Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
1 Peter 5:2

Clarke's Commentary

Verse 1 Peter 5:2. Feed the flock — Do not fleece the flock.

Taking the oversight — επισκοπουντες. Discharging the office of bishops or superintendents. This is another proof that bishop and presbyter were the same order in the apostolic times, though afterwards they were made distinct.

Not by constraint — The office was laborious and dangerous, especially in these times of persecution; it is no wonder then that even those who were best qualified for the office should strive to excuse themselves with a genuine Nolo episcopari, "I am unwilling to be a bishop."

Not for filthy lucre — Could the office of a bishop, in those early days, and in the time of persecution, be a lucrative office? Does not the Spirit of God lead the apostle to speak these things rather for posterity than for that time? 1 Timothy 3:3.

But of a ready mind — Doing all for Christ's sake, and through love to immortal souls.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

5:1-14 LEADERSHIP, HUMILITY AND WATCHFULNESS

Church elders are to be sincere, understanding and hard-working in looking after the church that God has placed in their care. They are to be shepherds who care for the flock because they are interested in the flock’s welfare, not because they want to make money (5:1-2). They must not use their authority to force people, but rather show by example how Christians should act. They must remember that they themselves are answerable to the Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ, who will one day return and review their work (3-4).
Christian relationships should be characterized by a spirit of willing submission. This applies not just to the attitude of younger people to older people, but to attitudes in general. All Christians should submit to each other. God opposes the proud but helps the humble (5-6). God cares for his people, and they should confide in him. At the same time they must be careful how they live, for Satan will try to use any opportunity to make their lives useless for God (7-8). They must resist Satan, knowing that Christians everywhere suffer from his attacks. Yet God uses his people’s sufferings to strengthen and perfect them, with the goal that they share Christ’s glory (9-11).
Peter has used Silas to write this brief letter of encouragement. The church in Rome (figuratively referred to as Babylon, symbol of the world in its organized opposition to God) joins with Peter, Silas and Mark in sending greetings. The Christians who receive the letter should greet each other, and so encourage each other in love (12-14).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

Tend the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not of constraint, but willingly, according to the will of God; nor yet for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

Tend the flock of God … The flock does not belong to the elders, but to God. The word here is exactly the same "that Jesus used when he admonished Peter to tend his sheep (John 21:16)." Raymond C. Kelcy, The Letters of Peter and Jude (Austin, Texas: R. B. Sweet Company, 1972), p. 98.

Exercising the oversight … See under preceding verse. As Dummelow, and many others, stressed, "Elders were not then distinguished from bishops as they soon afterward were." J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 1047. This is plain from the word [@episkopos] from which "oversight" is translated. This, of course, requires a date for the epistle prior to A.D. 70. Very soon, however, the elevation of so called "bishops" to a rank and dignity they did not have in the New Testament began to appear; and "The omission of this clause from the Vatican and Sinaitic manuscripts was prompted by ecclesiastical reason," B. C. Caffin, The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 22, 1 Peter (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), p. 206. for the fear that elders might be supposed to have equal authority with bishops, which was of course true. Incidentally, the close kinship of the Vatican and Sinaitic Manuscripts is evident in a thing like this, accounting for the fact of their correspondence in the treatment of Mark 16:12-20. For more on this, see the Introduction to my Commentary on Mark.

Not of constraint, but willingly … "In times of persecution, lukewarm elders might regret their prominence," J. H. A. Hart, op. cit., p. 76. thus Peter admonishes elders not to quail under the pressure of the time. Such a fact is also possibly behind Paul's words, "If any man desire the office of a bishop" (1 Timothy 3:1).

According to the will of God … Peter had just spoken of them as "partakers of Christ's sufferings" (1 Peter 4:13), and this clause shows that all Christians, elders included, are called to suffer for the cause of the Lord. As Paul put it, "If we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him" (2 Timothy 2:12). Many Christians fail because they do not properly discern the nature of the life to which they are committed. It is not one unending "high," comparable to a stroll along some flower-lined pathway to the accompaniment of sweet music. It is a fight (2 Timothy 4:7); it is like being a soldier (2 Timothy 2:4), subject to disagreeable and difficult assignments; it is like training for an athletic contest (2 Timothy 2:5), involving all kinds of austerity, self-discipline and hard work; it is called "taking up one's cross" (Matthew 16:24), etc.

Nor yet for filthy lucre … This shows that, "Even in the earliest times, the elders received money in payment for such services as they rendered to the other brethren." James William Russell, Compact Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1964), p. 587.

Another thought based upon this verse was given by Zerr who wrote:

These principles disprove a popular notion that a person can be a member of a congregation even though he is too far away to be among the elders and the other members. The idea that a person can live in one community and "have his membership in another one" has no Scriptural authority. E. M. Zerr, op. cit., p. 265.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Feed the flock of God - Discharge the duties of a shepherd toward the flock. On the word “feed,” see the notes at John 21:15. It is a word which Peter would be likely to remember, from the solemn manner in which the injunction to perform the duty was laid on him by the Saviour. The direction means to take such an oversight of the church as a shepherd is accustomed to take of his flock. See the notes at John 10:1-16.

Which is among you - Margin, as much as in you is. The translation in the text is the more correct. It means the churches which were among them, or over which they were called to preside.

Taking the oversight thereof - ἐπισκοποῦντες episkopountes. The fair translation of this word is, “discharging the episcopal office”; and the word implies all that is always implied by the word “bishop” in the New Testament. This idea should have been expressed in the translation. The meaning is not merely to take the oversight - for that might be done in a subordinate sense by anyone in office; but it is to take such an oversight as is implied in the episcopate, or by the word “bishop.” The words “episcopate,” “episcopal,” and “episcopacy,” are merely the Greek word used here and its correlatives transferred to our language. The sense is that of overseeing; taking the oversight of; looking after, as of a flock; and the word has originally no reference to what is now spoken of as especially the episcopal office. It is a word strictly applicable to any minister of religion, or officer of a church. In the passage before us this duty was to be performed by those who, in 1 Peter 5:1, are called presbyters, or elders; and this is one of the numerous passages in the New Testament which prove that all that is properly implied in the performance of the episcopal functions pertained to those who were called presbyters, or elders. If so, there was no higher grade of ministers to which the special duties of the episcopate were to be entrusted; that is, there was no class of officers corresponding to those who are now called “bishops.” Compare the notes at Acts 20:28.

Not by constraint, but willingly - Not as if you felt that a heavy yoke was imposed on you, or a burden from which you would gladly be discharged. Go cheerfully to your duty as a work which you love, and act like a freeman in it, and not as a slave. Arduous as are the labors of the ministry, yet there is no work on earth in which a man can and should labor more cheerfully.

Not for filthy lucre - Shameful or dishonorable gain. See the notes at 1 Timothy 3:3.

But of a ready mind - Cheerfully, promptly. We are to labor in this work, not under the influence of the desire of gain, but from the promptings of love. There is all the difference conceivable between one who does a thing because he is paid for it, and one who does it from love - between, for example, the manner in which one attends on us when we are sick who loves us, and one who is merely hired to do it. Such a difference is there in the spirit with which one who is actuated by mercenary motives, and one whose heart is in the work, will engage in the ministry.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

2Feed the flock of God We hence learn what the word presbyter imports, even that it includes the office of feeding. It is for a far different end that the Pope makes presbyters, even that they may daily slay Christ, there being no mention made of feeding in their ordination. Let us then remember to distinguish between the institution of Christ and the confusion of the Pope, it being as different as light is from darkness. Let us also bear in mind the definition given of the word; for the flock of Christ cannot be fed except with pure doctrine, which is alone our spiritual food.

Hence pastors are not mute hypocrites, nor those who spread their own figments, which, like deadly poison, destroy the souls of men.

The words, as much as it is in you, mean the same as though he had said, “Apply all your strength to this very thing, and whatever power God has conferred on you.” The old interpreter has given this rendering, “Which is among you;” and this may be the sense of the words: more correct, however, is the rendering of Erasmus, which I have followed, though I do not reject nor disapprove of the other. ⁽⁵⁴⁾

The flock of God, or, of the Lord, or, of Christ: it matters little which you take, for the three readings are found in different copies. ⁽⁵⁵⁾

Taking the oversight, or, discharging the office of a bishop. Erasmus renders the words, “Taking care of it,” (curam illius agentes ;) but as the Greek word is ἐπισκοποῦντες I doubt not but that Peter meant to set forth the office and title of the episcopate. We may learn also from other parts of Scripture that these two names, bishop and presbyter, are synonymous. He then shews how they were rightly to perform the pastoral office, though the word ἐπισκοπεῖν generally means to preside or to oversee. What I have rendered “not constraintally,” is literally, “not necessarily;” for when we act according to what necessity prescribes, we proceed in our work slowly and frigidly, as it were by constraint.

