Early Christian Poetry

Well-written poems have a way of expressing one’s emotions and capturing the hearts of the listeners. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want,” “Twinkle, twinkle, little star; how I wonder what you are,” or “The woods are lovely, dark, and deep. But I have promises to keep. And miles to go before I sleep. And miles to go before I sleep.” The Bible has several poems, including 150 Psalms.

The New Testament has a few poems that early Christians sang. Notable ones are Philippians 2:6–11, Colossians 1:15–20, 1 Timothy 3:16, and 2 Timothy 2:11–13. All these poems are about Jesus Christ, and they begin with the relative pronoun “who” (sometimes omitted in English translations). Whether the writers quoted what the congregations sang or composed them is unsure.

Soon after saying Jesus left an example for the Hebrew Christians to follow, Peter recited a poem.

Who did not sin, neither any deceit was found in his mouth,

Who, while reviling, did not revile, suffering did not threaten but gave himself to the righteous judge.

Who, for your sins, offered himself, in his body upon a cross, so that you have no part with sins but might live for righteousness.

By whose wounds you are healed; you who were like wandering sheep returned now to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.” (1 Pet 2:22–25)

The poem has three lines, starting with “who” or “whose.” Lines 1 and 3 discuss his sacrificial death on the cross, while not sinning, to deliver the people from sin’s domain and life for righteousness. Lines 2 and 4 refer to him entrusting his life to the righteous judge and the people returning to the shepherd and overseer of their souls.

The poem’s main theme, however, was that Jesus didn’t sin or revile others while he suffered but entrusted himself to God. Peter wanted his audience, the slaves, to repeat this and endure their sufferings without reviling or retaliating. Jesus was the best example they had. He was an innocent person who did not sin. Jesus was wrongly convicted and punished on the cross, and he patiently endured it for the sake of the people. Only by his death on the cross could he liberate them from sin’s dominion over them and free them to live for God and righteousness. As such, he patiently endured hardship.

In the process, he became their shepherd and overseer to give them directions. They were wandering like lost sheep without hope, but now, they have hope and direction in Christ. Returning to the Messiah was their healing. To the Hebrews in exile, these would have been comforting words. Even without being in their homeland, they were still under the direction and guidance of their Messiah, the good shepherd.

No one likes to be punished wrongly. Slaves, however, had masters who were unreasonable sometimes and punished them wrongly and severely. They would have wanted to rebel or retaliate. Peter wanted them to think of Jesus and his patient endurance so that they could imitate him and walk in his steps.

The same is true of us. Often, we are ill-treated by people for no reason at all. We want justice; we want revenge. Although speaking up for truth is necessary, enduring injustice while handing the situation to the righteous judge, God, reaps a much more valuable result since God’s justice is always fair compared to ours.