Peter began this epistle in the manner that was customary in this day.9He introduced himself and his original readers, and he wished God's blessing on them to prepare them for what he had to say. He prepared them for dealing with trials by reminding them of who they were, what they had, and where they were going (vv. 1-5).
1:1 Peter is a Greek name (lit. Petros, meaning a stone or rock). No one else in the New Testament has the name Peter though Peter called Christians stones in this epistle (2:4-5). In Aramaic "stone"is the word cephas. Jesus gave the name Cephas to Simon (The Greek transliteration of Simeon, Peter's Hebrew name) as a prediction of what this apostle would become (John 1:42; Matt. 16:18).
The word "apostle"has both a technical and a general sense in the New Testament. It refers to the Twelve and Paul, and to those who went out as the Twelve and Paul did to represent Jesus Christ (cf. Acts 14:4, 14). Peter was one of the Twelve. He wrote with full apostolic authority.
Peter called his readers aliens (NIV strangers) to introduce this self-concept into their minds. In this letter he emphasized that Christians are really citizens of heaven and our sojourn here on earth is only temporary (2:11; cf. Gen. 22:4; Ps. 39:12). The Greek word perepidemos(alien) contains both the ideas of alien nationality and temporary residence (cf. 2:11; Heb. 11:13).
"Parepidemoiare persons who belong to some other land and people, who are temporarily residing with a people to whom they do not belong. . . .
"Aliens are often held in contempt by the natives among whom they dwell."10
"This is an epistle from the homeless to the homeless."11
The particular group of Christians to whom this epistle went first lived in the northern Roman provinces of Asia Minor (modern western Turkey) north of the Taurus Mountains.12Davids estimated that when Peter wrote this epistle about one million Jews lived in Palestine and two to four million lived outside it. Asia Minor held the third largest concentration of diaspora Jews after Babylon and Egypt.13
This was originally an encyclical letter written for circulation among the addressees. The sequence of provinces corresponds to the route that the bearer of the original epistle would have normally followed.14
Peter's readers were God's elect (Eph. 1:4; cf. Deut. 14:2; Isa. 45:4). One writer believed "chosen"(NASB) should be connected with "aliens."15However most translators regard "chosen"as a noun, not an adjective, as the NASB suggests.
". . . the letter develops a unified thematic focus: the existence of Christians in a non-Christian society and overcoming that society by being prepared to bear oppression, i.e., to suffer.'
"This thematic focus, i.e., the question of how to live in society--the fundamental problem of every social ethic--was for Jesus' disciples from the very beginning an acute problem."16
1:2 Election originates in the eternal will and purpose of God the Father. The foreknowledge (Gr. prognosin; cf. Acts 2:23) of God refers, of course, to what God knows beforehand. God's foreknowledge has an element of determinism in it because whatever really happens that God knows beforehand exists or takes place because of His sovereign will. Therefore when Peter wrote that God chose according to His foreknowledge he did not mean that God chose the elect because He knewbeforehand they would believe the gospel (the Arminian position). God chose them because He determinedbeforehand that they would believe the gospel (the Calvinist position; cf. Rom. 8:29-30; Eph. 1:3-6; 1 Thess. 1:4; 1 Peter 5:13).17
"When applied to God's knowledge of persons (whether of Jesus or his people), foreknowledge' is more than mere prescience, it involves choice or determination as well (cf. Acts 2:23--the only other NT use of the noun--and Jud 9:6; also the verb proginoskein, know,' in Rom 8:29 and 11:2, as well as 1 Pet 1:20. In this sense God knows' some people and not others, whereas a general prescience would be all inclusive (cf. the particularized use of know' in Amos 3:2; Hos 5:3; 12:1 [LXX]; 1 Cor 8:3; Gal 4:9)."18
The Holy Spirit accomplished election when He separated the elect and set them aside to a special calling. God's purpose in election was that we might obey God the Son and that He might sprinkle us with His blood (cf. Eph. 2:10).
"To sprinkle with Christ's blood' means to take a person into the realm of influence of Christ's dying, to align him or her with the One who died. This alignment accomplishes, as the figure expresses graphically, purification and thereby appropriation into a new connection to God."19
This is probably an allusion to covenant ratification (cf. Exod. 24:5-8). Jesus' blood was the ratification of the New Covenant (cf. Matt. 26:27-28; Mark 14:23-24; Luke 22:20) since it was the basis for the forgiveness of sins promised in Jeremiah 31:31-34.20
"Peter's choice of images confirms the impression that he writes to communities of Gentiles as if they were a strange new kind of Jew."21
In this verse Peter referred to all three members of the Trinity.
"The primary import of the three clauses [that begin verse 2] is to open up clearly at the outset of the Epistle the transcendent origin, nature, and purpose of the Church and its life."22
Probably Peter had Old Testament sprinkling of blood in mind when he wrote this verse. There are many Old Testament allusions in this epistle. Sprinkling with blood in Israel resulted in cleansing (Num. 19:9), bringing the person sprinkled under the terms and blessings of a covenant (Exod. 24:3-8), and induction into the priesthood and kingship. Members of the priesthood enjoyed the privilege of mediating between God and people (Exod. 29:21; Lev. 8:30). Members of the royal line in Israel enjoyed the privilege of reigning under God. All of these benefits belong to the Christian whom God has figuratively sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ, the final sacrifice for our sins. Obedience is our responsibility, and sprinkling is our privilege. Christ's blood covers our sins as sinners, cleanses our defilement as unclean people, and consecrates our service as priests and kings.
