1 Peter 5:12-14 - the conclusion

1 Peter 5:12-14    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.  She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark.  Greet one another with a kiss of love.  Peace to all of you who are in Christ (NIV).

   We may be at the closing of this sacred epistle, yet it is a rich conclusion!  And after studying this intense letter for six and a half months, we finally get to the kissing part!

Regarding “my son Mark” and the “kiss of love,” both are subjects I have studied extensively, and you get the benefit of a concise synopsis.

   Regarding “my son Mark,” I once looked at a whole bunch of commentaries on this subject, and they all said Peter is referring to ‘John Mark,’ and that he is calling him a son in a spiritual sense.  I disagree.  I am convicted Peter had a son named Mark, based on historical evidence.  Not only did Clement of Alexandria say Peter had children (1), yet also Origen, as recorded by Eusebius, stated: “The second is according to Mark, who composed it, as Peter explained to him, whom he also acknowledges as his son in his general Epistle, saying, ‘The elect church in Babylon salutes you, as also Mark my son’” (2).  There is other evidence from Clement of Alexandria.

   Regarding “she who is in Babylon,” some say this is the church, and others say this is Peter’s wife.  The above quote of Origen by Eusebius took the translation as church.  On the flipside, we know that Peter had a wife (3).  Many say Peter is using Babylon as a metaphor for Rome.  I think this is likely, though doing so would not have made Romans very happy.  However note that though he was martyred in Rome, Peter was in many places in the years before, as we know from a priceless chapter opening of Eusebius: “Peter appears to have preached through Pontus, Galatia, Bithynia, Cappadocia, and Asia to the Jews who were scattered abroad; he finally came to Rome and was crucified with his head downward, having requested of himself to suffer in this way” (4).

   The term “holy kiss” used by Paul in some of his letters is the same as what Peter terms the kiss of love.  This kissing is quite misunderstood in our Western culture today.  At Colorado Christian University, I wrote a fourteen page paper on the “holy kiss.”  I came up with the subject as I worked to think of something original.  My thesis ended up being that the “holy kiss” is holy because it is rooted in the love of Christ.

   This kiss greeting sounds foreign to Western ears, but Jewish people during the time of Jesus did not shake hands, nor did others in the area we now call the Middle East.  When men greeted each other, or when woman greeted each other, they would first give a kiss on the right cheek, and then give a kiss on the left cheek.  Note that the cheek kissing greeting was not done between genders.  However, in the early church, the greeting was done as a part of the worship service, and it was even done between genders.  This was the radical part that distinguished the “holy kiss” from a market greeting.  The intent was not sexual, rather it was an expression of Christ’s love between brothers and sisters in Christ.  This practice phased out as time went on due to some people coming to church who were not sincere Christians, which we know because a few early Christian writers talked about this subject.  Yet I argue “the greeting” or “the Peace” that still takes place in some churches today is the stem of the “holy kiss.”

   It has been an honor to write this commentary on my blog.  I have poured myself into it.  I thank you for any reading you have done.  I close by saying this Epistle by Peter was written to fellow Christians, and all of us Christians can keep learning from it today.  And if you are not a Christian, know what Peter said in I Peter 3:18 – “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God…” (NIV).  May you know that Jesus loves you, and if you believe in Jesus, the One who died being the substitute for the punishment of sins, then you will have eternal life.  You can believe in Jesus as your Savior this very hour.

Love, Hunter

(1)  Eusebius, Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History; Complete and Unabridged, trans. C.F. Cruse (Peabody, MA.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1998), 95.

(2)  Eusebius, Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History; Complete and Unabridged, trans. C.F. Cruse (Peabody, MA.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1998), 215.

(3)  Eusebius, Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History; Complete and Unabridged, trans. C.F. Cruse (Peabody, MA.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1998), 95-96.

(4)  Eusebius, Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History; Complete and Unabridged, trans. C.F. Cruse (Peabody, MA.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1998), 67.

1 Peter 5:5-11

1 Peter 5:5-11    Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older.  All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”  Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.  Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.  Be self-controlled and alert.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.  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 (NIV).

   Why is it God only gives grace to the humble?  Because grace is a gift, and there needs to be humility in accepting a gift.  I will give an example.  I drive a car that was a gift from my mom, which she had inherited.  At one point after mom offered me the car, I said no.  Yet then later I reconsidered and said yes.  Why did I reject the car at first?  There were a number of factors involved in my first decision, but two key points were that the car is old and it guzzles gas.  An old car is more susceptible to breaking down, and using much gas is never a good thing.  I miss my former car which got great gas mileage.  However, I was not concerned that the car is out of style!  Had I been arrogant, I may have rejected the gift for that reason.  I could have said, I do not think the car is cool, thus I will not take it.  Rather, I considered the car has low miles, and I accepted the gift later on.  That car has served me for months at a rough time in my life when I have been unemployed.

