The emphasis in this passage, however, is on
the removal of sins achieved by Christ suffering the penal consequences. The “bore”
in 1 Peter 2:24 simply means “carried away.” A good translation is, “He himself
carried [away] our sins in his body on the cross,” the point being that he took
them away. Peter says Christ carried our sins away “so that we might die to
sins and live for righteousness.” Similarly, Romans 6:11 says, “Count
yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” The Greek word
translated “die” in 1 Peter 2:24 occurs only here in the NT and means not so
much death as complete separation. The literal sense is “To be away from” or “to
have no part in.” The contrast with “live” suggests the translation “die,” but
Peter does not use the common word for “die.” He chooses the Greek word that
means “to be away” or “to depart.” The point here is that sins are departed,
removed.
Parting with sins is not the end itself but the
preliminary to living for what is right and doing good. Isaiah 53:4 says
prophetically of Christ, “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering.”
Matthew 8:16-17 interprets this passage to mean that Christ “bore” the people’s
spiritual infirmities and physical diseases by healing them, by taking them
away. Therefore, in addition to Christ bearing the penal consequences of
sin, it can be said that he bore sin away. The effect of the Atonement is an
actual abandonment of sin and a redirection of life toward righteousness.
First Peter 2:24 also emphasizes this positive
purpose of Christ’s death, that humankind, having abandoned sins, might live
for righteousness. “Righteousness” here is not imputed righteousness but
practical righteousness; that is, virtuous conduct, doing what is right.
Finally, the sufferings of Christ result in healing. Peter returns to the
second-person pronoun when quoting Isaiah 53:5, “By his wounds you have been
healed,” emphasizing the special application of his words to suffering slaves.
Because Christ was wounded, “you have been
healed.” “Healed” suggests restoration to health from the wounds made by sin;
namely, moral and spiritual healing. Davids says, “Like Isaiah before him Peter
uses physical healing as a metaphor for religious conversion.” This interpretation
is supported by the next verse: “For ‘you were like sheep going astray,’ but
now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls” (1 Peter
2:25). Conversion is the opposite of aimless wandering. When one is converted,
their life has a purpose that is directed toward God. Noting in 1 Peter 2:24
should be interpreted to mean that God punished Christ for the sins of
humankind, but that through Christ’s substitutionary death the power of sin was
broken. Peter’s meaning is seen from the second part of the verse. Christ died
(bore sin) to release humankind from their sins so that they could live in
righteousness.
Particularly notable is the similarity between
the physical sufferings of Christ and those of Peter’s primary audience in this
passage: slaves who suffer for doing good. The context is not primarily
doctrinal, for Peter is bidding Christians to follow Christ’s example of sin-bearing
(2:19-21). The mention of wounds (“stripes” KJV) in verse 24 has particular relevant
to slaves. Christ, too, was wounded, but because of his suffering there is
healing for slaves. Continual stripes were the lot of slaves under harsh
masters, and death by crucifixion was the punishment for those determined to be
insurrectionists. Peter’s readers might easily fall under that condemnation. How
could they endure such a life? Only by recognizing that Christ, who had called
them, had himself suffered in this fashion, but that by his suffering he had
broken the power of sin and thus made possible the imitation of his own
humility in suffering. Slaves bore physical suffering, and therefore Peter emphasizes
the physical sufferings of Christ. The phrase “in his [Christ’s] body” stresses
the fact that redemption was accomplished here on earth within the sphere and
under the conditions of human life. The phrase is reminiscent of Colossians
1:22: “But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death.” (Vee
Chandler, Victorious Substitution: Exploring the Nature of Salvation and
Christ’s Atoning Work [Eugene, Oreg.: Wipf & Stock, 2025], 122-24)
With respect to ἀπογίνομαι, note the following from: (1)
TDNT and (2) Louw-Nida:
TDNT:
In the NT it occurs only at 1 Pt.
2:24. Since ἀπογενόμενοι is
here contrasted with ζήσωμεν,
it means “dead.”
Similarly Teles, p. 45, 16,
Hense: διὰ τοὺς ἀπογενομένους τῶν ζώντων ὀλιγωρεῖν; Mithr. Liturg., 14, 31: πάλιν γενόμενος ἀπογίνομαι; Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom.,
IV, 15 (p. 675, 14 f.): τὸ πλῆθος τῶν τε γεννωμένων καὶ ἀπογινομένων.
1 Pt. 2:24 refers to the goal of
the death of Jesus, and thus to the divine purpose revealed and fulfilled in
the death of Jesus. The words can hardly be taken to indicate an inner
experience underlying the Christian, for there is no experience of the full
separation from sin, both as guilt and habit, which is expressed in death. Nor
is the reference to sacramental experience. Otherwise baptism would be
mentioned. 1 Pt. is here expressing faith in redemption (→ ἀναγεννάω, 673 ff.).
Since the ἀπογενόμενοι plainly corresponds to the ἀναγεγεννημένοι of 1:23, the root
of both ideas is naturally the same, namely, the Christian interpretation of
the death and resurrection of Jesus in terms of the Jewish belief in the
destruction and renewal of the world. Even though the term ἀπογίνομαι may occur in the Mithras
Liturgy, the origin of the concept does not have its locus here, since the term
was in general use. (Friedrich Büchsel, “Γίνομαι, Γένεσις, Γένος, Γένημα,
Ἀπογίνομαι, Παλιγγενεσία,” TDNT 1:686)
Louw-Nida:
68.40 ἀπογίνομαι: (a figurative extension of
meaning of ἀπογίνομαι ‘to die,’ not occurring in the NT) to cease, with a complete
and abrupt change—‘to cease, to stop.’ ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ἀπογενόμενοι ‘having stopped sinning’ or
‘ceased sinning’ 1 Pe 2:24. It is possible that in the translation of this
phrase in 1 Pe 2:24 one might wish to preserve the figurative form and
translate as ‘dying to sin.’ For another interpretation of ἀπογίνομαι in 1 Pe
2:24, see 74.27. (Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament:
Based on Semantic Domains [New York: United Bible Societies, 1996], 659)
74.27 ἀποθνῄσκω (a figurative extension of
meaning of ἀποθνῄσκω ‘to die,’ 23.99); ἀπο-γίνομαι (a figurative extension of
meaning of ἀπογίνομαι ‘to
die,’ not occurring in the NT): to be unable to respond or react to any impulse
or desire—‘to be dead to, to not respond to, to have no part in.’
ἀποθνῄσκωc: ἀπεθάνομεν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ ‘we have died to sin’ Ro 6:2.
ἀπογίνομαιb: ἵνα ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ἀπογενόμενοι τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ ζήσωμεν ‘in order that having died to sin we may live to righteousness’
1 Pe 2:24. For another interpretation of ἀπογίνομαι in 1 Pe 2:24, see 68.40.
In a number of languages it is
extremely difficult to speak of ‘dying to sin.’ In some instances one can
preserve the figurative meaning by an expression such as ‘to be like dead as
far as desiring to sin’ or ‘to be like a corpse as far as temptations to sin
are concerned.’ (Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament:
Based on Semantic Domains [New York: United Bible Societies, 1996], 678)
