The First Letter of Peter

A Global Commentary

Strawbridge, Jennifer Strawbridge

• Publisher: SCM Press
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9780334058878
• eBook ISBN: 9780334060000
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Criticism & Interpretation

Designed as the official commentary resource for the Lambeth Conference in 2020, and structured around the themes of the conference, the book offers a unique range of perspectives on an oft-overlooked epistle. With contributions from an impressive range of scholars including Paula Gooder, Emma Ineson, Paul Swarup, Musa Dube, Craig Keener, and Kwok Pui Lan, it will provide an important resource for anyone studying, teaching, or preaching from the letter.

Introduction to 1 Peter

The First Letter of Peter presents itself as a letter written by ‘Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ’ (1.1). The letter portrays its apostolic author in Rome (called Babylon in this letter) and writing in the company of Mark and Silvanus (5.12–13), either or both of whom might be his assistant or indeed ghostwriter. Regardless of authorship 1 Peter is, in subtle but significant respects, deliberately cast in character (Bockmuehl 2012b, pp.142–7).

1 Peter is both embedded in the early Christian movement and deeply conversant with the Hebrew scriptures (for example, 1.24; 2.6–10; 3.10–12), drawing on a number of Jewish and Christian themes and texts. As such, it is understood by scholars to be an ecumenical bridge and anchor. It is called a ‘catholic epistle’, where catholic means ‘universal’ since it is addressed to more than one community (which is essential to keep in mind when this commentary speaks of Peter’s ‘community’). The letter is also connected with more strands of the New Testament than any other letter within it. Jesus’ life and death in 1 Peter resonates with that in the Synoptic tradition (Mark, Matthew and Luke), and elements of this letter echo the writings of the apostle Paul.

The letter is written to Christians in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, all provinces of the Roman Empire in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), and the prescript hints at a prior mission to northern Asia Minor (1.1). These areas are associated with persecution of Christians both here in 1 Peter and in the correspondence in ad 112 of Pliny the Younger with the Emperor Trajan (Letter 10.96). The readership is a Christian diaspora – a group of people alienated from the society around them – whom we know to have experienced opposition specifically for their Christian faith and identity (4.12–17). They are suffering as rejected outsiders in their own communities, no longer belonging to a world in which they were once at home (4.1–5). The letter uses a number of powerful metaphors often translated as ‘resident alien’, ‘exile’, ‘stranger’, ‘foreigner’ and ‘sojourner’. This is the context into which Peter speaks his strikingly resonant message of hope and holiness, beginning in the first chapter.

Hope in the midst of persecution is clearly and repeatedly developed as that which unites the readers both with the apostle and with Jesus himself. The description of Jesus’ exemplary suffering, including his silence when unjustly abused in his trial (2.23–24), links with the depiction of the death of Jesus in Synoptic tradition (see Mark 10.45; 14.61; Matt. 20.28) as well as several of Peter’s speeches in Acts (see Acts 4.10–12; 10.42–43). Within 1 Peter, the apostolic author encourages Christian leaders as a ‘fellow elder’ and apostolic ‘witness’ of Jesus’ sufferings (5.1).

1. Called into Hope and Holiness in Christ1 (1 Peter 1)

‘Life is Short’ (2010), Nancy Rourke.

‘Life is Short’: 1 Peter is addressed ‘to the exiles of the Dispersion’ (1.1). The word ‘exile’ contains echoes of outsider, the odd one out, someone who is different. In the deaf resistance art of Nancy Rourke, the figure in a different shade and with a smile (the only one in colour in the original) represents a deaf person who has discovered sign language and the freedom that brings. This is in contrast to other deaf people in the painting who are restricted by the limits of having to try and communicate only by speaking and lip-reading. The smile on the signing figure, as well as its being painted in a different colour, shows the joy of being free to communicate in their own language. Similarly, the aliens and exiles of 1 Peter are being encouraged to find joy and freedom in their identity in Christ. When we become aware that, because of our faith, we are the odd one out in our own cultural context, do we beam with this freedom?

