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1 Peter background
Who was Peter? He was one of Jesus’ first disciples, and he was certainly one of more commonly seen and entertaining of the group. You can’t really read the New Testament without getting a sense as to the kind of person Peter was - emotional, passionate, out-spoken. And when Peter finally ‘got it’, he became an amazing and impassioned ambassador for the Christian faith. His name WAS Simon originally, and was famously renamed by Jesus as Kephas (Kay-fas), in Aramaic, which means Rock, and was translated as Petros in Greek, or Peter.
When was this letter written? Given that Peter doesn’t mention the Neronian persecution that occurred in Rome in the mid 60s AD, it is most likely that this was written in the early 60s. So, we are talking about something written within about 30 years of Jesus’ death, by someone who was with Jesus, had eaten with, touched, experienced life with, and watched Jesus’ ministry and death take place.
What is the story behind this letter, 1 Peter? He clearly indicates that his letter is written to gentiles - and, specifically, to gentiles dispersed across Asia Minor which is modern day Turkey. There are several themes or ideas that jump out the way that this letter is arranged, first that suffering paradoxically produces hope and purifies the spirit, then he talked about a new family that is born out of believers uniting and how there is a newness to life in following Jesus. Then he moves on to discuss further the theme of suffering and how that ties into being a witness for Jesus and really spends a fair amount of the back half of the letter developing that theme. A major takeaway that is so powerful from this is a the idea that violent resistance isn’t the solution to oppression, it isn’t through violence that we are to make our point and make our voices heard...that is a great message for our day and time.
The Bible Project says that 1 Peter is a reminder that God’s people have always been at least a somewhat misunderstood minority, because we are living under a different King and in a different paradigm, and that persecution offers a chance to show others the generous love of Jesus.
Strength in suffering, seeing suffering as a tool for our development and our witness to others...these are what we’ll really be diving into in the days ahead. Tomorrow is the read-through, and I am looking forward to that.
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By Steve AndersonWho was Peter? He was one of Jesus’ first disciples, and he was certainly one of more commonly seen and entertaining of the group. You can’t really read the New Testament without getting a sense as to the kind of person Peter was - emotional, passionate, out-spoken. And when Peter finally ‘got it’, he became an amazing and impassioned ambassador for the Christian faith. His name WAS Simon originally, and was famously renamed by Jesus as Kephas (Kay-fas), in Aramaic, which means Rock, and was translated as Petros in Greek, or Peter.
When was this letter written? Given that Peter doesn’t mention the Neronian persecution that occurred in Rome in the mid 60s AD, it is most likely that this was written in the early 60s. So, we are talking about something written within about 30 years of Jesus’ death, by someone who was with Jesus, had eaten with, touched, experienced life with, and watched Jesus’ ministry and death take place.
What is the story behind this letter, 1 Peter? He clearly indicates that his letter is written to gentiles - and, specifically, to gentiles dispersed across Asia Minor which is modern day Turkey. There are several themes or ideas that jump out the way that this letter is arranged, first that suffering paradoxically produces hope and purifies the spirit, then he talked about a new family that is born out of believers uniting and how there is a newness to life in following Jesus. Then he moves on to discuss further the theme of suffering and how that ties into being a witness for Jesus and really spends a fair amount of the back half of the letter developing that theme. A major takeaway that is so powerful from this is a the idea that violent resistance isn’t the solution to oppression, it isn’t through violence that we are to make our point and make our voices heard...that is a great message for our day and time.
The Bible Project says that 1 Peter is a reminder that God’s people have always been at least a somewhat misunderstood minority, because we are living under a different King and in a different paradigm, and that persecution offers a chance to show others the generous love of Jesus.
Strength in suffering, seeing suffering as a tool for our development and our witness to others...these are what we’ll really be diving into in the days ahead. Tomorrow is the read-through, and I am looking forward to that.