Please remember that you bless us with your presence, and may the Holy Spirit bring you His wisdom and His understanding.
Please remember that you bless us with your presence, and may the Holy Spirit bring you His wisdom and His understanding.
10/12/2024 – Prologue – In reading a biography of Peter, it is clear much is not known. We know he was an early disciple of Jesus, one of the first 12, an early Christian church leader and by Roman Catholic tradition the first pope. Peter was a Jewish fisherman and Jesus named him Cephas, Aramaic for “rock.” He was also known by his original Hebrew name, Simeon or as Simon in Greek. He was the son of John, was married, [Matt.; 1Cor.] from Bethsaida. During Jesus’ ministry he lived in Capernaum with his brother Andrew. They were in partnership with James and John, sons of Zebedee. [Luke 5:10] Peter was known as vacillating, usure, resolute, rash, hasty, irritable, angry, slow learner, responsible, gentle, firm, loyal, loving and untrained in Mosaic law. Jesus called Peter in Galilee and if He listed the disciples, He usually called Peter first. Peter, James and John were usually referred to as Jesus’ pillars. The other apostles allowed Peter to be the first to see Jesus after the resurrection. He led the church for 15 years and dominated the outreach to Jews, while Paul left to bring the gospel to the uncircumcised. NB: the church here refers to a community of faithful, not a specific ecclesiastical organization. The issue of Circumcision was resolved at the Jerusalem Council (49 or 50 CE). Peter’s death was via the tradition of crucifixion as an old man in 64 CE. When and where is unknown, but speculation places it in Rome during the reign of Nero. Several 'digs' have failed to confirm any evidence that the bodies of Peter and Paul were buried in the catacombs of Rome. Constantine (d. 337 CE) culminated 50 years of investigation regarding the difficulty of erecting the basilica on Vatican Hill. The conclusion was there could be no definitive location of a grave nor if the body was ever recovered for burial.
[1 Peter 1:1-9] – Genuine Faith and Sure Hope – Peter helps us to clarify the teaching dispersal of some of the disciples and Jesus’ early followers Jesus. James remained as head of the church in Jerusalem, mostly Jewish; Paul went to what is now modern Greece and Turkey to preach to the Gentiles (not circumcised) and Peter went to modern Turkey to preach to the Jewish (circumcised) diaspora in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia. This effort was like reconfiguring a building and determining the fundamentals – width, height, and length. Meaning – which Christians are: chosen, set aside, sanctified for obedience; sprinkled with the Messiah’s blood (new). Peter, does not look at ancestry, moral background, social status, wealth or poverty (old). Do we forget our basic identity as Christians? Do we need periodic reminders? (YES!) Our failure makes us susceptible to insidious messages from the world, i.e., measuring ourselves by worldly standards: salary, university, home size, etc. Let us recount - By God’s mercy we are: chosen for a particular purpose, to lead a double life – living in a political jurisdiction and in God’s new world. God’s purpose in setting us a part is so we might be signposts directing others to this new world and that we might be ‘holy’, i.e., living actual lives that have been transformed. The way we behave now reflects God’s desire for His human creatures. [v. 1-2] We now look at the height. [v. 3-5] This refers to God’s mercy. Peter wants us to call God blessed for this gift. This is the highest ceiling we will find. No matter who our actual parents are, God has become our father. A new life has been born in us because of the resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah. [v. 3] Becoming a Christian means: what God did for Jesus He will do for us. The new life God created on Easter morning is not simply about individuals being transformed. God has created an entirely new world. At the moment this world is being kept safe, out of sight, behind the curtain that separates heaven from earth. One day the curtain will be removed to expose the incorruptible inheritance located in heaven that will be merged with earthly reality. It will be transformative, soaked through with God’s presence, love and mercy. [v. 4] If that world is being kept safe for us, then we are kept safe for it. Faith is the anchor holding firm our hope. [v. 5] Finally the depth and what it will contain. [v. 6-9] Much of this letter is to Christians and their suffering. Peter’s theme is: via suffering the quality of Christian faith will shine ever more brightly, and as Jesus is finally exposed this will result in an explosion of praise. Meanwhile, Christians are to live their lives so as to inhabit this great room of the gospel with love for Jesus in their hearts and a glorified joy. [v. 8] This is the beginning of the rescue. Yes. We will face difficulty, but with this new identity and the powerful mercy of God, keeping us safe, we can make this room have meaning for our lives today and a place which we may call home.
[1 Peter 1:10-21] – Ransomed by Grace – The key word here is ransom. The ‘good news’ is about us and the shape we were in when we were ransomed by our Messiah. [v. 18] We all have been to second hand or antique stores where most pieces are stained, chipped, cracked or unclean; truth be told we are like those pieces. Peter uses unique phrasing; saying we were ransomed from ‘futile practices;’ a startling way to think about sinfulness. God came into the thrift store and “paid the ultimate price” - the precious blood of the Messiah. God’s own son. Peter is thinking of the sacrificial lamb, especially the lamb that was sacrificed at Passover. This sacrifice was for the moment God ‘brought back;’ His people Israel from the abusive Egyptian slavery. Peter notes the sacrificial death of Jesus has ‘ransomed’ us as well. The why for Jesus being sent was God’s intention. That explains why Peter can call his readers, we included, to a life radically different from the way people normally behave. [v. 13-17] Peter wants us to realize that means - straight thinking. He is also saying; if you are a stained, chipped piece, above, and you have been ransomed and put to rights, by Jesus, (Paul’s term) if your old owner comes along do not allow him to force you back into what you were when Jesus found you. [v. 14] Peter, as appropriate for his time, declares this as being ignorant. Jesus has cleaned you up – now live up to your new stature. That means: remain holy, being set apart by God in every part and at every level. This will be reinforced when we look to the future to the glorious hope [v. 13] and the coming judgement in which God will be the impartial judge of what everyone has done. [v. 17] All of this is based on Peter’s personal awareness of the sudden dramatic events of the previous few decades: the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus; the giving of the Holy Spirit; and the rise and spread of the early Christian movement. This was not a new idea beginning at Bethlehem. It was a fulfilment of the age-old divine plan articulated by the prophets. They were the folks who stood at the cusp between heaven and earth; between our present time and God’s future time. Some found it a painful experience. They saw the culmination of the Messiah in ‘glory’ – as the sovereign over the world. Peter will use [Isaiah and Zechariah]. Prophecy like prayer is not automatic. It may be in one day, the next day or a thousand years. It is fixed, it will not change. God has promised grace and it is done. [v. 10] God has promised Jesus will return and it will be done. [v. 17] The prophets knew this. [v. 12] They knew there was a time coming when folks of all sorts would fan out across the world. What matters now is to keep our eyes fixed on the one who has ‘bought us back’, cleaned us up and has put us to new use. This is the meaning of: in the now we are to have faith and hope in God. [v. 21] AMEN
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