Deeper Commentary
1 PETER
CHAPTER 5
5:1
The elders among you I urge (I who am a
fellow-elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ-
Peter was present at the cross. After the denials,
knowing his condemnation, where did Peter go after his denials? Probably
he could quite easily have also gone and hung himself- for he was of that
personality type. But instead he went to the cross- for he was a witness
of the sufferings of Christ (1 Pet. 5:1), and his words and writing
consistently reflect the language of Golgotha’s awful scene. There, in
that personal, hidden observation of the cross, probably disguised in the
crowd, not daring to stand with John and the women, his conversion began.
Then his love for his Lord became the more focused. Now he could do
nothing- and his thinking had been so full of doing until that
point. All he could do was to watch that death and know his own
desperation, and somehow believe in grace. “Who his own self bare our sins
in his body up on to the tree” (2:24 RVmg.) suggests the watching Peter
reflecting, as the Lord’s body was lifted up vertical, that his sins of
denial and pride were somehow with his Lord, being lifted up by Him. “For
Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he
might bring us to God” (1 Pet. 3:18) could well have been written by Peter
with a glance back at the way that after his denials, he the unjust went
to the crucifixion scene and reflected just this. When in 5:1 he comments
that he witnessed the sufferings of Christ, he could be saying that
therefore these thoughts were his thoughts as he witnessed it: the just
suffering for him the unjust, to bring him back to God.
Peter was a “witness” of the sufferings of Christ. The same word is used
to characterize his witness of preaching in Acts 1:8; 5:32; 10:39. The
Greek word doesn’t convey that he simply saw the Lord’s sufferings, but
that he saw-and-therefore-spoke it. There is something in the cross that
cannot be held passively once it has been seen / understood. It must
be spoken out. Having described the physicalities of the cross, Is. 52:15;
53:1 continue: “So shall he sprinkle many nations… for that which
had not been [i.e. the like of which had never been] told them shall they
see; and that which they had not heard [ever before the like of] shall
they consider. Who hath believed our preaching (Heb.)? and to whom is the
arm of the Lord revealed?” by our preaching? There is an undeniable link
between the Lord’s sufferings and the preaching of them. They are in
themselves an imperative to preach them. So shall He sprinkle many
nations with His blood of atonement and new covenant, in that His
sufferings would provoke a world-wide (“to all nations” cp. “many
nations”) witness to them by those who knew them. Paul sums it up when he
speaks of “the preaching of (Gk. ‘which is’) the cross” (1 Cor. 1:18).
This is how essential the link between preaching and the cross. Peter’s
witness to men is a living exemplification of this.
Who is also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed)-
Our eternal future will
be about God’s glory being revealed in us (Rom. 8:18). And yet we are even
now partakers in that glory which shall be revealed through us in the
future. In this we see the connection between our present spirit of
witness, and the eternal life. We ‘have’ eternal life in the sense that we
live out now the essence of the life we will eternally live. Our eternal
future will be all about revealing Christ, who is the glory of God; and
this therefore is to be the essence of our lives today. Which is all why
‘preaching’ isn’t an optional extra to the Christian life, something some
are into but not others; the essence of revealing / manifesting Christ is
to be the essence of our whole existence. And further, the fact we will do
this to perfection in God’s future Kingdom is seen by Paul as the ultimate
encouragement for us, on account of which we can count all the sufferings
of this life as nothing (Rom. 8:18).
We have been called to "glory" in possessing Divine nature in the Kingdom
(2 Pet.1:3,4). Obviously we do not fully have that now. Yet we are firmly
connected with that hope; Peter earlier described himself as "a partaker
of the glory that shall be revealed" in us. Likewise we have been credited
with righteousness now through Christ (Rom. 9:30), yet our reward in the
Kingdom will be a "crown of righteousness" (2 Tim. 4:8).
