Who his own self In his own person, and by the sacrifice of himself, and not of another, (Hebrews 9:28,) bare our sins That is, the punishment due to them; in his afflicted, torn, dying body on the tree The cross, whereon chiefly slaves or servants were wont to suffer. The apostle alludes to Isaiah 53:12; He bare the sins of many. “The phrase, bearing sin, is often used in the Old Testament. It signifies sometimes the making atonement for sin, Leviticus 10:17; sometimes the suffering punishment for sin, Leviticus 22:9; Ezekiel 18:20; and sometimes the carrying away sin from the sight of God; as the scape-goat is said to do, Leviticus 16:22. The apostle uses here the first person, our sins, to show that Christ bare the sins of believers, in every age and country; and to make us sensible how extensive the operation of his death is in procuring pardon for sinners.” That we, being dead to sins Or, as ταις αμαρτιαις απογενομενοι is more literally rendered, freed from sins
That is, from the guilt and power; from which, without an atonement, it was impossible we should be delivered. By whose stripes ye were healed Of your spiritual disorders: evils infinitely greater than any which the cruelty of the severest masters can bring upon you. See on Isaiah 53:5. “By changing his discourse from the first to the second person, the apostle addressed those slaves who might be beaten unmercifully by cruel masters; because, of all the considerations by which they could be animated to patience, the most powerful was, to put them in mind of the painful stripes with which Christ was beaten, when he was scourged by Pilate's order, (Matthew 27:26,) and to tell them, that with these stripes the wounds in their souls, occasioned by sin, were healed; wounds far more painful and deadly than those inflicted on them by their froward masters.” For ye were as sheep going astray From their pastures, their shepherd, and his flock, and exposed to want and the danger of being lost in the wilderness, or destroyed by wild beasts; ye were wandering out of the way of truth and duty, of safety, holiness, and happiness, into the by-paths of error and sin, of guilt and misery paths leading to certain destruction. But are now returned Through the influence of divine grace; unto the Shepherd The great Shepherd of the sheep, brought again from the dead, through the blood of the everlasting covenant; and Bishop the kind Observer, Inspector, and Overseer; of your souls Who has graciously received you under his pastoral care, and will maintain that inspection over you which shall be your best security against returning to those fatal wanderings. “Though in this passage the apostle addressed his discourse immediately to servants or slaves, yet, by giving titles to Christ which marked his relation to men of all ranks and conditions, he hath intimated that his exhortation to suffer unmerited evils patiently, is intended for all who profess the gospel.”