«By His Wounds you have been healed»: A Christological portrait in 1Pe 2:18-25

Authors

  • Delio Ruiz Universidad Agustiniana de Bogotá

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46553/teo.60.140.2023.p9-34

Keywords:

Christology, First Peter, Christ Passion, Isaiah 53, Suffering Servant, Exemplarity, Atonement, Oblation, Self-offering, Endurance

Abstract

The First Peter speaks of wounded people in a Christian community living in the situation of suffering. The metaphor “a trial by fire” (1Pe 4:12) allows the reader to guess how distressed this situation is. The author draws the passion of Christ from Isaiah’s Suffering Servant song (vv. 21-22; see Isa 53:9). This portrait underlines that the salvific purpose of Jesus Christ’s historical journey gives meaning to his disciples’ sufferings and constitutes for them the foundation of their hope. Peter’s most profound Christological statement, with terms of which are not found elsewhere in Scripture, comes in Peter’s address to slaves (1Pe 2:22-25). Nonetheless, the reader today must take up this striking message, in his own context. Some
questions emerge from the passage: How does Christ’s example of self-gift on the cross speaks to wounded people today? How does the call to imitate Christ offers reassurance and hope to wounded people? To answer them, this article aims to provide some elements, which are also valuable to deepen the dimensions of “atoning death, vicarious and substitutionary suffering” and “exemplarity” that the Christological portrait in the First Letter of Peter reveals.

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Published

04/14/2023

How to Cite

Ruiz, D. (2023). «By His Wounds you have been healed»: A Christological portrait in 1Pe 2:18-25. Teología, 60(140), 9–34. https://doi.org/10.46553/teo.60.140.2023.p9-34

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Articles