(54) The Vulgate, called here and elsewhere, “the old interpreter,” seems to be the most correct, as viewed by most critics. The same form of words is found in the first verse, “The elders who are among you. ” — Ed.

(55) By far the most approved reading is “of God.” — Ed.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 5

Now the elders [the overseers] which are among you I exhort, because I am also an elder [or an overseer, an older man], and I am a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and I'm also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed ( 1 Peter 5:1 ):

Peter witnessed the death of Jesus Christ. I was a witness, he said. And also he was a partaker of the glory. On the mount of transfiguration, he saw Jesus transfigured, Moses and Elijah talking with Him of the things of the kingdom. And Peter was so stoked by this experience. He said, Oh Lord, you know, let's just build three tabernacles, let's just stay right here. You know, let's not go down from this place. This is beautiful. Let's live in the kingdom. I don't want to get back to that old world. Let's just live here in the kingdom, the glory. I was a partaker of the glory that's going to be revealed. The Lord sort of took him in a time machine on out to the future, the glory of the kingdom and he was a partaker for a time in it. His exhortation,

Feed the flock of God which is among you ( 1 Peter 5:2 ),

When Jesus confronted Peter in the twenty-first chapter of John, after His resurrection, He told the disciples to meet Him in Galilee. And they came up to Galilee and Jesus didn't show up, and Peter said, Well, I'm going to go fishing. The others said, Ah, we'll go with you. And so they went out and they fished all night and caught nothing. And on the morning, Jesus was standing on the shore and He called out, He said, Catch anything? Nah. Why don't you throw your nets out on the other side? And so they threw their nets out on the other side and immediately the nets were full of great fish, so heavy they couldn't even pull them into the boat. Now when John saw that they couldn't pull in the nets because of the multitude of fish, he said to Peter, It's the Lord.

And so Peter grabbed his fishing coat because he was naked, he dove in and swam ashore. The other disciples got in a little rowboat and they rowed on into shore dragging the net with them. And when they got to shore, they found that Jesus already had a fire built, there were coals, bed of coals, and He had some fish on them. And He said, Come on and eat. And then He said to Peter, "Peter, do you love Me more than these?" Now the "these" is a problem. Was Jesus talking about the fish, or was He talking about the disciples?

You see, the last time before His death that He was having a conversation with His disciples, He said, All of you are going to be offended tonight because of Me. And Peter said, Lord, though they are all offended, I will never be offended. So basically Peter was saying, Lord, I love You more than they do. Though they're all offended, I'll never be offended. He's bragging. And Jesus said, Peter, before the cock crows, you'll deny Me three times. They could kill me and I'll never deny You. And so he's, in a sense, saying I love You more than them.

And so Jesus could have been indicating the disciples, Do you love Me more than these, Peter? Or He could have been talking about those fish because they represented the old life, the life from which you've been called. And catching 153 great fish with one toss of the net is pretty much the epitome of success in your old chosen field. Peter, do you love Me more than the epitome of success in your chosen field? Either one is a very probing question. And (Jesus said), Lord, you know that I, I'm very fond of You. And Jesus said then, Feed My sheep. Three times He asked the question and it could be because Peter denied Him three times that He was giving him three times an opportunity to say, Yes, Lord, I love You. But each time Jesus responded, Feed My sheep.

Jesus had said to Peter one time, Peter, Satan has desired you that he might sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you. And when you are converted, strengthen your brethren. Feed My sheep. That was the calling that God gave to Peter. And that is the peak, the calling that Peter now passes on to the elders. And I do feel that this is one of the most important exhortations to any and all ministers is to "feed the flock of God which is among you."

I think that that is the perennial call of God to every minister, to feed the flock of God. And I think one of the greatest tragedies in the church today is that there are so few pastors who really feed the flock of God with the Word of God that will nourish their souls unto eternal life. You know the flock of God gets fed all kinds of hodgepodge. You know you can go to church and get good doses of psychology, and philosophy, but to really just be fed the Word of God is a rare thing. "Feed the flock of God which is among you."

taking the oversight, not by constraint ( 1 Peter 5:2 ),

That is, not under pressure.

but willingly; and not for filthy lucre's sake, but of a ready mind ( 1 Peter 5:2 );

He's warning against professionalism in the ministry. Warning against an emphasis upon money. Warning against really the prostituting of the gifts of God for your own enrichment. "Not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind."

Neither as being a lord over God's heritage ( 1 Peter 5:3 ),

The Shepherding doctrine concept; warning against that.

but be an example to the flock ( 1 Peter 5:3 ).

That was Paul's exhortation to Timothy, wasn't it? "Be thou an example unto the believer" ( 1 Timothy 4:12 ). And the minister should indeed be an example of that which he declares to the people.

And when the chief Shepherd [that is, Jesus Christ] shall appear, you will receive a crown of glory that fades not away ( 1 Peter 5:4 ).

Now there are promises of the crown of life in the scripture and here is the promise to those who minister to the body of Christ, a crown of glory.

Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves to the older men. Yes, all of you be in subjection to each other, and be clothed with humility: for God resists the proud ( 1 Peter 5:5 ),

Now you want God to be resisting you? It's interesting how that throughout the whole Scriptures, God has such an abhorrence towards pride. And yet pride is such a common thing among men. "God resists the proud." Six things God hates: yes, there are seven that are an abomination unto him: "A proud look" ( Proverbs 6:16-17 ). God hates it; it's an abomination. "Pride goeth before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall" ( Proverbs 16:18 ). Be clothed with humility for God resists the proud but He,

gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, and he will exalt you in due time ( 1 Peter 5:5-6 ):

"Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up" ( James 4:10 ). "He that exalteth himself shall be abased; but he that humbleth himself shall be exalted" ( Matthew 23:12 ). So much is said concerning our attitudes towards ourselves, which is reflected in our attitudes towards others.

Casting all your care on him; for he careth for you ( 1 Peter 5:7 ).

Two different Greek words. The first one should be translated perhaps anxiety. Casting all your anxieties upon Him. The second Greek word is used as of a shepherd watching over his flock. For he is watching over you with concern, loving concern. So "casting all of your anxieties on him; because he watches over you with loving concern."

Be sober, be vigilant; [On guard.] because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, is walking about, seeking whom he may devour ( 1 Peter 5:8 ):

The sons of God were appearing before God in the book of Job, chapter one, and God --Satan also came with Him; and God said to Satan, Where have you been? And he said, Going to and fro throughout the earth, walking up and down in it. Here Peter tells us that your adversary, the devil, walking around like a roaring lion, just looking for whom he can devour. You have to be on guard. Be sober, be on guard and resist him.

Whom resist stedfast in the faith ( 1 Peter 5:9 ),

Remember in our lesson in James, "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" ( James 4:7 ).

Now there's an interesting thing about our own mental attitudes. And we can be defeated before we ever get to a problem because we've taken that kind of a mental attitude towards it. And with Satan, we think of his power and his cunning and all and we think, Oh man, Satan's attacking me. You know, we just sort of melt. You know, thinking, What can I do, you know; he's so tough, he's so powerful. And we don't resist.

When I first moved from Ventura down here to the Santa Ana area, went to Santa Ana High School, and I was just in high school when we moved down and we had a fellow in high school his name was Bill Duffy, great guy, tremendous football player.

And I went out for football and I was playing full back and we were having intersquad scrimmages and it was thirty-eight on two. And I was the number three back, and so that was my call to carry the ball around the right end. And I was headed down for a touchdown and Bill Duffy, man, and you know, he's ooh, Bill Duffy, everybody's just terrified at this guy, you know. And as he comes charging over and hits me and I just sort of just Oh, Bill Duffy, pleasure to be tackled by this guy. I mean, he's sort of, you know, he's really great. And I just --and the coach called me over and he really read me over. He said, you know, you didn't even resist; you just folded. What's the matter with you, Smith? You know and really read me the riot act for not trying to bowl him over. Well, you know, I was so awed by the name and by this guy. Of course, after I played awhile with him, I found out that he's human just like anybody else. And so you do your best to smash him just like you do everybody else, you know.

