1st Peter

Chapter 1

​Context of 1st Peter

Verse 1:
“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen”

Who wrote this letter?

​Not surprisingly, Peter wrote 1st Peter. He was an apostle. The word apostle (Greek: apostolos) means one who is sent, a messenger, a bearer of a commission. This was the role Peter served in the early church. When found by Christ, Peter was a Jewish fisherman, some think he was actually oldest disciple of all those Jesus chose, mainly because he is mentioned so much in the Gospels.

In 1st Peter 5:12-13 we see that this letter was written down in Rome by Silvanus, Peter’s faithful brother, so he may have been an assistant to him. We also see Peter call Mark his Son, who is thought to be the one who wrote the Gospel of Mark on Peter's behalf. Some notable stories associated with Peter from the New Testament include his walking on water, Christ giving him the name Peter (Greek: Petros), and Christ commanding him to feed His sheep. Peter’s name is mentioned in the gospels more than anyone except the name of Jesus. No one speaks in the gospels as often as Peter did, and Jesus spoke more to Peter than to any other individual.
​
Peter background info: 

​Simon was originally from Bethsaida (John 1:44) and lived in Capernaum (Mark 1:29), both cities on the coast of the Sea of Galilee. He was married (1 Corinthians 9:5), and he and James and John were partners in a profitable fishing business (Luke 5:10). Simon met Jesus through his brother Andrew, who had followed Jesus after hearing John the Baptist proclaim that Jesus was the Lamb of God (John 1:35-36). Andrew immediately went to find his brother to bring him to Jesus. Upon meeting Simon, Jesus gave him a new name: Cephas (Aramaic) or Peter (Greek), which means “rock” (John 1:40-42). Later, Jesus officially called Peter to follow Him, producing a miraculous catch of fish (Luke 5:1-7). Immediately, Peter left everything behind to follow the Lord (verse 11).
    3. For the next three years, Peter lived as a disciple of the Lord Jesus. Being a natural-born leader, Peter became the de facto spokesman for the Twelve (Matthew 15:15, 18:21, 19:27; Mark 11:21; Luke 8:45, 12:41; John 6:68, 13:6-9, 36). More significantly, it was Peter who first confessed Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” a truth which Jesus said was divinely revealed to Peter (Matthew 16:16-17).
    4. Peter was part of the inner circle of Jesus’ disciples, along with James and John. Only those three were present when Jesus raised the daughter of Jairus (Mark 5:37) and when Jesus was transfigured on the mountain (Matthew 17:1). Peter and John were given the special task of preparing the final Passover meal (Luke 22:8).

1. What are some of Peter’s mistakes or less than ideal character qualities?
    1. Impulsive, speaks without thinking.
    2. Walks on water, but took his eyes off Jesus.
    3. Peter draws his sword and cuts off the servants ear.
    4. Boasted he would never forsake the Lord.
        1. Denies Jesus three times.
    5. In Acts we see Peter preaching and healing.

