1 Peter
AUTHOR & AUDIENCE (RECIPIENTS):
The opening verse of 1 Peter states that the letter is from Petros, an apostle of Jesus Christ. This is who we know to be Simon Peter, one of the key disciples of Jesus who was called “the Rock” in Matthew 16:18, upon which Jesus would build his Church. Some contemporary scholarship has questioned Peter’s authorship of these letters. The main arguments are generally that the Greek found in 1 and 2 Peter is too sophisticated for someone who was a relatively uneducated Galilean fisherman. Some scholars have therefore speculated that a group of writers may have composed these letters under the name Peter, or that Peter possibly had a secretary who dictated his teachings into a more fluent Greek. Many scholars have supported the claim of Petrine authorship though, and
have pointed to his teachings around humility to suggest he may be drawing on his life experiences such as Jesus washing his feet.
If Peter is our likely author, then he would have written the letter before AD 64 when Christian tradition claims he was a martyr under Emperor Nero. He most likely wrote this letter from Rome. 1 Peter 5:13 sends greetings from Babylon. Many scholars agree that this was used as another name for Rome, in a similar fashion to how it’s used in Revelation, as Babylon had very few inhabitants at
the time. Peter states in verse 1 that his audience is God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners in five regions across Asia Minor, or what we now know as modern-day Turkey. Some sources have suggested that Peter had ministered through much of this region. These Christian communities he was writing to were likely mostly composed of Gentile believers with a mix of Jewish converts too.
Peter says in 1:18 that God saved them from the empty way of life they inherited, which could tell us that he’s speaking to Gentile believers who have turned from their empty pagan rituals.
PURPOSE & BACKGROUND:
1 Peter is sometimes described as one of the most condensed summaries of the Gospel message in scripture. Much of 1 Peter is geared towards the idea of having our identity found in Jesus. This is in the face of the hostile culture which these early believers found themselves in. So, we therefore see Peter starting his letter by praying that God would give them more grace and peace. He then proceeds to teach them about the hope and salvation they have in Jesus.
He then spends much of the letter describing how Christians are to live in a world that is often violently opposed to the Good News of the Gospel. He doesn’t mention specific sufferings that these Christians were facing, but we can deduce from many historical sources and other New Testament letters that this was a common experience for many early believers. He encourages believers towards the end of the letter in 5:7 that they should cast all their anxieties on God because he deeply cares for them.
THEMES TO LOOK FOR:
- Hope and Salvation in Jesus. We live in great expectation of our future hope, which is beyond the reach and decay of the world (1:3-5).
- Living Holy. Peter goes to great length to teach believers about how we are to live in a world that is hostile to the Gospel.
- Enduring suffering. Knowing that God is pleased with you when you endure unfair treatment, slander, mockery, and other persecution (2:19).
COMMENTARIES:
1 Peter (The Story of God Bible Commentary Series) by Dennis Edwards, Tremper Longman iii, and Scot McKnight.
1 Peter (Baker Exegetical Commentary On The New Testament Series) by Karen Jobes.
WEBSITES:
- The Bible Project – https://youtu.be/WhP7AZQlzCg