But sometimes with the devil, we've got that same thing. Oh, the devil, we just crumble instead of resisting. "Resist steadfast." Hey, he's no match for you when you've got the power of the Spirit on your side. "Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world" ( 1 John 4:4 ). As Martin Luther wrote in his song, The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not at him. One little word will wipe him out. The name of Jesus. Hey, you got authority and power over him and he is no match for you in Christ. So "resist him steadfastly." Don't just give in. "Resist the devil and he will flee from you." Going about like a roaring lion, he scares us to death with his roar. But "resist steadfast in the faith,"

knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are all over the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory ( 1 Peter 5:9-10 ).

Oh, I love that. The God of all grace, He has called you unto His eternal glory. Paul tells us that in the ages to come, He might be revealing unto you what is the "exceeding riches of his love and his kindness towards you in Christ Jesus" ( Ephesians 2:7 ). He's called you unto the eternal glory. Paul prayed for the Ephesians that they might know what is the hope of their calling. God has called you to eternal glory. He's called you to share His eternal kingdom with Him in that glorious kingdom, world without end; kingdom of righteousness and love and peace and blessing. Joy eternal. "But the God of all grace, who has called us unto his eternal glory,"

by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered for a little while, make you mature ( 1 Peter 5:10 ),

And that's the effect of suffering. It has a way of causing us to grow up. It has, as its effect, the maturing of our lives in Christ.

Stablishing you, strengthening you, and settling you ( 1 Peter 5:10 ).

That's our traits of maturity.

To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen ( 1 Peter 5:11 ).

And so he ends his little epistle with this doxology. And now the rest is just sort of personal notes.

By Silas, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written ( 1 Peter 5:12 ),

So Silas, who was the companion of Paul on many of Paul's missionary journeys, is now a companion of Peter. Perhaps Paul is in prison at this time and so Silas has gone with Peter, and he is the one who writes, does the actual writing of this epistle that was dictated to him by Peter. And Silas was known to a lot of these people because he had traveled with Paul. Peter had not known many of these people, but Silas, having been around with Paul, he's "a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, and I have written briefly,"

exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein you stand. The church that is at Babylon, that is elected together with you, greets you; as does Mark my son ( 1 Peter 5:12-13 ).

And this is probably John Mark who was also a companion of Paul and of Barnabas and now is working with Peter. Peter at this time is writing probably from Babylon, his epistle.

And greet one another with a kiss of love [agape]. Peace be with you that are in Christ Jesus. Amen ( 1 Peter 5:14 ).

So, Peter's first epistle. Next week, we'll study the second epistle written about six years later. A lot of good exhortation in this epistle. The purpose is to bring us into spiritual maturity, into a life of strength and blessing and hope in Christ Jesus. And may we now be doers of the Word and not hearers only because that's self-deception. You've got to put it into practice for it to have any value in your life.

And I encourage you, read again this first epistle of Peter having now the background of the study. Let the Spirit of God now minister to you its truth as He brings to your remembrance those things that we have studied, and He enriches you in your walk and in your faith and in your life in Christ.

May the Lord be with you and bless you, give you a good week. In Jesus' name. "

Contending for the Faith

Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

Feed the flock of God which is among you: Peter now addresses a work or function of the elders among them. They are to feed (poimaino) or tend the flock as spiritual undershepherds of the Lord. They are to remember that it is the flock of God (Psalms 78:70-72); to Him they will give an account.

taking the oversight thereof: Elders have the responsibility to feed the flock, tend the flock, and take the oversight (episkopeo) which is "to look upon, to contemplate." Oversight is to be exercised. The duties are to be performed (Acts 20:28-35; John 21:15-17).

not by constraint but willingly: The desire for the good work (Titus 3:1) is a cardinal qualification which must ever be held in view, especially in times of trials and danger. No pastor should serve "under force" or "unwillingly" tend the flock. Everyone, including elders, is to function in harmony with the will of God.

not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind: Every age, station, or work has its own particular temptations. Even the men of this stature could yield to right service with wrong motives. Service for "filthy lucre" (aischrokerdos) is service for disgraceful gain (Titus 1:7). The concept would cover any misuse of his position as a bishop in order to obtain money.

This passage strongly reveals that at least some of the elders were supported financially, especially those who labored in the word and doctrine (1 Timothy 5:17-18), devoting their time to the church (Matthew 10:10).

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

1. The responsibility of the elders 5:1-4

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

B. The Church under Trial 5:1-11

Peter concluded the body of his epistle and this section on encouragement in suffering with specific commands so his readers would understand how to live while suffering for Christ.

"An intimate personal note runs through this section, the author alluding to himself and his own experience and standing more directly than heretofore, and addressing his readers, especially those in the ministry, with primary regard to their pastoral relationship to one another in the Church. Earlier themes, such as the need for humility and wakefulness, and the promise of grace to stand firm in persecution and of glory at the last, are repeated." [Note: Selwyn, p. 227.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Peter’s exhortation to his fellow elders was to take care of those under their charge as a shepherd cares for his sheep (cf. John 21:16; Acts 20:28; Ezekiel 34:1-16). In other words, elders are responsible for the pastoral work of the local church. A pastor is usually an elder who functions as a shepherd. The verb "shepherd" (Gr. poimaino) literally means to tend. Pastoring includes the duties of feeding, leading, guiding, guarding, and providing for the needs of those in the church, as a shepherd does for his sheep (cf. John 21:16).

"If we ever view the flock as ’ours’ or the ministry as ’ours,’ we are in serious trouble, and so is the church." [Note: Cedar, pp. 188-89.]

Three contrasts follow that clarify the proper motivation and manner of an elder’s ministry.

First, he should serve willingly as opposed to grudgingly (cf. 2 Corinthians 9:7). God wants us to perform any service for Him willingly. Elders should not serve because they feel they must do so because of external pressure but because they desire to serve God.

"I have counseled with many pastors who . . . feel that they are imprisoned by their calling to ministry. They would prefer to be somewhere else, they are not enjoying their ministry, or they are in a difficult situation from which they would like to escape. To them, ministry has become mere drudgery.

"It need not be so! Peter reminds us that we should serve the Lord and tend His flock willingly. . . . The Lord does not force us or coerce us to be involved in ministry. He calls us and invites us to ministry, but we have the freedom of saying ’yes’ or ’no’!" [Note: Ibid., p. 190.]

Second, an elder should serve zealously and enthusiastically as opposed to selfishly. He should not serve for what he can get out of his ministry now but for the love of his Lord. The gain one could derive from elder ministry included honor in the church as well as possible financial gain. It seems that elders in the early church often received payment for their ministry (cf. 1 Timothy 5:17 where the "double honor" probably refers to payment; 1 Corinthians 9:7-11). Otherwise there would be no such temptation.

"To enter the ministry simply because it offers a respectable and intellectually stimulating way of gaining a livelihood is to prostitute that sacred work. This warning also includes the temptation to use the work of the ministry to gain personal popularity or social influence." [Note: D. Edmond Hiebert, "Counsel for Christ’s Under-Shepherds: An Exposition of 1 Peter 5:1-4," Bibliotheca Sacra 139:556 (October-December 1982):336-37.]

Barclay's Daily Study Bible

Chapter 5

THE ELDERS OF THE CHURCH ( 1 Peter 5:1-4 )

5:1-4 So, then, as your fellow-elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as a sharer in the glory which is going to be revealed, I urge the elders who are among you, shepherd the flock of God which is in your charge, not because you are coerced into doing so, but of your own free-will as God would have you to do, not to make a shameful profit out of it, but with enthusiasm, not as if you aimed to be petty tyrants over those allotted to your care, but as being under the obligation to be examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

Few passages show more clearly the importance of the eldership in the early church. It is to the elders that Peter specially writes and he, who was the chief of the apostles, does not hesitate to call himself a fellow-elder. It will be worth our while to look at something of the background and history of the eldership, the most ancient and the most important office in the Church. (i) It has a Jewish background. The Jews traced the beginning of the eldership to the days when the children of Israel were journeying through the wilderness to the Promised Land. There came a time when Moses felt the burdens of leadership too heavy for him to bear alone, and to help him seventy elders were set apart and granted a share of the spirit of God ( Numbers 11:16-30). Thereafter elders became a permanent feature of Jewish life. We find them as the friends of the prophets ( 2 Kings 6:32); as the advisers of kings ( 1 Kings 20:8; 1 Kings 21:11); as the colleagues of the princes in the administration of the affairs of the nation ( Ezra 10:8). Every village and city had its elders; they met at the gate and dispensed justice to the people ( Deuteronomy 25:7). The elders were the administrators of the synagogue; they did not preach, but they saw to the good government and order of the synagogue, and they exercised discipline over its members. The elders formed a large section of the Sanhedrin, the supreme court of the Jews, and they are regularly mentioned along with the Chief Priests and the rulers and the Scribes and the Pharisees ( Matthew 16:21; Matthew 21:23; Matthew 26:3; Matthew 26:57; Matthew 27:1; Matthew 27:3; Luke 7:3; Acts 4:5; Acts 6:12; Acts 24:1). In the vision of the Revelation in the heavenly places there are twenty-four elders around the throne. The elders were woven into the very structure of Judaism, both in its civil and its religious affairs. (ii) The eldership has a Greek background. Especially in Egyptian communities we find that elders are the leaders of the community and responsible for the conduct of public affairs, much as town councillors are today. We find a woman who had suffered an assault appealing to the elders for justice. When corn is being collected as tribute on the visit of a governor, we find that "the elders of the cultivators" are the officials concerned. We find them connected with the issuing of public edicts, the leasing of land for pasture, the ingathering of taxation. In Asia Minor, also, the members of councils were called elders. Even in the religious communities of the pagan world we find "elder priests" who were responsible for discipline. In the Socnopaeus temple we find the elder priests dealing with the case of a priest who is charged with allowing his hair to grow too long and with wearing woollen garments--an effeminacy and a luxury of which no priest should have been guilty. We can see that long before Christianity took it over "elder" was a title of honour both in the Jewish and in the Graeco-Roman world.