   The grace of God is a free gift offered to you.  Dwight L. Moody made this clear in his book God’s Abundant Grace.  He stated: “Paul calls it ‘the free gift of God’” (1).  I add that Moody made the acute observation that Paul closed all of his epistles with a “prayer for grace.”  I never noticed that and I wanted to see for myself if it was true, so I looked through all of Paul’s epistles.  Sure enough, his expression for the grace of God is in the close of all of his epistles, though not always stated in the last sentence.

   Scripture teaches God’s grace is what all people need for salvation.  Pride will block the realization of such a need.  Moody makes one statement that is humorous when discussing how works have no part in salvation.  Moody states, “If ever a man did succeed in working his way into heaven we should never hear the last of it!” (2).

   Moody also makes it clear that for the person who has received God’s grace, works will result.  Yet it is still God’s grace which needs to be relied on in order to be a light for Christ in this dark world.  If a Christian is humble in interacting with his or her fellow human beings, then those people are going to be more receptive to the grace being exhibited.  Why?  It goes back to the premise that Peter was an apostle, but at the start of chapter five he gives an appeal as a fellow elder.  We followers of Jesus are going to have eternal glory in Christ, yet it is not because we were any more saintly before receiving God’s grace than the clerk at the grocery store who does not know Jesus.  We are who we are because of the grace of God!  We need to let that clerk at the grocery store see that we are human like she or he is, yet that we are humans who desired the gift of Christ.  Then maybe she or he will be open to the love of Christ we exhibit.

   In pondering this passage, I thought to myself, “Who do I know who is a humble Christian?”  One person came immediately to mind: Phil Keaggy.  Phil Keaggy is a musician who I have seen in concert seven times, and he is a phenomenal guitarist.  For me, I am able to soak in his incredible guitar playing even more when I hear him live.  It is a long story I will not get into, but if there is any Christian musician who has a reason to forego being humble, it is Phil Keaggy.  Yet I had the opportunity to meet Phil once after a concert, and the main characteristic apparent to me was his humility.

   Since our passage mentions the devil, and states to resist him, I will close on a story about Phil Keaggy.  Once I saw him in concert at a church in Colorado.  Something happened at the beginning of the concert, but I will not get into the details, because it was one of those things where you have to know some personal things about Phil Keaggy.  But the bottom line is that I realized something took place that had the influence of the devil.  I think Phil Keaggy noticed it also, because for the first two songs he performed, he was a little off in his playing, the only time I have seen that happen.  But then he quickly got focused, and gave a great concert as always.  Near the end of his concerts, he usually gives one short and clear message.  That night, he simply gave a Bible verse, quoting Romans 12:21 - “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (NIV).  He stated that Scripture with utter sincerity.

   How do we humans overcome evil with good?  By relying on Jesus!  Daily go to Jesus in prayer.  Daily recognize your need for his help.  Jesus has overcome the devil, and in Jesus, there is goodness, and He is offering that goodness to anyone who will receive.  The result of living in obedience to Jesus is that you are changed, developed into a disciple of Christ who is steadfast in the love of Jesus.

Hunter Irvine

(1)  Dwight L. Moody, God’s Abundant Grace

(1891; repr., Chicago: Moody Press, 1998), 11.

(2)  Dwight L. Moody, God’s Abundant Grace

(1891; repr., Chicago: Moody Press, 1998), 26.

1 Peter 5:1-4

1 Peter 5:1-4 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away (NIV).

   I am fortunate to have some loving friends who are in the Roman Catholic denomination, and I cherish their friendship. We will always have certain doctrinal disagreements until we are in heaven however. Not only are there a number of serious doctrinal differences between the Roman Catholic denomination and most other Christian denominations, but there is a fundamental difference in theology concerning their church government. Roman Catholic doctrine throughout history has placed their Pope, though in varying degrees at various times, to be a Vicar of Christ. This belief is based on Matthew 16:18 where Jesus identified Simon as “rock,” and states that on this rock His church will be built. Yet what is being missed is the whole quotation. Matthew 16:17 records that Jesus starts off by saying that Peter’s identification of Jesus as the Christ was not revealed by man, but by the Father in heaven. The rock that Jesus was building His church on was not a man, rather a revelation from God. The revelation through Peter is that Jesus is the Messiah. The Church of Jesus Christ is built on the rock of the revelation of the Christ, the “Anointed One.”

   Proper church government is revealed here by Peter. Peter, who identified himself as an apostle at the beginning of this epistle, is now identifying himself as a “fellow elder.” He is in effect saying to church leaders, ‘At the core, I am simply one of you.’ Peter was no God. Peter was not vying for a position as the greatest apostle. Peter here addressed his “fellow elders.” Elders were those individuals with the gifts and maturity to have leadership roles in their local churches. And Peter was one of those leaders.