5:2 Tend the flock of God- The Lord’s commission to Peter to “Feed
my sheep” is now passed on by Peter to all pastors, whom he pointedly
describes as “fellow elders”, as if to safeguard against any possible
misunderstanding to the effect that he was the senior, special elder. They
were all to follow his path and thereby achieve the same for
others. It is only the typical perversity of the Catholic church which
makes them read Peter as the very opposite: as a father figure
unapproachable in achievement by any other. The way Peter calls Christ the
petra of the ecclesia (1 Pet. 2:8) is surely to warn against any
view of himself as exclusively the rock.
Which is among you-
The reminder is that the pastors themselves were amongst the flock, also
sheep of the good shepherd. They were among the flock (:1), and the flock
among them (:2).
Not reservedly but willingly, according to the will of God; not for dishonest gain, but eagerly-
God's will for the
salvation of all the sheep was and is to be the "will" ["willingly"] of
the pastors. We will not therefore care for others only in return for
material payment or some other benefit; His constant will for the
salvation of His people is to be ours.
5:3 Neither lord it over those entrusted to you- This phrase 'Lord
it' is surely chosen to remind them that the flock had Jesus as their only
Lord. Pastors were to set an example which encouraged them to accept His
Lordship- not theirs.
But make yourselves examples to the flock-
Making ourselves
examples doesn't mean posing nor hypocrisy, but rather acting in such a
way that consciously sets ourselves up as examples. This was particularly
necessary in illiterate communities, where the only real access to the
word was to see it made flesh in other Christians. The same word is used
in Jn. 20:25 about the “print” of the nails- another perhaps unconscious
allusion to Peter's experience of the Lord's sufferings. Elders are not to
be domineering but to be examples, typoi (1 Pet. 5:3); but we are
all typoi to each other (1 Thess. 1:7).
5:4
And when the chief Shepherd shall be
manifested-
A reminder that they
themselves were but sheep having a shepherd.
You shall receive the crown of glory that does not fade away-
The glory of human
leadership fades away. They were to serve others with no expectation of
reward now, neither materially nor in terms of glory in the eyes of
others.
5:5- see on 1 Pet. 3:1.
Likewise, you younger ones, be subject to the elder men. Yes, all of you
gird yourselves with
humility, to serve one another-
James and John had desired the senior places in the
Lord’s Kingdom. “And when the ten heard it, they were moved with
indignation against the two brethren”, and we can imagine Peter to have
been the most indignant. For he had thought then that he loved the Lord
more than any of the others (cp. Mt. 26:33; Jn. 21:15). “But (in
admonition) Jesus called them unto him” and taught that only in the world
did men worry about who was greatest and mind that others were over them,
and went on to teach that the true greatness was in humility: “Whosoever
will be great among you, let him be your servant: even as the Son of man
came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life…”
(Mt. 20:25-28). These words were lived out in epitome at the last supper-
and again, Peter had objected to it. He had failed to grasp the Lord’s
teaching here. And having learnt the lesson finally, he can teach others
that they like their Lord should not ‘lord it’ over their brethren, but
rather be clothed with humility after the pattern of the kneeling Lord in
the upper room (1 Pet. 5:3,5). “Gird yourselves with humility to serve one
another” is a clear reference to the Lord’s humility at the last supper.
But it had been Peter who didn’t perceive it. Now, it is as if he pleads
with his readers not to be as slow as he had been to perceive the
supremacy of humility.
"Gird yourselves" is as in GNB "put on the apron of humility, to serve one another". The allusion is not only to the Lord's upper room washing of the disciples' feet- which Peter had so strongly objected to at the time. The allusion is to Phil. 2, where Paul also alludes to this, and goes on to make the point that the Lord Jesus "put on" the mind of a servant, and humbled Himself- and was therefore exalted. And this is exactly what Peter goes on to say in :6. Peter is presenting the Lord in the upper room and on the cross as our pattern. That is exactly what the Lord asked us to do- to do to others as He did to us there. And Peter now understands this, when at the time he had resisted it. As will be noted on :6, Peter and Paul often allude to each other; in this case, surely Peter has Col. 3:12 in mind: "as God's elect and beloved, put on sensitivity, kindness, humility, meekness". Peter also talks about the believers as "elect".
