|
by
Doug Ward |
Simon the Galilean fisherman was first introduced to Jesus of
Nazareth by his brother Andrew. "We have found the Messiah," Andrew announced
to him. Jesus subsequently gave Simon the nickname Cephas (or Peter, in Greek),
which means "rock" (Jn 1:41-42). We know him today as Simon Peter, or
simply as Peter.
Both
Andrew and Peter became followers of Jesus, and Peter came to agree with his
brother that Jesus was the promised Messiah. At Caesarea Philippi, when Jesus
asked his disciples, "Who do you say that I am?", Peter affirmed,
"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Mt 16:16).
The
disciples had much to learn, however, about the nature of the Messiah's mission
and what it meant to follow him. Jesus revealed to them that he was destined to
die in Jerusalem, and then to be raised from the dead. What's more, they might
also lose their lives for his sake (vv 21-25).
At
first Peter vigorously protested the idea that Jesus would soon die (v 21).
Matters only became clear after the resurrection of Jesus, when the risen
Messiah explained that both his death and his resurrection had been predicted
by the prophets of Israel (Lk 24:25-27, 44-47). Peter then embraced and
proclaimed the truth that he had initially resisted (Ac 2-5) until he, too, was
put to death during the Neronian persecution in the 60s AD. 1
|
The
Message of 1 Peter |
In his first epistle, written to Christians in Asia Minor, Peter taught what he had learned from Jesus. Like Peter, the
recipients of the letter lived under the powerful Roman Empire and faced the
prospect of persecution as a religious minority in a polytheistic culture. He
described them as "sojourners and exiles" (1 Pe 2:11).
Peter
wrote to encourage these Christians, reminding them that a glorious future lay
ahead of them if they remained faithful (1:3-6). He urged them to live moral
lives as a witness to those around them (2:12). He also challenged them to
maintain a delicate balance with respect to secular authority, as summarized in
1 Peter 2:17: "Fear God. Honor the emperor." Overall, they were to be
upstanding citizens as much as possible. Their first allegiance, though, was to
the King of the Universe and his commandments. As Peter and his fellow apostles
had once said, "We must obey God rather than men" (Ac 5:29).
Peter
specifically addressed those in the most vulnerable positions in society,
including servants who might have to suffer unjustly under cruel and arbitrary
masters. To help them endure through difficult times, he reminded them of the
example of Jesus, who willingly laid down his life for mankind even though he
had done no wrong himself (2:18-25; Isa 53:5-9).
How
might slaves have applied Peter's instruction? In his novel A Week in the
Life of Ephesus (InterVarsity Press, 2020), New Testament scholar David
DeSilva pictures what life might have been like for Christians in Ephesus in 89
AD, a generation after the writing of 1 Peter. One of
the characters in the novel is Euplus, a slave who is
beaten for refusing to honor the gods of his master. Euplus
explains to his master's wife that while the gods of Ephesus have no regard for
slaves, Jesus made himself like a slave and died so that he and other slaves
could have eternal life. Euplus therefore considers
it an honor to suffer for Jesus' sake (pp 128-130).
Peter
went on to advise Christian wives, some of whom might be married to
unbelievers. He urged them to respect their husbands and live holy lives while
standing up bravely for their faith Such a way of living would have a positive
influence on their husbands and could lead unbelievers to faith (3:1-6).
Here
Peter mentioned the example of Sarah, wife of the patriarch Abraham. Sarah
respected her husband, referring to him as "my lord" (Ge 18:12),
while also facing tests of faith. She accompanied Abraham to a new land,
leaving friends and relatives behind (Ge 12:1-5). She lived through years of
infertility. Moreover, although Abraham was no unbeliever, he sometimes placed
Sarah in danger, particularly when he asked her to pose as his sister at Egypt
and Gerar (Ge 12, 20). Through it all she seems to
have maintained trust in God.
|
Not
Just for Slaves and Wives |
Some Christians who wish to emphasize wifely submission to husbands
will point to 1 Peter 3:1-6 as a proof text. Others, mainly non-Christians,
charge Peter with promoting subjugation of slaves and wives in his epistle. I
believe that both of these approaches miss the fact that Peter gave essentially
the same instruction to all Christians that he did to servants and wives. In
particular, he counseled all Christians, not just slaves and women, to live
moral lives and appropriately submit to authority (2:12-13).
After
writing to wives, Peter provided guidance for all Christians (3:8) that
paralleled what he had already written to specific groups.2
He encouraged all to "turn the other cheek" and not retaliate in
response to mistreatment (3:9), as he had said to servants. He emphasized the
importance of living righteously, quoting Psalm 34:12-16 (3:10-17). He urged
all not to be fearful (3:14), as he had already said to wives (3:6). He invoked
the example of Jesus again in 1 Peter 3:18.
In
summary, Peter taught all believers to (a) live lives that are above reproach;
(b) stand firm in the face of society's threats; (c) live in a way that will
win people over, now or in the future, through appropriate actions and words.
His instruction, grounded in the life and teaching of Jesus the Messiah, is as
relevant for us today as it was in the first century.
1See for example
Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History, Book 2, Chapter 25.
2See
David G. Horrell, "Fear, Hope, and Doing Good:
Wives as a Paradigm of Mission in 1 Peter," Estudios
Biblicos LXXIII (2015) 409-429, which includes
charts summarizing the parallels.
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On 25 Apr 2024, 18:02.
