recalling the ποτε … νῦν of 2:10, except that in v 24b ποτε is only implied, not expressed. The “Shepherd” is clearly Christ (cf. the “Great Shepherd” in 5:4), now viewed as risen from the dead and exercising lordship over the Christian community. The transition between vv 21–25a and this last clause of chapter 2 is rather abrupt. Christ was last mentioned as wounded and carrying sins to the cross after much abuse, while the readers of the epistle were compared to a scattered flock of sheep. Now suddenly the sheep are back together, with Christ (very much alive) as the Shepherd who reunites them. Such a transition recalls other NT passages where Christ fulfills the shepherd role precisely by virtue of his resurrection from the dead: e.g., “I lay down my life, that I might take it again” (John 10:17); “The God of peace, who brought again from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep” (Heb 13:20); and especially “It is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered,’ but after I am raised up I will lead you into Galilee” (Mark 14:27–28//Matt 26:31–32; cf. Mark 16:7//Matt 28:7).
The metaphor of Christ as Shepherd (implicit already in Mark 6:34; Matt 10:6; 15:24; Luke 15:3–7//Matt 18:12–14) and the more ancient figure of God as Shepherd of Israel (e.g., Ps 23; Isa 40:11; Ezek 34:11–16; cf. Philo, Agr. 50–52) were probably well known to Peter and to his readers. True to his tendency not to leave metaphors unqualified or unexplained, Peter adds the more functional term ἐπίσκοπος to interpret the metaphorical ποιμήν (cf. Goppelt, 211). ἐπίσκοπος combines the ideas of God’s close and tireless scrutiny of the human heart, on the one hand, and the protecting care of his people, on the other. Although it is doubtful that the two are ever entirely separated, the emphasis here is on the latter. God as ἐπίσκοπος in the LXX (Job 20:29; Wisd Sol 1:6) and in Philo (Philo, Leg. All. 3.43; Mut. Nom. 39, 216; Philo, Som. 1.91) is the all-seeing observer and judge (as is Jesus in Clem. Alex., Strom. 4.17), but ἐπίσκοπος in 1 Peter is more pastoral by virtue of its association with ποιμήν (cf. 5:2 and the accompanying Note b).
The pastoral sense is clearly seen in 1 Clem 59.3, where God is both “the Creator (κτίστης; cf. 1 Pet 4:19) and Guardian (ἐπίσκοπος) of every spirit.” It is possible, in fact, that the term ἐπίσκοπος (which in time acquired the technical sense of bishop) has been chosen with an analogy in view between the risen Christ’s care for his people and the ministry of the older members of Christian congregations to those who are younger (cf. 5:1–4, where the flock to be cared for is designated as God’s flock, and where Christ himself is the “great Shepherd”; also Acts 20:28, where the ἐπίσκοποι who “shepherd the congregation of God” are specifically the Ephesian elders). This analogy is made explicit in Ignatius (Magn. 3.1; cf. 6.1) and preserved in the traditional English versions of 1 Peter (note, e.g., the original kjv: “the shepheard and Bishop of your soules”). Before even beginning to discuss the ministry of Christians to one another (4:7–11; 5:1–4), Peter here establishes the priority and supremacy of the risen Christ’s ministry to all who turn to him (cf. the tradition in John 21:15–17 that assigns to Peter the task of shepherding Christ’s flock).
τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν, “of your souls.” ψυχαί (especially plural) is a common expression in I Peter for people’s lives (cf. 1:9, 22; 3:20; 4:19; in the singular, 2:11), always in some connection with salvation or ultimate well-being. The phrase belongs grammatically either with “Shepherd and Guardian” or with “Guardian” alone, probably the latter because “Guardian of your souls” plausibly interprets the shepherd metaphor. A cognate expression, ἐν ἐπισκοπῇ ψυχῶν, “at the examination of souls,” is used in Wisd Sol 3:13 for God’s investigative judgment at the end of the age (cf. Peter’s ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ἐπισκοπῆς in 2:12), but the thought here is closer to that of Wisd Sol 3:1, “the souls of the righteous are in the hands of God, and no torment will ever touch them.”
Michaels, J. R. (1988). 1 Peter (Vol. 49, pp. 150–152). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.