A relationship with a God like ours really ought to humble us. He,
the Almighty, has asked us to humble ourselves so that we might walk with
Him, as if He is so far beneath the petty pride of man (Mic. 6:8 mg.).
This really ought to humble us. The whole purpose of the Gospel is to
bring down the mountains of human pride and lift up the valleys of those
who lack any self-respect (Is. 40:4), thereby making an equality of
attitude amongst God's people. The vision of the Kingdom in Is. 2:2-4 was
used as an appeal for humility amongst Israel (2:10-12). We have
been clothed with God's righteousness (Is. 61:10; Rev. 3:18), and
therefore we should be clothed with humility too, as our response to this
(1 Pet. 5:5).
5:6- see on Mk. 9:35.
Therefore, humble yourselves-
God wants to exalt us at the last day, and so His hand, His Spirit or
action in our lives, will be humbling us now. And we are to willingly
merge with that process, realizing that this life is all about being
brought down, so that we might be lifted up to His glory at the last day.
The ideas are very similar to what we have in Phil. 2, where we are asked
to have the same mind which was in Jesus on the cross, who humbled Himself
[s.w. Phil. 2:8] so that He might be exalted. So whilst self humbling is a
conscious act, we are confirmed in it by God's hand. The same Greek words
are used in the parallel James 4:10, also written to Jewish believers:
"Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and He shall lift you
up" (s.w. "exalt you"). The parallel is between God's hand, and "the sight
of the Lord". We are assisted in the self humiliation process by recalling
that we live life in His sight; the Lord is watching us closely, and a
sense of His presence should inspire our self humbling.
But it is hard to consciously humble ourselves. There is no button on the side of our head which we can press, we cannot place our hand on our own heads and push ourselves down. But Peter has in mind the Lord's comments about self humbling in the Gospels: "When you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place; that when he that has invited you comes, he may say to you: Friend, go up higher. Then shall you have glory in the presence of all that sit to eat with you. For everyone that exalts himself shall be humbled, and he that humbles himself shall be exalted" (Lk. 14:10,11). We show our self humbling specifically at the communion meal. Conviction of our own sinfulness should result in our feeling that we truly deserve the lowest place. Paul modelled this, feeling "chief of sinners", "less than the least" of all believers. If we have not had this deep sense, that I am the worst of all, "the lowest..."... then we have some travelling left to do. And we demonstrate this attitude at the breaking of bread. To use that meeting to exclude others... is a sad reflection of the fact that those who do so have not yet been brought to their knees. To take the lowest seat in church life reinforces humility in that we are aware that others appear to be worse sinners, or less spiritually mature, than ourselves. But let the cross convict us of our sin. If we maintain that conviction even in the presence of others, then the humility is reinforced; it is not just a recognition made on the cusp of emotion.
Likewise the parable of the tax collector and publican must also be in view here. He "went home rendered righteous rather than the other. For everyone that exalts himself shall be humbled, but he that humbles himself shall be exalted" (Lk. 18:14). The publican was so obviously insincere, that the publican might well have failed to put himself beneath that man. But he really felt he was the world's worst sinner, even worse than the obvious hypocrite in church next to him: "God, be merciful to me, the sinner" (Lk. 18:13). As in Lk. 14, we see that being physically next to weak fellow believers in church is in fact the litmus test of our feeling that we are indeed "chief of sinners". Even Paul did not deny the Corinthians access to the Lord's table. And if we have truly been convicted as feeling that we are the worse sinner... then we will never practice a closed table.
Under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time- "The might hand of God" is quoting from Dt. 3:24 LXX. The context is of Moses apparently seeking to resist that "mighty hand" by insisting that he enter the promised land, when he had been told that he could not do so because of his sin: "Lord God, thou hast begun to shew to thy servant thy strength, and thy power, and thy mighty hand... I will therefore go over and see this good land that is beyond Jordan" (Dt. 3:24,25). This request, or demand, was not granted. So it seems Moses is being cited as an example of one who did not humble himself under God's might hand- because he came to recalculate and rerenegotiate his sin, in his own mind. Therefore to humble ourselves under God's mighty hand is to recognize our sins and accept that we are unworthy to enter the Kingdom.
