Day 326

Ezekiel 44:1–45:12; 1 Peter 1:1-12; Psalm 119:17-32; Proverbs 28:8-10

MOVING DEEPER INTO the New Testament, we find ourselves reunited today with an old friend: the apostle Peter. Of course, we’ve had the opportunity to observe the personality and character of Peter throughout the Gospels and the book of Acts. We’ve certainly seen his passion in action, but we’ll now hear that passion in the letter we know as 1 Peter.

Simon, or Simeon, was Peter’s given name, but by the time he had become part of the inner circle, Jesus had given him the name Cephas —which in Aramaic means “rock.” When the Aramaic is translated into Greek, the word is Petros,* and thus we can see origins of the English biblical name Peter.

Peter’s story is certainly one of redemption and utter transformation. We undoubtedly recall what may have been his lowest moment —when he denied Jesus three times in the courtyard of the high priest. From there, we followed Peter all the way to the upper room, where tongues of fire hovered over those awaiting the coming Holy Spirit. After that, Peter was empowered with anointing and boldness, the impact of which we are still feeling today.

Peter identifies Babylon as the location for writing this letter (1 Peter 5:13). Although there has been plenty of conjecture, the general consensus is that he was probably referring to Rome. With this in mind, the letter has generally been dated from the early to mid 60s AD.

The letter was written to “God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” (1 Peter 1:1). These were five provinces of the Roman Empire that are now located within modern-day Turkey. Peter used the term “God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners” because this would have been well understood in Jewish culture. Those living as foreigners were those who had been scattered all over the world in different exiles and, more recently, those who had fled persecution because of their faith (the Diaspora).

First Peter is a forthright letter that packs a wallop, but underneath it all, it was written to bolster, encourage, and lift up those who were suffering hardship because of their faith in Jesus, and to remind them of the glorious hope for those who endure. If we haven’t quite gotten over James’s straight talk yet, we’re about to get a second helping as we embrace and open our hearts to an honest letter from an old saint.

MEDITATION:

So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold —though your faith is far more precious than mere gold.