Call to Commitment

 

Introduction

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia”   1 Peter 1:1

 It will not be necessary to relate the entire biblical biography of Peter, because his story is well-known to all those who have read the Gospels of Jesus Christ, as well as the book of Acts. His predominance among the apostles, his strong and impulsive character, have taught us much about countering self-confidence and self-sufficiency, even as a disciple of Christ. We will simply remind ourselves of the major milestones in his life, before delving into his inspired teaching.

 In fact, he was among the three, along with James and John, who formed an inner circle of disciples that experienced things that the other nine did not. As all Christians, he had to learn the ways of God that contradict all human instruction, received over the years, as it is taught in this world. At the same time, Peter was totally consecrated to the Lord, leaving his means of living to follow Jesus faithfully for 3 ½ years.

 He was a native of Bethsaida in Galilee, named Simon by his parents, having learned the fishing profession from his father. At the very beginning of his discipleship, he was renamed Peter, a stone, by the Lord. His home later became Capernaum, a fishing town on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. He was a typical Galilean, despised by the more sophisticated Judeans, especially those of Jerusalem. The Sanhedrin noticed that he was an untrained and uneducated man and even a common servant girl noticed his Galilean accent, when he spoke Hebrew. His native tongue was Aramaic repulsive, as a Gentile language, by the Judeans in the south of Israel.

 Peter’s disastrous denial, earlier predicted by Jesus, not only brought him shame, but soul-wrenching pain. He wept bitterly, when the seriousness of his sin came into his conscience. More importantly, it became useful in breaking his proud spirit and opened his soul, as nothing else could, to his need of being controlled by a greater Power.

 When we ponder Peter’s two epistles, we cannot help but notice the difference in him, as their wise and inspired writer, from the history in the Gospels. We marvel at the humble wisdom of a man so powerfully baptized in the Holy Spirit, then taught and molded by Him, as He took lordship over this simple, crude fisherman. Already in the book of Acts, we observe a great spiritual improvement. Nevertheless, the basic revelation of the person of Jesus Christ was given to him in the early years of his discipleship. It was Peter who confessed, by the Holy Spirit, the confession upon which the church is built… that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God.

 As to Peter’s first epistle, which we are about to study, it is well authenticated. Polycarp, who was almost certainly the bishop of Smyrna, was born in 69 A.D., only about four decades after the death, resurrection and ascension of the Lord. He personally knew some of the apostles. He was a disciple of John and died as a martyr at the age of 86. In his writings, he cites frequently from this letter, as do various other early fathers of the church.  

 Clement of Alexandria was born in 150 A.D., near enough to the time of the apostles to have heard of their biographies, beyond what we read in the Bible. He also cited much from Peter’s letters. Interestingly, he commented that the wife of Peter died as a martyr, her husband encouraging her to be faithful to death: “Remember, dear, the Lord,” Peter said to her, according to Clement.

 Jamieson-Fausset-Brown refutes the legends surrounding Peter, including the myth that he was bishop of Rome for 25 years, the scriptural chronology making that assertion impossible. It would have made him the Roman bishop for some time, when he was actually rebuked by Paul in Antioch. It is certain that Peter was not in Rome, when Paul wrote his epistle to the Romans in 58 A.D., because had he been there, Paul would certainly have greeted him.

 The early church knew Peter as “the apostle of the circumcision.” Allow a quote from Matthew Henry: “Many instances of our Lord's affection to him, both during his life and after his resurrection, are upon record. But there are many things confidently affirmed of this holy man that are directly false: as, That he had a primacy and superior power over the rest of the apostles - that he was more than their equal - that he was their prince, monarch, and sovereign - and that he exercised a jurisdiction over the whole college of the apostles: moreover, That he as the sole and universal pastor over all the Christian world, the only vicar of Christ upon earth - that he was for above twenty years bishop of Rome - that the popes of Rome succeed to St. Peter, and derive from him a universal supremacy and jurisdiction over all churches and Christians upon earth - and that all this was by our Lord's ordering and appointment; whereas Christ never gave him any pre-eminence of this kind, but positively forbade it, and gave precepts to the contrary. The other apostles never consented to any such claim. Here is no exception of Peter's superior dignity, whom Paul took the freedom to blame, and withstood him to the face, (Gal.2:11). And Peter himself never assumed anything like it, but modestly styles himself an apostle of Jesus Christ; and, when he writes to the presbyters of the church, he humbly places himself in the same rank with them: The elders who are among you I exhort, who am also an elder.”

 The Roman church was not formed by Peter, but probably by indigenous Roman Jews, who attended the Feast of Pentecost in Jerusalem and were converted. A statue found in the Tiber River in 1574, attributed to Peter, was actually the statue of a Sabine god, Semo Sanctus, better known as Hercules. Let’s leave these myths to the religiously superstitious; it is probable that Peter never saw Rome.  

 I will not go into detail, but it would seem that Peter is well acquainted with Paul’s epistles, because he frequently refers to them. If that is true, I say it only to show that Peter’s epistles apparently followed them. I am quite surprised to learn that some reliable commentators believe Peter wrote this epistle from literal Babylon. I do remember reading that up to the first millennium after Christ, a great number of Jews still resided in Babylon, and it is possible that Peter visited them.

Peter, the apostle to the Jews, as James, writes to those, who are expatriated in foreign lands. Jews had been there for generations and were born there.  However, there are also clear references to Gentiles in the epistle, so that Peter’s concern includes Jews and Gentiles, who are now being reached with the message of the gospel. In Romans 11:5, Paul calls these converted Jews, a remnant.

 The territory, of those to whom Peter writes, is much smaller than that occupied by those to whom James wrote. Look on the map above to the left and you will see the areas, where they lived, which is the western part of modern Turkey. The biggest circle on the map was Asia Minor, which Peter identifies, also pointing to those in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia and Bithynia.

 Notice in Acts 2 that devote Jews gathered in Jerusalem for Pentecost, from Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia (Minor), which Peter specifies, but Pamphylia and Phrygia are mentioned, also in the territory, to which Peter refers. They seemed to have gathered for a longer period than only the feast, due to the expectation of the fulfillment of Messianic prophecies, such as Daniel 9:25-27. Here is proof in Luke 19:11: “Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately.”  

Many of those, attending Pentecost, were converted to Christianity, before they returned to their native countries. From that powerful spiritual movement, a great missionary work evolved. Having been with these people for a considerable time in Jerusalem, having seen them believe and immediately baptized, Peter would be concerned for their progress in the faith. Many could have initiated indigenous churches. Also, Paul and his team evangelized these areas and established churches.