Bible Commentaries
1 Peter 5

Verses 1-4

To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, and a witness of Christ's sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 1 Peter 5:1

Scholars feel that it is a special mark of humility that Peter uses the term "fellow elder" (Gk. sumpresbuteros).After all, he was Christ's chief apostle and the one to whom Christ gave "the keys of the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 16:19). Although Peter had denied Jesus at the trial he was reinstated by the Lord (John 21:15-17) and soon regained his position of leadership in the church.

Since Peter greets the elders here, it would be well for us to look at New Testament leadership. That leadership consisted first of apostles and some apostolic helpers like Timothy and Titus. The apostles carried on mission work, founded the churches, taught sound doctrine and appointed elders. Then, there were the elders or presbyters themselves (Gk. presbuteros). It is of note that elders always functioned as a plurality. We do not clearly understand how this worked. It is obvious that there was an elder over each house church in a city (Acts 20:17) thus making a plurality in that city.^(F1) It is also highly likely that there was a number of them in each church with one serving as the chief elder.

The term "elder" has a long history, going back to the days of Israel's wilderness wanderings. When Moses became overwhelmed in judging the thousands under his care, seventy elders were chosen to serve as judges under him (Exodus 3:16; 12:21; Numbers 11:16-30). From that point on, the office became a permanent fixture in Israel. Each Israelite village had its elders and they sat in the city gates administering justice (Deuteronomy 25:7). Elders also were in charge of the synagogues. They exercised discipline and kept order, although they did not necessarily preach.^(F2) We often see Jewish elders in the gospels (Matthew 16:21; 21:23; 26:3; 27:3; Luke 7:3). Elders were most often chosen for their age and maturity since age carried with it much influence and respect in the ancient Mediterranean world.^(F3) It appears that the church patterned its leadership after the Jewish model. Barclay says of it, "When a man enters the eldership, no small honor is conferred upon him, for he is entering on the oldest religious office in the world."^(F4)

Peter says that he himself was a "witness" (Gk. martus) of the Lord's sufferings. Obviously, Peter watched the Lord suffer in Gethsemane as he poured his soul into prayer. He had also witnessed Jesus' trials with their brutality. After Jesus had suffered much, he even turned and looked directly at Peter (Luke 22:61). Meyer thinks that Peter, even after his great denial, may have joined with the crowd that stood at a distance and watched the Savior die.^(F5) Peter looked to share in the Lord's glory, but he had already done this to some extent when the three disciples witnessed the transfiguration (Mark 9:1-8; 2 Peter 1:16-18).

"Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, watching over them – not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve;"(5:2).Here Peter directs the elders to shepherd the flock of God or to feed and care for it. The word for "shepherd" in the New Testament is the Greek poim"nand it also means "pastor." In Mark 6:34, we see Jesus' boat landing along the sea and him having great compassion on the people because they were like sheep with no shepherd. In John 10:11, Jesus proclaims:"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." No doubt Peter was remembering these words and word pictures from Jesus.

Shepherding the sheep of God is no easy task, since "Sheep are notoriously ignorant and prone to wander away if they do not follow the shepherd…The shepherd always went before the flock and searched out the land so that there would be nothing there to harm his flock. He would check for snakes, pits, poisonous plants, and dangerous animals."^(F6)

Here Peter says that the shepherd or pastor is to look out for the sheep. The various other titles used here and in other places tell us that the pastor had a big job. He is called presbyter(Gk. presbuteros) as we have seen. He is also called "bishop" (Gk. episcopos) or overseer. It is interesting that in the First Century all these terms were used interchangeably. In Titus 1:5 Paul charged Titus to appoint elders, but in verse 7 he calls them "overseers."^(F7) In Acts 20:17 and 28, we see the three Greek wordspresbuteros, episkopousandpoimaineinused together, describing the one office. It was not until the second century that there began to be a clear hierarchical organization^(F8) with a bishop ruling over other bishops.

Pastors must serve out of a willing heart and not by compulsion. They must have their eye on the sheep and not on the money to be made (filthy lucre). The Greek word here describing "dishonest gain" or "greed for money" isaischrokerdes.It was a term and concept greatly loathed by the Greeks.^(F9) In the First Century, there was no official salary for pastors such as there is today, but they were blessed by the offerings of the people (1 Corinthians 9:1-7; 1 Timothy 5:17). They were likely sustained much like the priests and Levites of the Old Testament. No doubt some had to labor at other jobs as well, just like Paul often did in his apostolic work.