1 PETER 2:18–25
Suffering as the Messiah Did
18 Let slaves obey their masters with all respect, not only the good and kind ones but also the unkind ones. 19 It is to your credit, you see, if because of a godly conscience you put up with unjust and painful suffering. 20 After all, what credit is it if you do something wrong, are beaten for it, and take it patiently? But if you do what is right, suffer for it, and bear it patiently, this is to your credit before God.
21 This, after all, is what came with the terms of your call:
Because the Messiah, too, suffered on your behalf,
Leaving behind a pattern for you
So that you should follow the way he walked.
22 He committed no sin,
Nor was there any deceit in his mouth.
23 When he was insulted, he didn’t insult in return,
When he suffered, he didn’t threaten,
But he gave himself up to the one who judges justly.
24 He himself bore our sins
In his body on the cross,
So that we might be free from sins
And live for righteousness.
It is by his wound that you are healed.
25 For you were going astray like sheep,
But now you have returned to the shepherd
And guardian of your true lives.
Not long ago, at the height of a snowstorm, our house, and two nearby villages as well, were without electric power for fourteen hours. Our heating system is controlled by electricity, so the house became very cold. We could burn logs in a stove, but though that could keep us warm it wouldn’t be easy to cook on it. The telephones didn’t work. The computers, of course, didn’t work either. It reminded me once more not only what it’s like for many people today in parts of the world where electric power is only intermittent, but what it was like for everyone until extremely recently within human history.
Now imagine, as well, that there was a fuel shortage, so that nobody could use their cars. No trains running, either; no planes flying. Suddenly life is a lot more basic. And a lot more time-consuming. I doubt if I’d be sitting here writing a book if I lived in a world without electric power or motorized transport. I’d probably be out chopping wood, or walking to the nearest town to pick up vegetables. And if I wanted to make the time to do anything more creative, I would have to find someone to do all those things for me. In a world of scarce resources, there might be plenty of people willing to work in return for their keep.
In the ancient world, more or less everything that today is done by electricity, gas and motorized engines was done by slaves. That is not, of course, a defence of the system of slavery. Slavery was a form of systematic, legalized dehumanization. A slave was the ‘property’ of his or her owner, who would provide enough board and lodging to enable the slave to work the next day, and the one after that. But, as ‘property’, the slave could be ill-treated, physically and sexually abused, exploited in a thousand different ways.
We look down our noses at such a world—without realizing that in many parts of today’s supposedly ‘free’ Western society there are many people in virtually the same position. Often hidden from view, they work long hours for minimal wages. They cannot take time off, or look for another job. They may have families to support, and to lose even a single day’s wages, and perhaps their ‘job’ as well, could be disastrous. They are stuck. They are slaves in all but name. If we want to sneer at ancient societies for being so barbaric, we should be careful. They might just sneer back.
Peter does something far more creative than sneering. Quite a few Christians were slaves, as you might expect granted that the gospel of Jesus gives dignity and self-worth to all those who believe it. Peter addresses these Christian slaves. Instead of telling them (as we might prefer) that they should rise up in revolt against their masters, he tells them to obey, and to show respect. And he stresses this, not only when the masters in question are kindly and fair-minded, but also when they are unjust.
Here, from our point of view, he sails very close to the wind. Putting up with unjust suffering looks, to us, very much like colluding with wickedness. Many a violent household, many an abusive workplace, has been able to continue acting wickedly because people have been afraid to speak out, and have kept their heads down and put up with the abuse. Blowing the whistle on such behaviour can cost you your job, your home or even, in extreme cases, your life.
Peter would tell us, I think, to stay with him while he explains. He has glimpsed a deeper truth, behind the moral quagmire which is so obvious to us when we think of people putting up with unjust and painful treatment. He has reflected long and hard on the extraordinary events to do with Jesus. He has thought and prayed through them in the light of the strange and dark scriptures which came to fulfilment in those messianic moments. And he invites followers of Jesus to inhabit his extraordinary story: to embrace it as their own, and, being healed and rescued by those events, to make them the pattern of their lives as well.
