Peter preaches how the death of Christ, bearing the sins of His Own people, heals His people who trust in Him. By His death for us, we are made dead to sin, but alive unto righteousness.
All of which Peter summarizes with that phrase from the prophet Isaiah: by His stripes, we are healed!
This healing has been described, but now Peter embraces the metaphor of sheep who have gone astray in their sin against God.
But praise God, Christ's sacrifice has healed us, specifically, by returning us to the Shepherd, our Lord Jesus!
We were away from God, and gone astray in our sinning, but now we are brought close to Jesus and we follow Him!
Our being returned is something that has been done to us by the Shepherd in His dying to save us, and by God's grace.
We don't come to Jesus, but He comes to rescue us. Christ seeks out and saves His lost sheep.
Although Isaiah didn't explain the results of Christ's healing us, Peter now does: Christ by His death heals us of our rebellion and sin, and now are are under His protection and care as our Good Shepherd.
But the Lord Jesus had already described the healing of His sheep during His ministry.
His sheep hear His voice. He leads His sheep, and they follow Him. He leads them to good things, green pastures and clear waters, and safety and peace.
There is, between Christ and His healed sheep, an intimate, mutual knowledge of each other. He knows His sheep by name, and they hear Him and know His voice.
They obey Him and follow Him, but refuse to follow any other, for they know not the voice of strangers.
Christ's sheep have an acute sense of safety and comfort when they are led by the Good Shepherd. |