Peter says to them that a pastor should serve,"…not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock"(5:3).The pastor cannot rule by force (cf. Luke 22:25-27). He cannot beat on the sheep or "fleece the flock" for his profit as many do. He must love them and serve them. The famous saint and French abbot, Bernard of Clairvaux (1090 – 1153), once wrote rebuking the Pope, "Peter could not give thee what he had not: what he had he gave: the care over the church, not dominion…A monstrosity it is to see the highest rank joined with the meanest mind, the first seat with the lowest life, a grandiloquent tongue with a lazy life, much talking with no fruit."^(F10)

It is interesting that "those entrusted," is the Greek wordkleros. It means something that is "allotted" to a person. In Deuteronomy 9:29 (LXX) we see that Israel is theklerosof God. Israel is assigned to him and has become his heritage by his own choice. In like manner the congregation is the assignment of the elder.^(F11) It is also interesting that this Greek word is the basis for our modern words "clergy," "cleric," and "clerk."^(F12) The pastors or shepherds should model themselves after the Chief Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, today many shepherds are driving the sheep, lording it over them, and abusing them. Like the wicked shepherds of Israel, they are treating the sheep harshly and even brutally (Ezekiel 34:4).^(F13) They fleece the flock, slaughter them, chop up their bones and make lamb stew for themselves. Wiersbe puts his finger on one big problem for pastors in this postmodern age. He notes what one Christian leader said to him, "The trouble today is that we have too many celebrities and not enough servants."^(F14)

"And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away"(5:4).Clearly, the shepherds work under the direct supervision of the Chief Shepherd (Gk. archipoimenos), or the Lord Jesus (Hebrews 13:20). Some seem to have forgotten this fact, but all will give an account to him at the end of this present day.

The crown of glory mentioned here isstephanos,the prize of Greek games. This word describes the Olympic crown or wreath which was made up of ivy, parsley, myrtle, olive, or oak leaves woven together.^(F15) Of course, it was a crown that would eventually fade away. Peter says that the crown of glory the Lord gives will never fade away. The Greek word he uses here isamarantos, and it referred to a flower called the Amaranth. This flower is very slow to wither and it revives when moistened. It was used as a symbol of immortality in ancient times.^(F16)

Verses 5-7

SUBMISSION AND HUMILITY

In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble." 1 Peter 5:5

When Peter addresses the young men he is likely speaking to men under the age of 40. He is probably speaking to younger people and not necessarily lower officials.^(F17) First he charges them to be submissive (Gr. hopotagēte) to the older men or elders. This was a very customary thing among the Jews. Youth were even expected to stand when older men came into their presence (Leviticus 19:32). We should however remember that submission is often a two-way street, especially in the New Testament. Ephesians 5:21 says,"Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ."

We are next to be clothed with humility. This is like putting on humility or putting on the nature of Christ. When the playwright John Fletcher was asked what the most important grace was he replied, "Humility." To a second inquiry he said, "Humility." To a third he answered, "Humility," as the inquirer desisted.^(F18) Wiersbe says, "Humility is not demeaning ourselves and thinking poorly of ourselves. It is simply not thinking of ourselves at all!"^(F19) We can thus see how far our society has moved away from humility.

Let us look a little closer at the matter of clothing ourselves with humility. The garment to be girded on here(Gk. Egkombōma)was likely the apron or outer garment of a slave or servant.^(F20) With this picture we remember the Lord Jesus girding himself as a servant and then bowing to wash the disciple's feet (John 13:4-10).

It is amazing to think that humility was almost despised in the Greco/Roman world. Patrick Glynn in his book,The Evidence: The Reconciliation of Faith and Reason in a Postsecular Worldnotes, "Moreover, after philosophy, or intelligence, pride was the core virtue of the classical philosophical outlook, the 'crown of the virtues.'…In the classical understanding, the strong, the beautiful, the intelligent, the rich were not just better off but morally better than the weak, the poor, the meek, the downtrodden."^(F21) Jesus turned this totally around and made pride despised and humility praised. Later, "John Wesley pronounced pride the great mother sin, whose daughters curse the earth and fill hell."^(F22)

We see an eternal rule of heaven mentioned here."God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."God can recognize the proud afar off (Psalm 138:6). He also begins to work against the proud person to bring that one down to repentance.In Proverbs 3:34, we read:"He mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble…"

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time"(5:6).Humility is a strange thing in our age of Narcissism. The motto of our age has become, "It's all about me." Ross Douthat,in his book,Bad Religion, How We Became A Nation of Heretics,mentions the following:

Between 1982 and 2006, sixteen thousand American college students filled out the Narcissistic Personality Inventory…The trend was consistent: the average student in 2006 had a higher narcissism score than 65 percent of college students a generation earlier….In the 1950s only 12 percent of teenagers identified with thestatement, "I am an important person." A half century later, it was 80 percent.^(F23)

Jean M. Twenge & W. Keith Campbell, in their book,The Narcissism Epidemic:Living in the Age of Entitlement,give us statistics from 37,000 college students. They tell us that students with narcissistic personality traits rose at about the same rate as obesity from the 1980s onward.^(F24)

So, we have a problem with humbling ourselves, at least in the US. We need to always remember to look for the lowest chair in any situation and promptly place ourselves in it, as the Lord has instructed us (Luke 14:10). If God wants us higher he will then honor us and lift us up. We note that there is a time for us to be lifted up. No doubt, it will be at that point that we have begun to learn about humility. In Luke 14:11, Jesus warns us,"For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."

Peter advises us:"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you"(5:7).We are told to cast all our cares and anxieties on the Lord (cf. Psalm 55:22; Matthew 6:25-30). It is usually because of cares and anxieties that we try to exalt ourselves anyway. Wiersbe says, "Anxiety is a self-contradiction of true humility."^(F25) We need to remember Psalm 9:4, where it is written,"For you have upheld my right and my cause, sitting enthroned as the righteous judge.

Verses 8-9

RESISTING THE DEVIL

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

The first imperative Peter uses here isthe Greek nepsate, andit means "to be sober." The second is gregoresatae, and it means "to watch." This last word is used in an eschatological context.^(F26) We should not only be watching for the Lord's return but watching for the wolves and lions who like to sneak up on us.

Here the devil is compared to a roaring lion. Commentators have long said that the lion roars to frighten its prey. However, those who have experience with lions assure us that lions roar to communicate and to establish their territory. They do not roar to catch prey but rather they rely upon their great stealth to do that. When we hear the lion roar we can know that the beast may be marking off for himself some of our territory.^(F27) Meyer says, "Perhaps the figure of a roaring lion suggests an outburst of persecution…"^(F28) In the Book of Job we see the devil walking around looking to cause trouble for God's saints (Job 1:7; Job 1:12). When Jesus hung on the cross he spoke from Psalm 22:13, about roaring lions opening their mouths and tearing his body.

When we are watchful and alert we can deal with lions like David did. When as a youth he faced the Philistine giant, later he reminded King Saul that he had already killed a lion and a bear as he guarded his father's sheep (1 Samuel 17:34-36). Our struggles against Satan, the lion, will make us stronger so that we can face giants when they taunt us. The word "Satan" has the meaning of "the accuser" or the slanderer.^(F29) This reminds us that we never want to do the devil's mischief by accusing and slandering other people. Trapp gives us a hint why Satan is so opposed to the human race. He says, "Satan envies our condition that we should enjoy that paradise that he left, the comforts he once had."^(F30)

"Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings"(5:9).James, the Lord's brother gives us a sure-fire plan to defeat the devil. He says,"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you"(James 4:7).We note that the first requirement is to be submissive to God. Many have tried to resist the devil without submitting themselves to God and have made a mess of things. Hilary the Bishop of Arles (c. 403-449) said, "If you resist God, he will destroy you, but if you resist the devil, you will destroy him."^(F31) It is no doubt one of the great New Testament promises that if we resist Satan he will runfrom us.

Peter requires not only resistance but he requires "standing firm in the faith." Standing firm or being firm in the faith is the Greek wordstereos.It means to be solid like a foundation (2 Timothy 2:19).^(F32) Peter tells us that the whole Body of Christ all over the world is undergoing suffering. We talked about this earlier, how some three-fourths of the world's population is now exposed to suffering for its faith. Barnes says, "If we knew all, we should find that thousands – and among them the most wise, and pure, and good – have endured sufferings of the same kind as ours, and perhaps far more intense in degree."^(F33)

Verses 10-11

GOD'S GREAT PROMISE TO US

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.1 Peter 5:10-11

What a precious promise this is! God, who has called us to eternal glory, is watching the thermometer and gauge of our suffering, so that we can be completed and so that we will not suffer more than we can bear. In 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, Paul tells us:"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

After our suffering, God will restore us. This Greek word (kartarizein) was one commonly used for setting a fracture. It was used in other ways for mending nets, fixing what is broken or supplying that which is missing.^(F34) The next words, "make you strong," is the Greek sterixein, and it refers to making one settled and as solid as granite.^(F35) The idea of being firm is the Greeksthenosei, and it means to "cramp and bind every part, so that there shall be no danger of warping, splitting, or falling."^(F36) The last word, steadfast, is the Greek themeliōses. Barnes describes this as an allusion to a house so firmly fixed on a foundation that it cannot be moved by winds or floods (c. Matthew 7:24).^(F37) When we see what the Lord is doing to make us stable and steadfast, we think of that wonderful scripture in 2 Corinthians 12:9 which assures us:"…My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness…"To this great truth Peter gives his "Amen," effectively ending the body of his epistle.