The key to it all, of course, is that the crucifixion of the Messiah was the most unjust and wicked act the world had ever seen. Here was the one man who deserved nothing but praise and gratitude, and they rejected him, beat him up, and killed him. To understand this, Peter goes back, as many early Christians did, to Isaiah, this time to the famous chapter 53, where the royal figure of the ‘servant’, called to carry out God’s worldwide saving purposes (42:1–9; 49:1–7; 51:4–9), does so precisely by being unjustly treated, being insulted but not replying in kind, suffering without throwing back curses at his torturers. ‘He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross’, says Peter, picking up Isaiah 53:4. We were going astray like lost sheep, but the wound which he suffered gave us healing (Isaiah 53:5, 6). This is one of the clearest statements in the whole New Testament of the fact that Jesus, the Messiah, took upon himself the punishment that his people deserved. As Israel’s Messiah, and hence the world’s true Lord, he alone could represent all the others. He alone could, completely appropriately, stand in for them.
Now we see how important it is for Peter to say what he does about slaves and masters—and about other situations later in the letter. He isn’t simply recommending that people remain passive while suffering violence. He is urging them to realize that somehow, strangely, the sufferings of the Messiah are not only the means by which we ourselves are rescued from our own sin. They are the means, when extended through the life of his people, by which the world itself may be brought to a new place.
This is hard to believe. It looks, to many, as though it’s just a clever way of not confronting the real issue. But Peter believes that the death and resurrection of Jesus was and is the point around which everything else in the world revolves. Somehow, he is saying, we must see all the unjust suffering of God’s people as caught up within the suffering of his son.
As I was writing this, an email arrived from a Christian friend who lives in a country where the Christian faith is barely tolerated and often persecuted. Things have become very bad, he says. His livelihood has been taken away. The authorities are closing in. Receiving such a message, I feel helpless. Somehow, in prayer, and in such campaigning as we can do, those of us who read 1 Peter in comfortable freedom have a deep responsibility to help our brothers and sisters for whom the persecution of which Peter speaks is a daily reality.
Wright, T. (2011). Early Christian Letters for Everyone: James, Peter, John and Judah (pp. 68–72). London; Louisville, KY: SPCK; Westminster John Knox Press.
Passage Guide | 1 Peter 2:25 › Cross References
| The Lexham English Bible | |
| Genesis 48:15 | And he blessed Joseph and said, “The God before whom my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, walked, The God who shepherded me all my life unto this day, |
| Genesis 49:24 | But his bow remained in a steady position; his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob. From there is the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel. |
| Job 10:12 | You have granted me life and loyal love, and your care has preserved my spirit. |
| Psalm 23:1 | Yahweh is my shepherd; I will not lack for anything. |
| Psalm 119:176 | I have wandered like a lost sheep; seek your servant, because I do not forget your commands. |
| Isaiah 40:11 | He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arm, and he will carry them in his bosom; he will lead those who nurse. |
| Isaiah 53:5–6 | 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon him, and by his wounds we were healed. 6 All of us have wandered about like sheep; we each have turned to his own way; and Yahweh let fall on him the iniquity of us all. |
| Jeremiah 31:10 | Hear the word of Yahweh, O nations, and declare in the coastlands from afar, and say, “The scatterer of Israel will gather him, and he will keep him as a shepherd his flock. |
| Ezekiel 34:6 | My flock went astray upon all of the mountains and on every high hill, and so upon all the surface of the world my flock were scattered, and there was no one seeking them, and there was no one searching for them.” |
| Ezekiel 34:23 | And I will set up over them one shepherd, and he will feed them; that is, my servant David. He will feed them, and he will be for them as a shepherd. |
| Ezekiel 37:24 | “ ‘ “And my servant David will be king over them, and one shepherd will be for all of them, and in my regulations they will go, and my statutes they will observe, and they will do them. |
| Zechariah 13:7 | “O sword, awake against my shepherd, against the man who is my associate,” declares Yahweh of hosts. “Strike the shepherd, so that the sheep may be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the small ones. |
| Matthew 9:36 | And when he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were weary and dejected, like sheep that did not have a shepherd. |
| Luke 15:4 | “What man of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the grassland and go after the one that was lost until he finds it? |
| John 10:11 | “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. |
| 1 Peter 5:4 | And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. |
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