A Copybook on Patience

1 Peter 2:21-25

Philip Comfort has translated this passage, which was a poem in the original greek, into modern English verse. Watch the video below then read silently through the poem. After taking time on the video to familiarise yourself with the poem, take time on the second reading, to ponder and notice.

Christ, the Suffering Healer

1 Peter 2:21-25

21 You have been called to suffering 

             because Christ also suffered for you, 

leaving you a path to follow in the steps of him 

             22 who never committed a sin or spoke a lie, 
 
             23 who didn’t retaliate when he was reviled; 

             who didn’t strike back, when he was hit. 

24 Rather, he committed himself to the righteous Judge
 
             when he took our sins to the tree 

             and healed us with the wounds inflicted on his body.


25 Now we can die to sin and live right with God, 

no longer straying from our Shepherd 

but staying close to the Sentinel of our souls.

(Philip Comfort, The Poems and Hymns of the New Testament. Used by permission of Wipf and Stock Publishers. www.wipfandstock.com)

Philip Comfort’s notes on the word path, in the third line of the poem, indicate the underlying Greek word can be “used in teaching settings as an alphabet exemplar leaving space under each letter for the student to copy.” This is a key concept in the poem as Peter is urging us to closely follow Christ’s example like you would closely copy letters in a handwriting copybook.

So what does this example look like? Well, it made me wonder why is there this focus on not retaliating in Jesus’ example in this poem? I can only assume that in addressing a persecuted audience, this is important. Persecution is always unjust and retaliation seems natural maybe even just. Peter therefore points out the patience of Jesus in not retaliating as an example in such circumstances. Instead, we are to wait for our righteous Judge, who will administer not only true justice (not vengeance) but healing.

Jesus’ example is one of loving patience par excellence. It is a difficult example to copy, especially with those who are difficult to love, and facing a path which involves suffering. However we walk together with Christ on that path. He teaches and encourages us and guards our souls while on that path. We also have healing and reconciliation.

As to the piano music, the idea of an exemplar is the basis structure of the whole piece. There is the first basic phrase which is then varied three times as a four-line melody. Each restatement of the four-line melody then simply adds ornamentation. The basic phrase also includes hints of the Spirit motif from the very beginning of Love.

(Here is the music on Spotify and Youtube)