5:7- see on Phil. 4:6.
Casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you- The "anxiety" was related to being refugees in Turkey, worried about money and an uncertain future. Peter is roughly quoting from Ps. 55:22 LXX, which was written in the context of David's care / anxiety when facing the consequences of his sin with Bathsheba. Just as conviction of sin humbles us (:6,7), so we are to cast upon the Lord all our anxiety about salvation, or about the consequences of sin. Which ultimately refers to death. We do so believing that the Lord is indeed the sinner's friend, and our sin has been dealt with..Ps. 55:22 AV has: "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he will sustain thee". The idea is that He will bear both you and your burden. And again we are to understand the ultimate burden as sin: "mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me" (Ps. 38:4). The word "burden" is very often used in the Old Testament for the burden of a word of condemnation from God [e.g. "The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap" (Is. 17:1). The Lord's words clearly encourage us to shed that burden through acceptance of Him: "My burden is light" (Mt. 11:30). This burden, this fear of condemnation, is our subconscious, unspoken, unarticulated anxiety or "care". And it has been dealt with. And this is why, in the context of :6, we can be humbled by this. For what sinner like you and me cannot be humbled by the experience of forgiveness and assured salvation?
Simple faith that "He
cares for you" ought to remove anxiety; Peter is clearly alluding to the
sermon on the Mount (Mt. 6:25). Just as the illiterate Peter appears to
summarize Old Testament quotations as an illiterate person would, so we
could take this as his summary of Mt. 6:25. The Greek text makes a
seamless connection between humbling ourselves, and casting anxiety upon
God. Much worry about material survival is a result of pride...
5:8 Be sober, be watchful- They were to “be watchful” (1 Peter 5:8
RV), watching unto prayer as the end approaches (4:7), as Peter had not
been watchful in the garden and had earned the Lord’s rebuke for going to
sleep praying (Mt. 26:40,41). They were to learn from his mistake. Their
watchfulness was to be because the devil was prowling around, seeking whom
he could desire (5:8). This was exactly the case with Peter: Satan desired
to have him, he should have prayed for strength but didn’t do so
sufficiently (Lk. 22:31). He was warning his brethren that they were in
exactly the situation he had been in, a few hours before he went into that
fateful High Priest’s house.
Your adversary the Devil, like a roaring lion, walks about seeking whom he
may devour-
This fits with Peter's concern that the Jewish Christian exiles are living
within a very critical society eager to find fault with them; and the
'devouring' in view would be the fiery trial of the upcoming persecution
of Christians by Nero (4:12). Pliny records how Christians were asked to
make a threefold denial of Christ (Epistles 10.97). It has been
suggested that the account of Peter's threefold denials of Christ has been
included in the Gospel records as an encouragement to those whose faith
failed them that still there was a way back to restoration with the Lord
Jesus, just as there had been for Peter. When Peter encourages his
persecuted brethren to resist the "roaring lion" of Roman / Jewish
persecution, he is therefore to be seen as writing against a background in
which he had actually failed the very test which his brethren were facing.
Yet he can therefore even more powerfully encouraged them, because he had
also experienced the Lord's restoring grace.
It’s maybe significant that the Septuagint translates “going to and fro”
in Job 1:7 with the word peripatei – and we find the same word in 1
Pet. 5:8 about the adversary of the early Christians ‘going about’ seeking
them – a reference to the agents of the Roman and Jewish systems.