Nancy Rourke, deaf artist, used by permission; the coloured version can be accessed at www.nancyrourke.com/paintings/deaf/lifeisshort.webp.

The first chapter of 1 Peter sets the tone for the whole of the letter. From the first verse we are told that the letter is from ‘Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ’ (1.1) and is written to ‘exiles’ who are spread throughout Asia Minor. The identity of these dispersed exiles is not limited to their geographical situation and dislocation, but immediately they are identified as ‘chosen’, ‘destined’ and ‘sanctified’ by Jesus Christ (1.2). This identity is crucial to the whole of the letter and for the apostolic author’s understanding of God, for God the Father has chosen these exiles as God’s own, the Spirit has made these exiles holy and they are called to obey Jesus Christ.

The first chapter builds on this new identity in Jesus Christ through six themes that run across the letter. Diaspora and living as resident aliens is the first theme for these are the ones who make up the community of 1 Peter. They are called ‘strangers in the world’, exiles or resident aliens (1.1, 17) who are experiencing or have experienced persecution. This context will form the basis for the call not only to hope, holiness and joy, but also to hospitality, risk, witness, resistance and resilience. Hope is the second theme, whose foundation is Jesus Christ. Hope in Christ is not the same as optimism, for only hope can confront death and despair because this hope is based on the death and resurrection of Christ and not on our own doings or personal piety. This leads straight into the third theme, that of rebirth and resurrection. The movement from death to life (1.3) is connected to the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1.19–20) and to the calling as God’s own people (1.22–23). This rebirth through the living word of God moves one from no hope to hope (1.21), from ignorance to knowledge (1.14), from disobedience to obedience (1.2, 22).

Peter’s letter is addressed to those who are suffering. Difficult as it may sound, the apostolic call is to rejoice in the midst of suffering and testing (1.6) and to know Christ’s joy in the midst of suffering. With the focus on Christ, those who are suffering now are assured of the work of God to bring new life in which the past is forgiven, the present protected and the future assured (1.3–5, 7). The joy of Christ is thus shared even when he is not seen (1.8), and his suffering and glory is the example and encouragement to these dispersed Christians (1.11).

Christ’s self-sacrifice and suffering also informs the fifth theme, which is the call to holiness of those who bear the name ‘Christian’. This is a call to imitate God in God’s self-sacrificial movement towards the other and towards us. God is holy and so we too are called to be holy (1.15–16). This holiness is not something that we can earn or control, but is an invitation and a gift, which leads to the final theme of 1 Peter: inheritance and God’s gift. God’s gifts are better than gold or silver (1.18) and can never perish, spoil, or fade (1.4). And while holiness, hope and being chosen as God’s own people are all gifts from God, the ultimate gift described within 1 Peter is that of salvation (1.5, 9, 10).

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1 Peter 1.1–2

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 who have been chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with his blood:

May grace and peace be yours in abundance.

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1 Peter is a general letter sent to Christians dispersed in the Roman provinces or regions of Asia Minor. These are places in the Roman Empire that are known for their faith, but many of them are places to which Paul did not travel in his missionary journeys (see Acts 16.7). The very first word of the letter makes clear that it is attributed to the apostle Peter. As suggested in the earlier introduction, scholars debate whether Peter could have written it directly because of its sophisticated Greek syntax. The letter’s contents also suggest that it was written towards the end of the first century (Bartlett, p. 234). Thus, some advocate that it was written after Peter’s death perhaps by a ghostwriter such as Mark or Silvanus (mentioned in 1 Peter 5). Whether the letter was written by Peter or some other early Christian leader, the letter is deliberately cast in the character of Peter and written by an author who lived in diaspora in the imperial centre of Rome to colonial subjects living in Asia Minor.