1. Recap of Church Leadership in the Early Church:
    1. Episkopos = (Overseer/Bishop)
        1. Occurrences: 5 times
            1. Someone with authority to lead, perhaps pastor role
    2. Presbuteros = (Elder)
        1. Occurrences: 72 times 
            1. Range of meanings: 
                1. 57 times is translated as “Elder” and means a position of leadership, such as pastor or other position of leadership, but what differentiates it from overseer is it assumes the quality of old age.
                2. 10 times it simply means older man
                3. 1 time it means older woman (1st Timothy 5:2)
    3. Diakonos = (Deacon)
        1. Occurrences: 29 times
            1. Means “one who serves in ministry” or simply “servant”. This is someone who serves the church.
                1. 3 times = deacon
                2. 7 times = minister
                3. 19 times = servant
            2. Since Paul says that the leaders of the church choose the deacons, it is thought that deacons are held accountable by the elders and pastors, but in Philippians 1:1, since Paul addresses the pastors and the deacons, it shows that the deacons did have a leadership role to play.
            3. 1st Tim 3:8, Paul switches from talking about overseer requirements to talking about deacon requirements. Clearly these are distinct and overseers are to have authority of the deacons.
    4. The relevant takeaway:
        1. There was a leadership structure in the church instituted by the apostles, and there were certain requirements for those positions. They had to be men of proven character.
        2. No church was led by a single person. No single person had authority over a local church, there was to be a plurality of leadership, and there was to be accountability.
        3. The purpose was to have a healthy church that could serve people, and I think there’s some flexibility in how each local body tries to do fulfill the great commission.
    5. The Apostles - a special appointment. They were given prophecy and revelation. And once the canon of Scripture was completed, when John finished Revelation, the age of the apostles ceased. That is called cessationism. 
        1. When we approach the ministry of Peter, we need to consider these things. There was no single leader of the early church. The concept of one human being serving as the head of the entire Christian church is completely foreign to Scripture. Even the age of the apostles, which was a special circumstance for God’s New Covenant revelation to be expounded, there was not one apostle over all the others. 
2. One of the most significant and controversial stories about Peter:
    1. Read Matthew 16:13-20 (Where Peter says who Jesus is):
    2. “13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” 15 He *said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 I also say to you that you are [l] Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” 20 Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.”
    3. Peter’s name was Simon, but Jesus changed his name to Petros in Greek (which means stone), or Peter in English. His name given by Christ means that he is a stone, or a rock.
        1. Jesus tells him, “you are Peter (Πέτρος / Stone)”, and upon this rock (πέτρᾳ / Rock or Large Rock, bedrock) I will build my church.
    4. What is the rock Jesus is referring to when He says, “and upon this rock I will build my Church”?
        1. The rock is Peter:
            1. He was a huge part of the foundation of the early church
        2. The rock is the truth Peter stated, that Jesus is the Christ.
            1. “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”
                1. Christ means “Messiah”
        3. The Rock is Peter’s faith:
            1. See 1st Peter 2:4-5
                1. There are stones, and there is the Stone.
                2. The faith of believers makes us living stones being built into the church, into the body of The Living Stone, Jesus Christ.
        4. The rock is Jesus.
            1. Jesus is the chief cornerstone of stone.
            2. 1st Peter 2:6-7
    5. So does this mean Peter is the first Pope?
        1. The descriptions we see in Scripture are for two offices of the early church: Bishop/Pastor/Elder (which are all used interchangeably), and then deacons.
            1. Philippians 1:1, Paul addresses overseers and deacons in his letter. There were elders there too, but he uses the Greek word Episkopos and 
            2. There are no other official biblical offices. Churches add other offices but that doesn’t mean they are Biblical. The Pope is not a Biblical office, there is no evidence that there was a pope in the first century.
        2. Pope Leo the 1st in around 450 AD is when the office of the Pope began to really come to fruition and have a prime place in the Catholic Church. It wasn’t in the Bible are the first century for sure.
        3. It could mean Peter was given a leadership role in the early Church, because he was an apostle and did lead the Church along with the other apostles, but by the NT itself, we see that he had an equal level of authority and accountability along with the other apostles.
    6. We do see evidence Peter did not have primacy over the other apostles:
        1. Galatians 2:11-13 (NASB2020), “11 But when Cephas (Aramaic for Peter) came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For prior to the coming of some men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and separate himself, fearing those from the circumcision. 13 The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.”
            1. Thoughts?
        2. Read 1st Peter 5:1
            1. Thoughts?
            2. Did Peter see himself as the head of the entire Christian Church?
                1. (Our interpretation of Matthew 16 should probably take into account how Peter interpreted that event. He did not see himself as the foundation of the Christian church nor the head of the Christian church.)
        3. Read Luke 22:24-30:
            1. 24 And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest. 25 And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ 26 But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. 27 For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves.
            2. 28 “You are those who have stood by Me in My trials; 29 and just as My Father has granted Me a kingdom, I grant you 30 that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
        4. 
        5. Got Questions said, “If Peter were the first pope, he would surely have understood the difference between the priesthood and the laity. But, according to his own teaching, all believers comprise the priesthood under the New Covenant. Peter wrote to Christians that they were “like living stones . . . being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). A few verses later, he writes, “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9). Peter would have wholeheartedly agreed with the Protestant doctrine of the priesthood of all believers.”
            1. While there is a loose framework for church leadership structure in the NT, there is no split between the priests and the laity.
            2. The Reformers believed that if you are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, you are in union with Jesus Christ, and you share in His priesthood. Christ is the high priest, but by union with Him we are his priests. We are set apart to offer our life as a living sacrifice to His service. Just as the OT priests would offer animals and do this on account of the people.
            3. The “Priesthood of all believers” on the Gospel Coalition said the following:
                1. “Although there was a select group of priests in the OT, who mediated the knowledge, presence, and forgiveness of God to the rest of Israel, Christ has come and fulfilled the priestly role through his life, death, and resurrection. Therefore, Christ was the final priestly mediator between God and his people, and Christians share in that role through him. This means that Christians are not dependent upon the priests within the church to interpret Scripture for them or affect God’s blessing of forgiveness for them; all Christians are equally priests through Christ and stand upon the same ground before the cross.”
        6. Calvin said, “And on this rock. Hence it is evident how the name Peter comes to be applied both to Simon individually, and to other believers. It is because they are founded on the faith of Christ, and joined together, by a holy consent, into a spiritual building, that God may dwell in the midst of them, (Ezekiel 43:7.) For Christ, by announcing that this would be the common foundation of the whole Church, intended to associate with Peter all the godly that would ever exist in the world.”
            1. (Calvin’s view basically was that Jesus is referring to Peter, so long as His confession and faith is in Christ. That’s the ultimate Rock, Jesus Christ, faith in Him is the foundation of the church. But Peter was still being referred to here. Peter is a rock. Christ is the rock. And we are one in Him. Peter would lead with the other Apostles in the early church to bring the faith of Christ to the world.)