THE CHRISTIAN ELDERSHIP ( 1 Peter 5:1-4 continued)

When we turn to the Christian Church we find that the eldership is its basic office. It was Paul's custom to ordain elders in every community to which he preached and in every church which he founded. On the first missionary journey elders were ordained in every church ( Acts 14:23). Titus is left in Crete to ordain elders in every city ( Titus 1:5). The elders had charge of the financial administration of the Church; it is to them that Paul and Barnabas delivered the money sent to relieve the poor of Jerusalem in the time of the famine ( Acts 11:30). The elders were the councillors and the administrators of the Church. We find them taking a leading part in the Council of Jerusalem at which it was decided to fling open the doors of the Church to the Gentiles. At that Council the elders and the apostles are spoken of together as the chief authorities of the Church ( Acts 15:2; Acts 16:4). When Paul came on his last visit to Jerusalem, it was to the elders that he reported and they suggested the course of action he should follow ( Acts 21:18-25). One of the most moving passages in the New Testament is Paul's farewell to the elders of Ephesus. We find there that the elders, as he sees them, are the overseers of the flock of God and the defenders of the faith ( Acts 20:28-29). We learn from James that the elders had a healing function in the Church through prayers and anointing with oil ( James 5:14). From the Pastoral Epistles we learn that they were rulers and teachers, and by that time paid officials ( 1 Timothy 5:17; the phrase double honour is better translated double pay). When a man enters the eldership, no small honour is conferred upon him, for he is entering on the oldest religious office in the world, whose history can be traced through Christianity and Judaism for four thousand years; and no small responsibility falls upon him, for he has been ordained a shepherd of the flock of God and a defender of the faith.

THE PERILS AND PRIVILEGES OF THE ELDERSHIP ( 1 Peter 5:1-4 continued)

Peter sets down in a series of contrasts the perils and the privileges of the eldership; and everything he says is applicable, not only to the eldership, but also to all Christian service inside and outside the Church. The elder is to accept office, not under coercion, but willingly. This does not mean that a man is to grasp at office or to enter upon it without self-examining thought. Any Christian will have a certain reluctance to accept high office, because he knows only too well his unworthiness and inadequacy. There is a sense in which it is by compulsion that a man accepts office and enters upon Christian service. "Necessity," said Paul, "is laid upon me; Woe to me, if I do not preach the gospel" ( 1 Corinthians 9:16). "The love of Christ controls us," he said ( 2 Corinthians 5:14). But, on the other hand, there is a way of accepting office and of rendering service as if it was a grim and unpleasant duty. It is quite possible for a man to agree to a request in such an ungracious way that his whole action is spoiled. Peter does not say that a man should be conceitedly or irresponsibly eager for office; but that every Christian should be anxious to render such service as he can, although fully aware how unworthy he is to render it. The elder is to accept office, not to make a shameful profit out of it, but eagerly. The word for making a shameful profit is aischrokerdes ( G146) . The noun from this is aischrokerdeia, and it was a characteristic which the Greek loathed. Theophrastus, the great Greek delineator of character, has a character sketch of this aischrokerdeia. Meanness--as it might be translated--is the desire for base gain. The mean man is he who never sets enough food before his guests and who gives himself a double portion when he is carving the joint. He waters the wine; he goes to the theatre only when he can get a free ticket. He never has enough money to pay the fare and always borrows from his fellow-passengers. When he is selling corn (American: grain), he uses a measure in which the bottom is pushed up, and even then he carefully levels the top. He counts the half radishes left over from dinner in case the servants eat any. Rather than give a wedding present, he will go away from home when a wedding is in the offing. Meanness is an ugly fault. It is quite clear that there were people in the early church who accused the preachers and missionaries of being in the job for what they could get out of it. Paul repeatedly declares that he coveted no man's goods and worked with his hands to meet his own needs so that he was burdensome to no man ( Acts 20:33; 1 Thessalonians 2:9; 1 Corinthians 9:12; 2 Corinthians 12:14). It is certain that the payment any early office-bearer received was pitifully small and the repeated warnings that the office-bearers must not be greedy for gain shows that there were those who coveted more ( 1 Timothy 3:3; 1 Timothy 3:8; Titus 1:7; Titus 1:11). The point that Peter is making--and it is ever valid--is that no man dare accept office or render service for what he can get out of it. His desire must ever be to give and not to get. The elder is to accept office, not to be a petty tyrant, but to be the shepherd and the example of the flock. Human nature is such that for many people prestige and power are even more attractive than money. There are those who love authority, even if it be exercised in a narrow sphere. Milton's Satan thought it better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven. Shakespeare spoke about proud man, dressed in a little brief authority, playing such fantastic tricks before high heaven as would make the angels weep. The great characteristic of the shepherd is his selfless care and his sacrificial love for the sheep. Any man who enters on office with the desire for preeminence, has got his whole point of view upside down. Jesus said to his ambitious disciples, "You know that those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all" ( Mark 10:42-44).

THE IDEAL OF THE ELDERSHIP ( 1 Peter 5:1-4 continued)

One thing in this passage which defies translation and is yet one of the most precious and significant things in it is what we have translated "petty tyrants over those allotted to your care." The phrase which we have translated those allotted is curious in Greek; it is ton ( G3588) kleron ( G2819) , the genitive plural of kleros ( G2819) which is a word of extraordinary interest. (i) It begins by meaning a dice or a lot. It is so used in Matthew 27:35 which tells how the soldiers beneath the Cross were throwing dice (kleroi, G2819) to see who should possess the seamless robe of Jesus. (ii) Second, it means an office gained or assigned by lot. It is the word used in Acts 1:26 which tells how the disciples cast lots to see who should inherit the office of Judas the traitor. (iii) It then comes to mean an inheritance allotted to someone, as used in Colossians 1:12 for the inheritance of the saints. (iv) In classical Greek it very often means a public allotment or estate of land. These allotments were distributed by the civic authorities to the citizens; and very often the distribution was made by drawing lots for the various pieces of land available for distribution. Even if we were to go no further than this, it would mean that the office of the eldership and, indeed, any piece of service offered to us is never earned by any merit of our own but always allotted to us by God. It is never something that we have deserved but always something given to us by the grace of God. But we can go further than this. Kleros ( G2819) means something which is allotted to a man. In Deuteronomy 9:29 we read that Israel is the heritage (kleros, G2819) of God. That is to say, Israel is the people specially assigned to God by his own choice. Israel is the kleros ( G2819) of God; the congregation is the kleros ( G2819) of the elder. Just as Israel is allotted to God, an elder's duties in the congregation are allotted to him. This must mean that the whole attitude of the elder to his people must be the same as the attitude of God to his people. Here we have another great thought. In 1 Peter 5:2 there is a phrase in the best Greek manuscripts which is not in the King James or the Revised Standard Versions. We have translated it: "Shepherd the flock of God, which is in your charge, not because you are coerced into doing so, but of your own free-will as God would have you to do." As God would have you to do is in Greek kata ( G2596) theon ( G2316) , and that could well mean quite simply like God. Peter says to the elders, "Shepherd your people like God." Just as Israel is God's special allotment, the people we have to serve in the Church or anywhere else are our special allotment; and our attitude to them must be the attitude of God. What an ideal! And what a condemnation! It is our task to show to people God's forbearance, his forgiveness, his seeking love, his illimitable service. God has allotted to us a task and we must do it as he himself would do it. That is the supreme ideal of service in the Christian Church.