Asia Minor had been colonized for centuries and was influenced by Hellenistic language and culture, as well as Roman imperial commerce and religion (Schüssler Fiorenza, p. 383). The recipients of the letter are characterized as exiles, migrants, foreigners and resident aliens (1.1; 2.11). It is worth noting, in this Roman context, that there are two meanings of the word ‘exile’ in the opening of the letter. First, in its immediate context, ‘exile’ means that the Christians who received the letter had left their homeland to live as strangers and foreigners in Asia Minor. In this sense, the word establishes a connection between the sender and the recipients as they are both living in exile, in diaspora. Second, ‘exile’ may also mean that all Christians no matter their political or geographical context are living in exile, separated for a time from their eternal home in heaven (Bartlett, p. 246).

The language of ‘exile’ and ‘dispersion’ or diaspora in the opening sentence of 1 Peter is key as it draws on well-known images and experiences from the Old Testament, where Israel was scattered like sheep as resident aliens in a foreign land. This is also an image picked up later in 1 Peter 2 and 5, where Peter draws on Ezekiel 34 and Gospel stories such as Luke 15, with God and Christ as a shepherd looking for scattered, lost sheep.

Those who are exiles, separated from their home, are outsiders and often reviled. Resident aliens did not have full citizenship and did not enjoy the protection and rights that they once did in their homeland. They were politically and economically exploited and vulnerable, and often had to endure disdain and suspicion by those who were citizens. They could not hold major civic offices and were restricted in commerce, intermarriage and land tenure. However, they were still responsible for taxes and military services. Their status was not very different from foreigners and migrants (Elliott 1990, p. 26; Schüssler Fiorenza, p. 386). Their condition could be compared to Jewish exiles who did not live in their homeland and were treated as second-class citizens.

Therefore, from the beginning we see that the recipients of 1 Peter suffered from rejection and harassment by members of society because they lived as strangers in a foreign land and their Christian identity made them suspect. They were once pagans, following the religious and social practices of their ancestors (1.18), but they have become Christians, chosen by God and sanctified by the Holy Spirit (1.2). And this is the focus of the consolation and encouragement to the recipients of this letter. In the world, their sharing in the name of Christ may lead to suffering, but they are chosen, destined, belonging to a new people and protected by the power of God (1.3–5).

The letter exhorts Christians living in diaspora to put their faith in God and not lose hope in an environment of suspicion and hostility. As minorities in a colonized world, they had to show how living as a Christian community was different while, at the same time, they needed to bear witness that their Christian way of living did not present a threat to society. One of the challenges of 1 Peter is how it expresses truth and encouragement to those who are persecuted and who live in danger because of their faith. It is difficult for those who are not persecuted to understand the reality of the recipients of this letter and there is much potential for disconnect and judgement.

1 Peter is highly relevant today, as the twenty-first century has been called ‘the century of migration’. The letter touches on the themes of exile, diaspora, migration, interreligious relationships, living as minorities, second-class citizenship, gender relations and relationships to authorities. The strategies the letter offers to the suffering Christians in Asia Minor may not be applicable to all Christians living in different parts of the world today. Yet, it offers a mirror for us to examine power dynamics both in the public and domestic sphere.

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Excursus: Home and Homelessness

1 Peter is addressed to Gentile converts who find themselves rootless because of their new affiliation. They are now ‘exiles of the Dispersion’ (1.1) and ‘aliens’ (2.11). Discontented or no longer welcome in their original homes, they have become homeless. Yet the letter balances titles of dispossession and instability with images of possession and stability. Believers are now living stones in a new building, a ‘spiritual house’ (2.5). They now share the inheritance of God’s people Israel (‘a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation’, 2.9; see also Ex. 19.6). Those who appeared to be without a home now find a common home in the ‘house’ or ‘household of God’ (4.17).

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1 Peter 1.3–5

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

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As the opening to 1 Peter continues, hope remains central not as something that we deserve, bu...

Table of contents

• Copyright information
• Contents
• About the Editor and Contributors
• Foreword
• Introduction to the Commentary
• Introduction to 1 Peter
• 1. Called into Hope and Holiness in Christ (1 Peter 1)
• 2. A Holy People Following Christ (1 Peter 2)
• 3. Resistance and Resilience in Christ (1 Peter 3)
• 4. Suffering in Christ (1 Peter 4)
• 5. Authority in Christ (1 Peter 5)
• Bibliography and Further Reading