5:9 Stand firm in your faith, knowing that the same sufferings are
experienced by your brothers- Strength to endure is given by the
encouragement of the example of others. This is exactly why we have the
concept of church, of life together- because especially in illiterate
society, teaching and encouragement would largely be by direct observation
of the example of other believers. See on :3. "Stand firm" is "resist" in
James 4:7: "Resist the devil and he will flee from you". The idea is that
if the Christians resisted the persecution, then it would be removed from
them- presumably by the Lord's return. The fact He didn't return in the
first century would suggest that the early Christian community did not
resist as expected. But we can take the principle- that our sufferings are
not as unique as we may feel. The "same sufferings" will be experienced by
others; indeed 2 Cor. 1:4-8 seems to argue that suffering does repeat in
form amongst believers, exactly so that the believers may minister
encouragement to each other.
Who are in the world-
Throughout the rest of the Roman empire. These Jewish converts were to
take encouragement and inspiration from their Gentile brethren, whom they
might have been tempted to despise.
5:10 And the God of all grace- "Grace" means 'gift, and it is to
the gift of the Spirit which Peter now refers.
Who called you
to His eternal glory in Christ,
after you have suffered a little while- Peter opened the letter with a reference to how
the calling of God is worked out in our lives through the operation of His
Spirit.
Shall Himself perfect, establish, strengthen you- These are all internal issues, relating to
internal psychological, spiritual strengthening. The words are elsewhere
used about the internal strengthening of the Spirit.
5:11 To Him be the dominion for ever and ever. Amen- An allusion to
the concluding phrase of the Lord's prayer. The point was that they were
to allow the Lord to have dominion in their hearts now, because that is
effectively living the Kingdom life- for He shall eternally have dominion
over us and all things. In this sense we "have eternal life" as John's
Gospel expresses it.
5:12 By Silvanus, our faithful brother, as I account him- The sheer
complexity of human persons means that we cannot ultimately judge them. We
see our brother’s various personas, sometimes his true, reborn self coming
out; and our images of others derive as much from ourselves as from them.
It amazes me that we humans succeed in accurately communicating with each
other as much as we do. The more one perceives the complexity of the
person and the personas whom we meet, the more apparent it is that we
cannot claim to be their judge. And the more evident it is that the
judgments which human beings constantly make about each other are so
superficial and often inevitably false. Further, if we truly believe that
we ourselves are in Christ and “impute” His person as being the essence of
our real self, then we must likewise impute His righteousness to our
brethren. Thus Peter could say that he ‘imputed’ Silvanus to be a
“faithful brother” (1 Pet. 5:12). If only we could consistently live out
this truth, then all friction between brethren would be a thing of the
past.
I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the
true grace of God. Stand fast in it!-
The whole letter has
spoken of God's grace / spiritual gift at work in us, seeking to move us
onwards towards final salvation. And we are to realize that this is indeed
the ultimate truth of life.
5:13 She that is in Babylon- If a code name for Rome, then this
would indicate Peter was present in Rome at some stage, and this would
nicely explain his allusions to Paul's letter to the Romans. But "Babylon"
is also a title for Jerusalem in the prophets and later in Revelation. He
may be reminding these Jewish Christians, exiled from Jerusalem, that
there were still faithful believers in Jerusalem.
Elect together with you,
greets you, and so does Marcus my son- The letter opens with the point that our election
or calling operates through the Spirit, and Peter has urged his readers
amongst the Jewish Christian exiles to perceive how the Spirit has
continued the salvation process with them through their experiences. But
it operates according to how it operated from the beginning, when we were
first elected or chosen. But we are not the only ones chosen- Gentile
believers in Rome, or perhaps other Jewish Christians back in Jerusalem
from where they had fled, were also just as much part of the Spirit's
ongoing plan and process of operation. This is the unity of the Spirit-
the same Spirit operating in our lives is also operating in those of our
brethren from whom we may be somewhat distanced, and whom we may be
tempted to despise.
We note that Peter had a believing wife, and here we read that he had a
believing son. He was therefore well qualified as an elder.
5:14
Greet each other with a kiss of love.
Peace be to you all that
are in Christ-
Peace was a highly relevant wish for these refugee brethren. But that
peace was from the experience of forgiveness and reconciliation with God
through Christ.
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