MEMORIES OF JESUS ( 1 Peter 5:1-4 continued)

One of the lovely things about this passage is Peter's attitude throughout it. He begins by, as it were, taking his place beside those to whom he speaks. "Your fellow-elder" he calls himself. He does not separate himself from them but comes to share the Christian problems and the Christian experience with them. But in one thing he is different; he has memories of Jesus and these memories colour this whole passage. Even as he speaks, they are crowding into his mind. (i) He describes himself as a witness of the sufferings of Christ. At first sight we might be inclined to question that statement, for we are told that, after the arrest in the garden, "All the disciples forsook him and fled" ( Matthew 26:56). But, when we think a little further, we realise that it was given to Peter to see the suffering of Jesus in a more poignant way than was given to any other human being. He followed Jesus into the courtyard of the High Priest's house and there in a time of weakness he three times denied his Master. The trial came to an end and Jesus was taken away; and there comes what may well be the most tragic sentence in the New Testament: "And the Lord turned and looked at Peter...and Peter went out and wept bitterly" ( Luke 22:61-62). In that look Peter saw the suffering of the heart of a leader whose follower had failed him in the hour of his bitterest need. Of a truth Peter was a witness of the suffering that comes to Christ when men deny him; and that is why he was so eager that his people might be staunch in loyalty and faithful in service. (ii) He describes himself as a sharer in the glory which is going to be revealed. That statement has a backward and a forward look. Peter had already had a glimpse of that glory on the Mount of Transfiguration. There the sleeping three had been awakened, and, as Luke puts it, "they kept awake and they saw his glory" ( Luke 9:32). Peter had seen the glory. But he also knew that there was glory to come, for Jesus had promised to his disciples a share in the glory when the Son of Man should come to sit on his glorious throne ( Matthew 19:28). Peter remembered both the experience and the promise of glory. (iii) There can surely be no doubt that, when Peter speaks of shepherding the flock of God, he is remembering the task that Jesus had given to him when he had bidden him feed his sheep ( John 21:15-17). The reward of love was the appointment as a shepherd; and Peter is remembering it. (iv) When Peter speaks of Jesus as the Chief Shepherd, many a memory must be in his mind. Jesus had likened himself to the shepherd who sought at the peril of his life for the sheep which was lost ( Matthew 18:12-14; Luke 15:4-7). He had sent out his disciples to gather in the lost sheep of the house of Israel ( Matthew 10:6). He was moved with pity for the crowds, for they were as sheep without a shepherd ( Matthew 9:36; Mark 6:34). Above all, Jesus had likened himself to the Good Shepherd who was ready to lay down his life for the sheep ( John 10:1-18). The picture of Jesus as the Shepherd was a precious one, and the privilege of being a shepherd of the flock of Christ was for Peter the greatest privilege that a servant of Christ could enjoy.

THE GARMENT OF HUMILITY ( 1 Peter 5:5 )

5:5 In the same way, you younger people must be submissive to those who are older. In your relationships with one another you must clothe yourselves with the garment of humility, because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

Peter returns to the thought that the denial of self must be the mark of the Christian. He clinches his argument with a quotation from the Old Testament: "Toward the scorners God is scornful, but to the humble he shows favour" ( Proverbs 3:34). Here again it may well be that the memories of Jesus are in Peter's heart and are colouring all his thought and language. He tells his people that they must clothe themselves with the garment of humility. The word he uses for to clothe oneself is very unusual; it is egkombousthai ( G1463) which is derived from kombos which describes anything tied on with a knot. Connected with it is egkomboma, a garment tied on with a knot. It was commonly used for protective clothing; it was used for a pair of sleeves drawn over the sleeves of a robe and tied behind the neck. And it was used for a slave's apron. There was a time when Jesus had put upon himself just such an apron. At the Last Supper John says of him that he took a towel and girded himself, and took water and began to wash his disciples' feet ( John 13:4-5). Jesus girded himself with the apron of humility; and so must his followers. It so happens that egkombousthai ( G1463) is used of another kind of garment. It is also used of putting on a long, stole-like garment which was the sign of honour and preeminence. To complete the picture we must put both images together. Jesus once put on the slave's apron and undertook the humblest of all duties, washing his disciples' feet; so we must in all things put on the apron of humility in the service of Christ and of our fellow-men; but that very apron of humility will become the garment of honour for us, for it is he who is the servant of all who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

THE LAWS OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE (1) ( 1 Peter 5:6-11 )

5:6-11 So, then, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that in his good time he may exalt you. Cast all your anxiety upon him because he cares for you. Be sober; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Stand up to him, staunch in the faith, knowing how to pay the same tax of suffering as your brethren in the world. And after you have experienced suffering for a little while, the God of every grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish. strengthen, settle you. To him be dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Here Peter speaks in imperatives, laying down certain laws for the Christian life. (i) There is the law of humility before God. The Christian must humble himself under his mighty hand. The phrase the mighty hand of God is common in the Old Testament; and it is most often used in connection with the deliverance which God wrought for his people when he brought them out of Egypt. "With a strong hand," said Moses, "the Lord has brought you out of Egypt" ( Exodus 13:9). "Thou hast only begun to show thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand" ( Deuteronomy 3:24). God brought his people forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand ( Deuteronomy 9:26). The idea is that God's mighty hand is on the destiny of his people, if they will humbly and faithfully accept his guidance. After all the varied experiences of life, Joseph could say to the brothers who had once sought to eliminate him: "As for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good" ( Genesis 50:20). The Christian never resents the experiences of life and never rebels against them, because he knows that the mighty hand of God is on the tiller of his life and that he has a destiny for him. (ii) There is the law of Christian serenity in God. The Christian must cast all his anxiety upon God. "Cast your burden on the Lord," said the Psalmist ( Psalms 55:22). "Do not be anxious about tomorrow," said Jesus ( Matthew 6:25-34). The reason we can do this with confidence is that we can be certain that God cares for us. As Paul had it, we can be certain that he who gave us his only Son will with him give us all things ( Romans 8:32). We can be certain that, since God cares for us, life is out not to break us but to make us; and, with that assurance, we can accept any experience which comes to us, knowing that in everything God works for good with those who love him ( Romans 8:28). (iii) There is the law of Christian effort and of Christian vigilance. We must be sober and watchful. The fact that we cast everything upon God does not give us the right to sit back and to do nothing. Cromwell's advice to his troops was: "Trust in God, and keep your powder dry." Peter knew how hard this vigilance was, for he remembered how in Gethsemane he and his fellow-disciples slept when they should have been watching with Christ ( Matthew 26:38-46). The Christian is the man who trusts but at the same time puts all his effort and all his vigilance into the business of living for Christ. (iv) There is the law of Christian resistance. The devil is ever out to see whom he can ruin. Again Peter must have been remembering how the devil had overcome him and he had denied his Lord. A man's faith must be like a solid wall against which the attacks of the devil exhaust themselves in vain. The devil is like any bully and retreats when he is bravely resisted in the strength of Jesus Christ.

THE LAWS OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE (2) ( 1 Peter 5:6-11 continued)

(v) Finally, Peter speaks of the law of Christian suffering. He says that, after the Christian has gone through suffering, God will restore, establish, strengthen and settle him. Every one of the words which Peter uses has behind it a vivid picture. Each tells us something about what suffering is designed by God to do for a man. (a) Through suffering God will restore a man. The word for restore is difficult in this case to translate. It is kartarizein ( G2675) , the word commonly used for setting a fracture, the word used in Mark 1:19 for mending nets. It means to supply that which is missing, to mend that which is broken. So suffering, if accepted in humility and trust and love, can repair the weaknesses of a man's character and add the greatness which so far is not there. It is said that Sir Edward Elgar once listened to a young girl singing a solo from one of his own works. She had a voice of exceptional purity and clarity and range, and an almost perfect technique. When she had finished, Sir Edward said softly, "She will be really great when something happens to break her heart." Barrie tells how his mother lost her favourite son, and then says, "That is where my mother got her soft eyes, and that is why other mothers ran to her when they had lost a child." Suffering had done something for her that an easy way could never have done. Suffering is meant by God to add the grace notes to life. (b) Through suffering God will establish a man. The word is sterixein ( G4741) , which means to make as solid as granite. Suffering of body and sorrow of heart do one of two things to a man. They either make him collapse or they leave him with a solidity of character which he could never have gained anywhere else. If he meets them with continuing trust in Christ, he emerges like toughened steel that has been tempered in the fire. (c) Through suffering God will strengthen a man. The Greek is sthenoun ( G4599) , which means to fill with strength. Here is the same sense again. A life with no effort and no discipline almost inevitably becomes a flabby life. No one really knows what his faith means to him until it has been tried in the furnace of affliction. There is something doubly precious about a faith which has come victoriously through pain and sorrow and disappointment. The wind will extinguish a weak flame; but it will fan a strong flame into a still greater blaze. So it is with faith. (d) Through suffering God will settle a man. The Greek is themelioun ( G2311) , which means to lay the foundations. When we have to meet sorrow and suffering we are driven down to the very bedrock of faith. It is then that we discover what are the things which cannot be shaken. It is in time of trial that we discover the great truths on which real life is founded. Suffering is very far from doing these precious things for every man. It may well drive a man to bitterness and despair; and may well take away such faith as he has. But if it is accepted in the trusting certainty that a father's hand will never cause his child a needless tear, then out of suffering come things which the easy way may never bring.