"The author sees himself and his readers as a community situated in the world in much the same way the Jews are situated, and sharing with the Jews a common past."23
Peter prayed for God's fullest outpouring of His favor and help on his readers. They needed this in view of their sufferings, which Peter proceeded to discuss. His readers also needed God's gift of peace since they were suffering.
"In looking back over Peter's designation of his readers, one is awed by the sweep and richness of his statement. If one has been prone to think of Peter primarily as an aggressive man of action, he here reveals himself also as a man who had a firm grasp of the great spiritual realities of the faith."24
The recurrence of the direct address, "Beloved,"in 2:11 and 4:12 divides this letter into three main parts.
"The theme of the first part is the identity of the people of God established on the basis of the great salvation Christ has accomplished (and is accomplishing) on their behalf. Their identity as a chosen' people is affirmed programmatically in the address (1:1-2) and confirmed in the concluding pronouncements of 2:9-10 so as to form an inclusio. More broadly, there is an inclusion between the emphasis on the identity of Christians in the first section (1:1-12) and last section (2:1-10) of part one. In the first section, they are chosen' as heirs of divine salvation, while in the last their election is confirmed by the metaphor of priesthood."25
Peter began the body of this epistle by reminding his readers of their identity as Christians. He did this to enable them to rejoice in the midst of present suffering. They could do this since they would ultimately experience glorification. The tone of this entire epistle is warm, pastoral, and full of encouragement.
Since Christians have a particular vocation in the world certain conduct was essential for Peter's readers.
"The address, Dear friends, I appeal to you,' in 2:11 marks a shift from the identity of God's people to their consequent responsibility in a hostile world. If 1:3-2:10 expanded on their identity as chosen people' (cf. 1:2), the reference to them as aliens and strangers' in 2:11 serves as a reminder that they are at the same time living as strangers' (again cf. 1:2) in contemporary society."82
Peter concluded this epistle with a final exhortation and greetings from those with him and himself to encourage his readers further.
5:12 Silvanus is the Roman form of the Greek name Silas. This Silas may very well have been Paul's companion on his second missionary journey. Silas may have written this epistle as Peter dictated it or in some other way assisted in its composition. Peter may have taken the pen from Silvanus at this point and written the conclusion himself, as was common (cf. Gal. 6:11; 2 Thess. 3:17). It seems more probable, however, that Silas carried this epistle from Paul to its first destination.197It would have been more customary for Peter to mention Silas at the beginning of the letter if he had had some role in its composition.198
Peter explained his purpose for writing this epistle. He wanted to exhort the readers to stand firm in the faith since suffering for the Savior is part of being a recipient of God's grace (5:9). One of Peter's gifts was exhortation. God's grace is sufficient (2 Cor. 12:9)! The "true grace of God"may refer to the help that the readers would obtain from this letter.199
5:13 "She"probably refers to the church in the town where Peter was when he wrote this letter (cf. 2 John 1, 4). The Greek word for "church"(ekklesia) is feminine.200Some commentators have suggested that he referred to his wife,201but this seems unlikely. God chose the church together with the believers to whom Peter sent this epistle.
"Babylon"may refer to Babylon on the Euphrates River.202However this seems more likely to be a veiled, metaphorical reference to Rome where Peter spent the last years of his life.203John "Mark"was in Rome (Col. 4:10). Why would Peter have called Rome Babylon? Probably he did so because Rome was the capitol of the pagan world. The Christians had come to think of Rome as Babylon. Babylon was then in decline, but it was formerly the world center of godlessness. The Bible uses Babylon as a symbol of ungodliness as well as the name of a real town (cf. Rev. 17-18). Similarly the name Hollywood is both a literal town name and the symbol of the industry for which the town is famous.
". . . Babylon [in 1 Peter] becomes a beautiful symbol for the capital of the place of exile away from the true inheritance in heaven."204
John Mark was Peter's protégé. Many scholars believe Mark wrote his Gospel in Rome and that Peter's influence is apparent in what he included in that record of Jesus' life and ministry. There is considerable evidence for this in the second Gospel.
5:14 In Peter's culture a kiss was a common way to express affection publicly (cf. Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:12; 1 Thess. 5:26). It still is today in many parts of the world.
"In the ancient world kisses were normally exchanged among family members (parents and children; brothers and sisters; servants and masters) and at times between rulers and their clients. The erotic kiss is secondary and not stressed in the literature. The familial kiss probably forms the background to the NT practice, for all fellow-Christians were considered brothers and sisters. This affectionate kissing was normally on the cheeks, forehead, or hands. We can assume such to be the practice here. . . . In calling it the kiss of love' Peter not only brings out the meaning of kiss (kiss,' philemain Greek, comes from phileo, a verb indicating familial and friendly as opposed to erotic love), but also expresses the proper relationship among the members of the Christian community (love' here is the typical Christian term for love, agape, used also in 1:22; 4:8)."205
In the midst of their persecution Peter prayed that his readers might experience God's surpassing peace (Phil. 4:6-7). "Peace"expresses the common Jewish blessing "Shalom."This epistle opens and closes with a prayer for peace (cf. 1:2).
"What a wonderful way to end a letter that announced the coming of a fiery trial!"206