Verses 12-14

FINAL GREETINGS

With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it. 1 Peter 5:12

This final greeting was likely written in Peter's own hand as we see Paul often doing in his letters (cf. 2 Thessalonians 3:17; Galatians 6:11-18).^(F38) There has been a long debate among scholars as to whether or not Silas was the actual amanuensis, and whether or not the letter was dictated to him. If he was, it would likely solve the mystery of how 1 Peter was written in such excellent Greek. However, evidence seems to point to the fact that Silas was rather the one who delivered the letter.^(F39) Silas or Silvanus is often mentioned in scripture and is primarily linked with Paul (cf. Acts 15:22,27,32,40; 16:19,25,29; 17:4,10,14-15; 18:5).

We cannot help but note that in these final greetings Peter quickly summarizes the purpose of his letter. It is clear that he had written the letter to encourage the people and to bear witness to the grace of God.^(F40) He had encouraged them to stand fast in their time of persecution.

"She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark"(5:13).There has been a great deal of discussion about this verse. First of all, what or where is Babylon? Some commentators are certain that Peter was speaking of the ancient city itself. The problem with that is that the ancient city had shrunk to insignificance and was virtually in ruins by the time of Peter.^(F41) Others are certain that Peter, by using "she," was somehow speaking of his wife. No doubt the best explanation is that Peter was speaking symbolically, and that Babylon was meant to be a code word for Rome (cf. Revelation 14:8; 16:19; 17:5; 18:2,10,21). Barclay says, "Peter is definitely connected in tradition with Rome; and the likelihood is that it was from there that the letter was written."^(F42)

Peter affirms that Mark is also in his presence and that he too sends greetings. This was obviously John Mark whom Peter knew in the early days of the gospel. John's mother had opened her house to the first church in Jerusalem (Acts 12:12-17). Mark had accompanied Paul and Barnabas on their initial missionary trip but for some reason had turned back. Paul was grieved with this and would not allow Mark on the second journey. However, in time Paul and Mark seemed to make up (2 Timothy 4:11).

Now we see Mark with Peter in Rome. Apparently Mark became part of Peter's team (cf. 1 Peter 5:13) and is even called his "son." Very early traditions relayed by the church historian, Eusebius, tell us that Mark was Peter's interpreter and that he wrote his own gospel apparently from Peter's experiences. He relates, "And John the Presbyter also said this, Mark being the interpreter of Peter whatsoever he recorded he wrote with great accuracy, but not however, in the order in which it was spoken or done by our Lord…"^(F43)

"Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ" (5:14).It was customary in the First Century Mediterranean world for people to kiss one another. On one occasion we note that Jesus was offended because the host did not give him the customary kiss of greeting (Luke 7:45). Paul mentions the holy kiss on several occasions (cf. Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:26).

We might wonder if this practice is still in vogue particularly among the Jewish people. In Israel, the kiss as a greeting is probably more popular than a handshake. It is very common to see Jews of both sexes giving a greeting kiss, but the kiss is quite unlike our Hollywood erotic style of kissing. When two people meet, the greeting kiss and light embrace is given gently and simultaneously by both parties and both sides of the face are kissed. Each person is actually kissed three times, to one side and then the other and finally returning to kiss the side that one began on. There is nothing sensual about this kiss even when it is done between a man and a woman. We might hasten to add that such a kiss while practiced commonly with Arab men wouldneverbe given by a strange man to an Arab woman. The same is true in regard to Orthodox Jewish women. In these cases even a handshake is usually out of order. There should in fact be no handshake unless the woman initiates it.

As we can imagine, in time the holy kiss began to be abused. Later, Clement of Alexandria complained, "…Some do nothing but fill the church with noise of kissing."^(F44) Eventually, kissing was confined to men kissing men and women kissing women. Finally the custom died out altogether in the church.

Peter ends with the expression"in Christ,"and we cannot help but note that this was an expression of Paul on numerous occasions (Romans 6:11; 1 Corinthians 1:2; Galatians 1:22; Ephesians 1:1). In fact, Paul uses the expression over 80 times in his letters. It might be the shortest and most concise statement of what it means to be a Christian.