A FAITHFUL HENCHMAN OF THE APOSTLES ( 1 Peter 5:12 )

5:12 I have written this brief letter to you through Silvanus, the faithful brother, as I reckon him to be, to encourage you and to testify that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.

Peter bears witness that what he has written is indeed the grace of God, and he bids his people, amidst their difficulties, to stand fast in it. He says that he has written through Silvanus. The Greek phrase (dia, G1223, Silouanou, G4610) means that Silvanus was his agent in writing. Silvanus is the full form of the name Silas and he is almost certainly to be identified with the Silvanus of Paul's letters and the Silas of Acts. When we gather up the references to Silas or Silvanus, we find that he was one of the pillars of the early church. Along with Judas Barsabas, Silvanus was sent to Antioch with the epoch-making decision of the Council of Jerusalem that the doors of the Church were to be opened to the Gentiles; and in the account of that mission Silvanus and Judas are called leading men among the brethren ( Acts 15:22; Acts 15:27). Not only did he simply bear the message, he commended it in powerful words, for Silvanus was also a prophet ( Acts 15:32). During the first missionary journey Mark left Paul and Barnabas and returned home from Pamphylia ( Acts 13:13); in preparing for the second missionary journey Paul refused to have Mark with him again; the result was that Barnabas took Mark as his companion and Paul took Silvanus ( Acts 15:37-40). From that time forward Silvanus was for long Paul's right-hand man. He was with Paul in Philippi, where he was arrested and imprisoned with him ( Acts 16:19; Acts 16:25; Acts 16:29). He rejoined Paul in Corinth and with him preached the gospel there ( Acts 18:5; 2 Corinthians 1:19). So closely was he associated with Paul that in both the letters to the Thessalonians he is joined with Paul and Timothy as the senders of the letters( 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:1). It is clear that Silvanus was a most notable man in the early church. As we saw in the introduction, it is most probable that Silvanus was far more than merely the scribe who wrote this letter for Peter and the bearer who delivered it. One of the difficulties of First Peter is the excellence of the Greek. It is Greek with such a classical tinge that it seems impossible that Peter the Galilaean fisherman should have written it for himself. Now Silvanus was not only a man of weight in the Church; he was also a Roman citizen ( Acts 16:37) and he would be much better educated than Peter was. Most probably he had a large share in the composition of this letter. We are told that in China, when a missionary wished to send a message to his people, he often wrote it in the best Chinese he could achieve, and then gave it to a Christian Chinese to correct and put into proper form; or, he might even just tell the Christian Chinese what he wished to say, leaving him to put it into literary form for his approval. That is most likely what Peter did. He either gave his letter to Silvanus to polish into excellent Greek or else he told Silvanus what he wished said and left him to say it, adding the last three verses as his personal greeting. Silvanus was one of those men the Church can never do without. He was content to take the second place and to serve almost in the background so long as God's work was done. It was enough for him that he was Paul's assistant, even if Paul for ever overshadowed him. It was enough for him to be Peter's penman, even if it meant only a bare mention of his name at the end of the letter. For all that, it is no little thing to go down in history as the faithful henchman on whom both Peter and Paul depended. The Church always has need of people like Silvanus and many who cannot be Peters or Pauls can still assist the Peters and Pauls to do their work.

GREETINGS ( 1 Peter 5:13 )

5:13 She who is at Babylon, and who has been chosen as you have been chosen, greets you, and so does Mark my son.

Although it sounds so simple, this is a troublesome verse. It presents us with certain questions difficult of solution. (i) From whom are these greetings sent? The King James Version has "the Church that is at Babylon elected together with you, saluteth you." But "the Church that is" is in italics, which means that there is no equivalent in the Greek which simply says "the one elected together with you at Babylon" and the phrase is feminine. There are two possibilities. (a) It is quite possible that the King James Version is correct. That is the way Moffatt takes it when he translates "your sister Church in Babylon." The phrase could well be explained as being based on the fact that the Church is the Bride of Christ and may be spoken of in this way. On the whole, the commonest view is that it is a Church which is meant. (b) But it does have to be remembered that there is actually no word for Church in the Greek, and this feminine phrase might equally well refer to some well-known Christian lady. If it does, by far the best suggestion is that the reference is to Peter's wife. We know that she did actually accompany him on his preaching journeys ( 1 Corinthians 9:5). Clement of Alexandria (Stromateis 7.11.63) tells us that she died a martyr, executed in Peter's own sight, while he encouraged her by saying, "Remember the Lord." She was clearly a well-known figure in the early church. We would not wish to speak dogmatically on this question. It is perhaps more likely that the reference is to a Church; but it is not impossible that Peter is associating his wife and fellow-evangelist in the greetings which he sends. (ii) From where was this letter written? The greetings are sent from Babylon. There are three possibilities. (a) There was a Babylon in Egypt, near Cairo. It had been founded by Babylonian refugees from Assyria and was called by the name of their ancestral city. But by this time it was almost exclusively a great military camp; and in any event the name of Peter is never connected with Egypt. This Babylon may be disregarded. (b) There was the Babylon in the east to which the Jews had been taken in captivity. Many had never come back and it was a centre of Jewish scholarship. The great commentary on the Jewish Law is called the Babylonian Talmud. So important were the Jews of Babylon that Josephus had issued a special edition of his histories for them. There is no doubt that there was a large and important colony of Jews there; and it would have been quite natural for Peter, the apostle of the Jews, to preach and to work there. But we do not find the name of Peter ever connected with Babylon and there is no trace of him having ever been there. Scholars so great as Calvin and Erasmus have taken Babylon to be this great eastern city but, on the whole, we think the probabilities are against it. (c) Regularly Rome was called Babylon, both by the Jews and by the Christians. That is undoubtedly the case in the Revelation where Babylon is the great harlot, drunk with the blood of the saints and the martyrs ( Revelation 17:1-18; Revelation 18:1-24). The Godlessness, Just and luxury of ancient Babylon were, so to speak, reincarnated in Rome. Peter is definitely connected in tradition with Rome; and the likelihood is that it was from there that the letter was written. (iii) Who is the Mark, whom Peter calls his son, and from whom he sends greetings? If we take the elect lady to be Peter's wife. Mark might quite well be literally Peter's son. But it is much more likely that he is the Mark who wrote the gospel. Tradition has always closely connected Peter with Mark, and has handed down the story that he was intimately involved with Mark's gospel. Papias, who lived towards the end of the second century and was a great collector of early traditions, describes Mark's gospel in this way: "Mark, who was Peter's interpreter, wrote down accurately though not in order, all that he recollected of what Christ had said or done. For he was not a hearer of the Lord or a follower of his; he followed Peter, as I have said, at a later date, and Peter adapted his instructions to practical needs, without any attempt to give the Lord's words systematically. So that Mark was not wrong in writing down some things in this way from memory, for his one concern was neither to omit nor to falsify anything he had heard." According to Papias, Mark's gospel is nothing other than the preaching material of Peter. In similar vein Irenaeus says that after the death of Peter and Paul at Rome, "Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, also handed down to us in writing what had been preached by Peter." It is the consistent story of tradition that Mark, the evangelist, was indeed a son to Peter, and all the likelihood is that these greetings are from him. So, then, we may gather up the possibilities. "She who is at Babylon, and who has been chosen, as you have been chosen," may either be the Church or the wife of Peter, herself a martyr. Babylon may be the Babylon of the east but is more likely to be the great and wicked city of Rome. Mark might possibly be the actual son of Peter, about whom we know nothing else, but is more likely to be Mark, the writer of the gospel, who was to Peter as a son.

