1 Peter 2:21

For hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that ye should follow his steps:

This and the following four verses are some of the noblest Scripture in all the Bible. In these five verses, there are no less than six references to Christ as the Suffering Servant, as depicted in Isaiah 53. It is just what should have been expected from the apostle who so boldly identified Jesus as "God's Servant Jesus" (Acts 3:13).

Hereunto were ye called ... Christ suffered vicariously for all people; and it is incumbent upon his followers that they should not shrink from any duty because of any suffering that might be incurred. There is also the thought here that, just as slaves were obligated to obey their masters, so Christians are also obligated to obey Christ.

Leaving you an example ... "The word from which `example' comes is found nowhere else in the New Testament";[52] and the meaning of it is very similar to words translated "figure" in Acts 7:44 and "pattern" in Hebrews 8:5. The word is [@hupogrammos], and means "a writing copy,"[53] that is, a pattern for a copybook. This is therefore a valuable witness for existence of a heavenly pattern, not merely for the building of the church and the ordering of its worship, government and program, but also for the behavior and life-style of Christians as well.

[52] David H. Wheaton, op. cit., p. 1242.

[53] W. E. Vine, Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, 2(Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1940), p. 54.