        1. What do y’all think Jesus’ words mean to Peter?
            1. The more important focus of this interaction with Jesus is not so much Peter, but what Peter said. Peter said “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” That is the foundation of the Church, Jesus Christ, it is faith in Him, which is what Peter’s confession demonstrates, that is the foundation of the church, not a fallible human being. Christianity isn’t about Popes and Elders or Deacons, for that matter, Church structure is important, but it’s not the foundation.


    1. Who is this letter written to?
        1. The book is written, as we see in Verse 1: to Christians scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia = This is in the region known as Asia Minor, modern day Turkey, which would have been mostly non-Jewish Christians, and they were being persecuted by the Greeks and the Romans.

    1. Does it matter who this letter is written to? Is it to Jews or Gentiles, or to both with a primary focus on Jews, or to both with a primarily focus on Gentiles? Does it matter at all?
        1. Derek Demars said: “It turns out that if we take 1 Peter as addressing a Gentile audience, then the epistle becomes one of the strongest supports for the theological idea that the church has replaced Israel as the people of God. This concept is also referred to as “replacement theology” or “supersessionism” (i.e. the church supersedes Israel). In 1 Peter 2:9, the readers are said to be “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession” — phrases pulled right out of the Hebrew Scriptures as descriptors of the nation of Israel. If Peter is applying this imagery to Gentiles, then as Scot McKnight claims, “There is no passage in the New Testament that more explicitly associates the Old Testament terms for Israel with the New Testament church than this one.”
    2. There is so much information on this topic, but I think either way, Peter is talking to Christians. So whether they are primarily Jews, or primarily Gentiles, the point can still be same, in Christ, we are a royal priesthood, we are experiencing fulfillment of the shadow of the Old Testament practices. It still supports “supersessionism” in my view whether they are mostly Jews or not.
        1. Remember Hebrews 13:10, “We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.”
            1. A priesthood that reject Jesus as the High Priest is not continuing the true priesthood, and has no right to eat from the altar, from the Cross, we have to see the Levitical Law as a schoolteacher to Jesus, or we aren’t seeing it correctly.
    3. To Jews:
        1. “to … aliens” - appears to be referring to Jews because it is the Jews who have Israel and Jerusalem and it is them that you would refer to as exiles, not necessarily gentiles as exiles. (1:1)
        2. Peter critique’s the audiences former way of life, which applies well to what is known as Hellenistic Jews, who lived in that area at the time and would have often been found indulging in the sins of the Romans.
        3. Peter uses lots of Old Testament prophetic images that would be more relevant to a Jewish audience.
        4. In verse 1, the word scattered comes from the Greek diaspora , which is where the phrase “Diaspora Jews” comes from, which means the scattered Jewish people.
        5. The Jews were exiled from their homeland by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E.
            1. Babylonians
                1. Conquered Jerusalem in 586 BC
                2. Destroyed the First Temple
                3. Exiled Judah to Babylon
            2. Persians (Cyrus the Great)
                1. Conquered Babylon in 539 BC
                2. Allowed the Jews to return
                3. Second Temple rebuilt (completed 516 BC)
            3. Greeks (Seleucid Empire)
                1. After Alexander the Great
                2. Antiochus IV Epiphanes desecrated the Temple (c. 167 BC)
                3. Erected a pagan altar, and stopped Jewish sacrifices
            4. Maccabeans (Hasmoneans) - led by Judas Maccabeus
                1. Revolted against the Seleucids, not Babylonians
                2. Recaptured Jerusalem and rededicated the Temple
                3. Event commemorated by Hanukkah = which means “dedication”, the temple was re-dedicated to God.
            5. John 10:22-23, it says Jesus was at the “Feast of Dedication” - probably Hanukkah, and probably a celebration of the Maccabean revolt.
                1. So this is the historical context in which Peter is writing. The Jews have the Second Temple, and it is a restored Temple after the Maccabean revolt.
            6. Scholars think this book was written between AD 60-64.
            7. The 2nd Temple is destroyed in AD 70, and it’s not mentioned in the book, so it’s likely before AD 70. If Jesus is crucified in AD 33, then this is not that far from Peter’s life experience with Jesus Christ in person.
    4. To Gentiles:
        1. Some would argue though, that this epistle is actually written to Gentiles.
            1. Derek Demars said, “In 1:18 Peter writes of how his readers have been redeemed from “your empty way of life inherited from your fathers.” Would Peter really have referred to the Jewish faith he grew up with as an “empty way of life”? And in 4:3, he implies that his readers used to practice “unrestrained behavior, evil desires, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and lawless idolatry”- hardly the kind of behavior that should characterize good, Torah-observing Jews.”