AT PEACE WITH ONE ANOTHER ( 1 Peter 5:14 )

5:14 Greet each other with a kiss of love. Peace be to you all that are in Christ.

The most interesting thing here is the injunction to give each other the kiss of love. This was for centuries an integral and precious part of Christian fellowship and worship; and its history and gradual elimination, is of the greatest interest. With the Jews it was the custom for a disciple to kiss his Rabbi on the cheek and to lay his hands upon his shoulder. That is what Judas did to Jesus ( Mark 14:44). The kiss was the greeting of welcome and respect, and we can see how much Jesus valued it, for he was grieved when it was not given to him ( Luke 7:45). Paul's letters frequently end with the injunction to salute each other with a holy kiss ( Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:26). In the early church the kiss became an essential part of Christian worship. "What prayer is complete," asks Tertullian, "from which the holy kiss is divorced? What kind of sacrifice is that from which men depart without the peace?" (Dex Oratione 18). The kiss, we see here, was called the peace. It was specially a part of the communion service. Augustine says that, when Christians were about to communicate, "they demonstrated their inward peace by the outward kiss" (De Amicitia 6). It was usually given after the catechumens had been dismissed, when only members of the Church were present, and after the prayer before the elements were brought in. Justin Martyr says, "When we have ceased from prayer, we salute one another with a kiss. There is then brought to the president bread and a cup of wine" (1.65). The kiss was preceded by the prayer "for the gift of peace and of unfeigned love, undefiled by hypocrisy or deceit," and it was the sign that "our souls are mingled together, and have banished all remembrance of wrongs" (Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures 25.5.3). The kiss was the sign that all injuries were forgotten, all wrongs forgiven, and that those who sat at the Lord's Table were indeed one in the Lord. This was a lovely custom and yet it is clear that it was sadly open to abuse. It is equally clear from the warnings so often given that abuses did creep in. Athenagoras insists that the kiss must be given with the greatest care, for "if there be mixed with it the least defilement of thought, it excludes us from eternal life" (Legatio Christianis 32). Origen insists that the kiss of peace must be "holy, chaste and sincere," not like the kiss of Judas (Commentaria in Epistolam B. Pauli ad Romanos 10: 33). Clement of Alexandria condemns the shameless use of the kiss, which ought to be mystic, for with the kiss "certain persons make the churches resound, and thereby occasion foul suspicions and evil reports" (Paedagogus 3: 11). Tertullian speaks of the natural reluctance of the heathen husband to think that his wife should be so greeted in the Christian Church (Ad Uxorem 2: 4). In the Church of the west these inevitable problems gradually brought the end of this lovely custom. By the time of the Apostolic Constitutions in the fourth century, the kiss is confined to those of the same sex--the clergy are to salute the bishop, the men the men and the women the women. In this form the kiss of peace lasted in the Church of the west until the thirteenth century. Sometimes substitutes were introduced. In some places a little wooden or metal tablet, with a picture of the crucifixion on it, was used. It was kissed first by the priest, and then passed to the congregation, who each kissed it and handed it on, each man to his neighbour, in token of their mutual love for Christ and in Christ. In the oriental Churches the custom still obtains; it is not extinct in the Greek Church; the Armenian Church substituted a courteous bow. We may note certain other uses of the kiss in the early church. At baptism the person baptized was kissed, first by the baptizer and then by the whole congregation, as a sign of his welcome into the household and family of Christ. A newly ordained bishop was given "the kiss in the Lord." The marriage ceremony was ratified by a kiss, a natural action taken over from paganism. Those who were dying first kissed the Cross and were then kissed by all present. The dead were kissed before burial. To us the kiss of peace may seem very far away. It came from the day when the Church was a real family and fellowship, when Christians really did know and love one another. It is a tragedy that the modern Church, often with vast congregations who do not know each other and do not even wish to know each other, could not use the kiss of peace except as a formality. It was a lovely custom which was bound to cease when the reality of fellowship was lost within the Church. "Peace to all of you that are in Christ," says Peter; and so he leaves his people to the peace of God which is greater than all the troubles and distresses the world can bring.

Barclay's Daily Study Bible (NT)

FURTHER READING

1 Peter F. W. Beare, The First Epistle of Peter (G) E. Best, 1 Peter (NCB; E) C. Bigg, St. Peter and St. Jude (ICC; G) C. E. B. Cranfield, 1 and 2 Peter and Jude (Tch; E) E. G. Selwyn, The First Epistle of St. Peter (MmC; G) Abbreviations ICC: International Critical Commentary MC: Moffatt Commentary MmC: Macmillan Commentary NCB: New Century Bible Tch: Torch Commentary E: English Text G: Greek Text

Barclay's Daily Study Bible (NT)

Gann's Commentary on the Bible

1 Peter 5:2

Shepherd -- This "shepherding" involves the feeding and protecting the flock, Acts 20:28-30.

shepherd the flock -- (Gk. poimainō, “to tend sheep; to act as a shepherd”; cf. John 21:16; Acts 20:28; Ephesians 4:11), from which the English verb and noun “pastor” is derived (Latin pastor means “shepherd”). - ESVSB

the flock of God -- It must be remembered that the flock belongs to God and not to the "shepherds".

serving as overseers -- (episkopountes) is the noun “overseer” (episkopos, used five other times: Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:1-2; Titus 1:7; 1 Peter 2:25). - BKC

elders -- shepherds -- overseers -- Peter first uses the term "elder" which is basically the Jewish tribal designation of leadership, while "overseer" (episcopos) was the Greek city-state designation for leadership. Peter uses both Jewish and Greek terms for leaders for his readers.

exercising oversight -- (translating Gk. episkopeō), which is the verb form of the noun “overseer” (Gk. episkopos), which is another title for those who serve as elders (cf. Acts 20:28). The terms “shepherd” and “exercising oversight” emphasize the function of elders (i.e., they are to feed and watch over “the flock”), while the title “elder” focuses on the office.

    Peter now gives three exhortations to elders as to how they are to carry out the responsibilities entrusted to them: (1) elders are to “shepherd” the church gladly or willingly, in accord with God’s will, instead of doing it out of a sense of compulsion; (2) they are to do the work eagerly and not out of greed or for shameful gain (Gk. aischrokerdōs, “in fondness for dishonest gain, greedily”); (3) they are to serve as examples to the congregation, and not use their place of leadership as a means to be domineering. - ESVSB

not by compulsion but willingly -- Specifically, Peter may be warning the elders against a first danger—laziness. - MSB

not for dishonest gain -- False teachers are always motivated by a second danger, money, and use their power and position to rob people of their own wealth (2 Peter 2:1-3). - MSB

Not for filthy lucre -- Some elders of the first century were supported financially so they could give more time to the ministry.

5:2–3 This begins a series (cf. vv. 2–3) of contrasting qualifications for church leaders. - Utley

    Positive            Negative

1    voluntary        not under compulsion

2    with eagerness        not for sordid gain

3    as an example        not lording it over

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Feed the flock of God which is among you,.... Some read, "as much as in you is"; that is, to the utmost of your power, according to your abilities, referring to the manner of feeding the flock, doing it in the best way they are capable of; but the phrase is rather descriptive of the flock to be fed, which points it out, and distinguishes it from all others, and for which they should have a particular regard; it being the flock, as the Syriac version renders it, which "is delivered unto you"; which was committed to their care, and they were made overseers of, and stood in a special relation to; wherefore it was incumbent on them to regard them, so as they did not, and were not obliged to regard, any other distinct flock: by "the flock of God"; or, "of Christ", as some copies read, is meant, not the whole world, which Philo the Jew r calls the greatest and most perfect, του οντος θεου ποιμην, "flock of the true God"; but the church of God, over which they were elders or pastors, consisting of Christ's sheep and lambs, he ordered Peter to feed, as he now does his fellow elders; and because they are the flock of God, which he has chosen, distinguished, and separated from the rest of the world, and has made the care and charge of Christ; put them into his hands, whence they are called the sheep of his hand; which he has purchased with his blood, and effectually called by his grace, and returned them to himself, the Shepherd and Bishop of souls, who before were as sheep going astray, and folded them together in a Gospel church state; all this is a reason, and a strong one, why they should be fed; not with every wind of doctrine, which blows up the pride of human nature, and swells men with vain conceits of themselves; nor with the chaff of human doctrines; nor with trifling and speculative notions; but with knowledge and understanding of divine and evangelical truths, with the words of faith and sound doctrine, with the wholesome words of our Lord Jesus Christ; with the Gospel of the grace of God, which contains milk for babes, and meat for strong men; and with a crucified Christ himself, who is the bread of life, and whose flesh is meat indeed, and his blood drink indeed; by directing them to his person, blood, and righteousness, to live by faith on; by preaching the doctrines of peace and pardon by his blood, atonement and satisfaction by his sacrifice, and justification by his righteousness, and complete salvation by his obedience and death: in short, feeding includes the whole of the pastor's work, the ministry of the word, the administration of ordinances, and the rule and government of the church, in the several branches of it; for the same word signifies to rule as to feed; and which work is further expressed by

taking the oversight thereof; that is, of the flock; or "take the care of it", as the Syriac version renders it, and adds, "spiritually"; in a spiritual manner; which is an interpretation of the phrase: an acting the part of a bishop or overseer of it, as the word signifies; looking diligently to it, inspecting into the various cases of the members of the church; using diligence to know the state of the flock, and performing all the offices of a careful shepherd; as feeding the flock; and not themselves; strengthening the diseased; healing the sick; binding up that which was broken; bringing again that which was driven away, and seeking that which was lost; watching over them that they go not astray; and restoring of them in the spirit of meekness, when they are gone out of the way; and overlooking both their practices and their principles; admonishing, reproving them for sin, as the case requires; and preserving them, as much as in them lies, from wolves, and beasts of prey; from false teachers, and from all errors and heresies: all which is to be done,

not by constraint; or with force, in a rigorous and severe manner; for this may be understood actively of pastors not forcing their flock, over driving them, or ruling them with force and cruelty, complained of in Ezekiel 34:4 or passively, of their being forced to feed the flock, and superintend it; as such may be said to be, who enter into the ministry, and continue in it, because obliged to it for want of a livelihood, and not knowing how to get one any other way; or through the pressing instances of relations, acquaintance, and friends; this ought not to be a matter of necessity, but of choice; they should be induced to it by no other necessity than what Christ has laid upon them, by calling them to the work, and furnishing them for it with the gifts of his Spirit; and should engage and continue in it by no other constraint than that of his love; wherefore it follows,

but willingly. The Vulgate Latin version adds, "according to God", and so some copies; according to the will of God, and agreeably to his word; and the Ethiopic version renders it, "with equity for God"; with all uprightness and integrity, for the sake of the honour and glory of God; this should be done with all a man's heart and soul, and should spring from pure love to Christ; for no man is fit to feed Christ's lambs and sheep but those who sincerely love him; see John 21:15, and from a cordial and affectionate concern for the good of souls; and from, an hearty desire unto, and delight in, the work itself; otherwise all he does will be as a task and burden; he will do it grudgingly, and with negligence, and will murmur under it, at least secretly. The Arabic version renders it, "watching, not forced watches, but willing ones". This contrast of phrases seems to be Jewish, or Rabbinical s; it is a tradition of the Rabbans;

"blood which is defiled, and they sprinkle it ignorantly, it is accepted; presumptuously, not accepted; of what things are these said? of a private person; but of a congregation, whether ignorantly or presumptuously, it is accepted; and of a stranger, whether ignorantly or presumptuously, בין באונס בין ברצון, "whether by constraint or willingly", it is not accepted:''

it follows here,

not for filthy lucre; not from a covetous disposition, which is a filthy one; and for the sake of gaining money, and amassing wealth and riches, as the false prophets in Isaiah's time, who were never satisfied; and the false teachers in the apostle's time, who, through covetousness, made merchandise of men, and supposed that gain was godliness; whereas there is no such thing as serving God and mammon; and as the work of the ministry should not be entered upon, and continued in, with any such sordid view; so neither for the sake of gaining glory and applause, a presidency, and chief place in the churches, and a name among the ministers of the Gospel, and credit and esteem among men:

but of a ready mind; or, "from the whole heart", as the Syriac version renders it; and in a cheerful view of reproaches and persecutions, of the loss of credit and reputation, of worldly substance, and of life itself; and with a sincere concern for the glory of God, and the good of immortal souls; being ready to do everything with cheerfulness, that may contribute to either of these. The Ethiopic version renders it, "in the fulness of your heart with joy".

r De Agricultura, p. 195. s T. Bab. Menachot, fol. 25. 1. Vid. T. Bab. Avoda Zara, fol. 54. 1. & Maimon. Hilch. Issure Mizbeach, c. 4. sect. 5, 6.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      1 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:   2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;   3 Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.   4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

      Here we may observe,

      I. The persons to whom this exhortation is given--to the presbyters, pastors, and spiritual guides of the church, elders by office, rather than by age, ministers of those churches to whom he wrote this epistle.

      II. The person who gives this exhortation--the apostle Peter: I exhort; and, to give force to this exhortation, he tells them he was their brother-presbyter or fellow-elder, and so puts nothing upon them but what he was ready to perform himself. He was also a witness of the sufferings of Christ, being with him in the garden, attending him to the palace of the high-priest, and very likely being a spectator of his suffering upon the cross, at a distance among the crowd, Acts 3:15. He adds that he was also a partaker of the glory that was in some degree revealed at the transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-3), and shall be completely enjoyed at the second coming of Jesus Christ. Learn, 1. Those whose office it is to teach others ought carefully to study their own duty, as well as teach the people theirs. 2. How different the spirit and behaviour of Peter were from that of his pretended successors! He does not command and domineer, but exhort. He does not claim sovereignty over all pastors and churches, nor style himself prince of the apostles, vicar of Christ, or head of the church, but values himself upon being an elder. All the apostles were elders, though every elder was not an apostle. 3. It was the peculiar honour of Peter, and a few more, to be the witnesses of Christ's sufferings; but it is the privilege of all true Christians to be partakers of the glory that shall be revealed.

      III. The pastor's duty described, and the manner in which that duty ought to be performed. The pastoral duty is three-fold:-- 1. To feed the flock, by preaching to them the sincere word of God, and ruling them according to such directions and discipline as the word of God prescribes, both which are implied in this expression, Feed the flock. 2. The pastors of the church must take the oversight thereof. The elders are exhorted to do the office of bishops (as the word signifies), by personal care and vigilance over all the flock committed to their charge. 3. They must be examples to the flock, and practise the holiness, self-denial, mortification, and all other Christian duties, which they preach and recommend to their people. These duties must be performed, not by constraint, not because you must do them, not from compulsion of the civil power, or the constraint of fear or shame, but from a willing mind that takes pleasure in the work: not for filthy lucre, or any emoluments and profits attending the place where you reside, or any perquisite belonging to the office, but of a ready mind, regarding the flock more than the fleece, sincerely and cheerfully endeavouring to serve the church of God; neither as being lords over God's heritage, tyrannizing over them by compulsion and coercive force, or imposing unscriptural and human inventions upon them instead of necessary duty, Matthew 20:25; Matthew 20:26; 2 Corinthians 1:24. Learn, (1.) The eminent dignity of the church of God, and all the true members of it. These poor, dispersed, suffering Christians were the flock of God. The rest of the world is a brutal herd. These are an orderly flock, redeemed to God by the great Shepherd, living in holy love and communion one with another, according to the will of God. They are also dignified with the title of God's heritage or clergy, his peculiar lot, chosen out of the common multitude for his own people, to enjoy his special favour and to do him special service. The word is never restricted in the New Testament to the ministers of religion. (2.) The pastors of the church ought to consider their people as the flock of God, as God's heritage, and treat them accordingly. They are not theirs, to be lorded over at pleasure; but they are God's people, and should be treated with love, meekness, and tenderness, for the sake of him to whom they belong. (3.) Those ministers who are either driven to the work by necessity or drawn to it by filthy lucre can never perform their duty as they ought, because they do not do it willingly, and with a ready mind. (4.) The best way a minister can take to engage the respect of a people is to discharge his own duty among them in the best manner that he can, and to be a constant example to them of all that is good.

      IV. In opposition to that filthy lucre which many propose to themselves as their principal motive in undertaking and discharging the pastoral office, the apostle sets before them the crown of glory designed by the great shepherd, Jesus Christ, for all his faithful ministers. Learn, 1. Jesus Christ is the chief shepherd of the whole flock and heritage of God. He bought them, and rules them; he defends and saves them for ever. He is also the chief shepherd over all inferior shepherds; they derive their authority from him, act in his name, and are accountable to him at last. 2. This chief shepherd will appear, to judge all ministers and under-shepherds, to call them to account, whether they have faithfully discharged their duty both publicly and privately according to the foregoing directions. 3. Those that are found to have done their duty shall have what is infinitely better than temporal gain; they shall receive from the grand shepherd a high degree of everlasting glory, a crown of glory that fadeth not away.