   Another nugget here; Peter states he was “a witness of Christ’s sufferings…” We are reading Scripture written by an apostle who was an eyewitness of the sufferings of Christ. The popular ‘modern’ academic practice has been to claim that books of the Bible were not written by the authors identified as the authors by ancient Christian writers. Many professors at a number of colleges, universities, and seminaries claim that books of Scripture were written by unknown individuals and then later attributed to an apostle, or were written by the Jewish people attributed as authors by the church for many centuries, but drastically edited by unknown folks at a later time. They are wrong because they neglect the study of ancient Christian writers. Those writers identify authors of Scripture. Those writers discussed the content of written Scripture. Thus we can count on Peter as the author of this inspired epistle. Thus Peter was a Jewish man who witnessed the Christ suffer.

   And the charge by a fellow elder? It is to shepherd God’s flock. Just as Jesus commanded Peter to feed His sheep (recorded in John 21:15-20), Peter is commanding his fellow elders to take care of the flock, which comprises of the children of God. If your calling is to be a leader in a church, then you have the responsibility of overseeing the flock. It is momentous calling.

   I have served as a youth pastor, and in doing so, I have learned that my gifts are on the teaching end. When I was a youth pastor, I had a rather small youth group, which was suitable for me. I was thankful to have a small youth group, because my gifts are not fitting to be overseeing a huge group. On the flip side, if I am speaking, I do not mind if there are hundreds of people, because I have a preaching gift. I spoke at a high school chapel service once to over three hundred students, and my thought at the beginning of the talk was: “This is fun.” Different people have different gifts, thus learn your gifts and pastor accordingly. But whether you are a in a small church or a mega church, whether working with a small group or a huge group, or whether part of a small team of leaders or a large team of leaders, you have a serious responsibility which you need to rely on God to carry out.

   I add that the word “overseer” is not used often in Christian churches. Bishop is the word that has replaced this word in some denominations. The problem with this term is that it has gained a connotation of ruler for many.  Ruler is a better word for a king than a pastor.

   Peter even states: “not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock” (NIV). Examples! That is what we need more of in our churches today! I was extremely active in Boys Scouts in my youth, a dedicated member, and eventually an Eagle Scout, in Troop 150 in Annandale, Virginia. Our leader was Mr. Holly Burns, a special Scoutmaster, and our Assistant Scoutmaster was Col. Milt Irons. Col. Irons later on became Scoutmaster after I was away at college at Virginia Tech. Col. Irons was a great leader. And a key reason why he was a great leader was because he led by example. One year our troop was on our annual “wilderness survival” campout at “Patrick’s Farm.” That place consisted of many acres of forest, and was owned by a farmer who allowed our troop to camp there every March. The nature of a “wilderness survival” campout for Troop 150 was that we could not bring tents, pots and pans, matches, or lighters, which we had on every other campout. Instead of having a tent, we had to make lean-tos out of wood. Instead of pots and pans, we had to cook in tinfoil. And to start a fire, we used flint and steel. I cannot remember, but we may not have even been allowed to have sleeping bags, because I remember one year being in a “space blanket.” But that may have just been one year.

   So, one morning I was the cook for the Leadership patrol for breakfast. Our menu was eggs, sausage, and grapefruit. How do you cook such without pots and pans? First, since utensils were available, we cut open the grapefruits. Then we sectioned out the grapefruit pieces. Then we removed the grapefruit pieces so that people could eat them. Then we totally gutted the grapefruit. Then we lined the grapefruit with the smushed sausage. Then we plopped an egg into the sausage lined grapefruit. Then we put the grapefruit, open side up, on coals. I think I even put tinfoil on top to trap heat. Then we cooked sausage and a fried egg in each grapefruit rein, one per person. Then each person got to chow down.

   Going back to the early stage of sectioning the grapefruit, after I cut the grapefruits open, I stared at them for a while. Col. Irons noticed I was stalled in the process, and he asked how I was doing. I told him I had never been good at sectioning grapefruits. Truth is I was never good at it because my mom usually did that for me. So what did my special leader do? Col. Irons asked, not demanded, if it would be fine with me if he sectioned the grapefruits. When I said yes, he then asked if I could line the grapefruits with the sausage. Then when he was sectioning the grapefruits, he gave a few gentle pointers on how to best do that. That was Col. Irons. He led by example. He was one of the great leaders I have ever known, because leading by example was his leadership gift.

   Col. Irons was a Christian who served as a Scoutmaster, and he was a great leader. There was no financial gain for him by being a Scoutmaster. Col. Irons gave up every Monday evening, one weekend a month, and much other time, simply because he had a calling to invest in Scouts. He was not a control freak, yet he was a leader. And he was willing to lead by example.

   What God is calling for among Christians is leaders who will lead by example. I have the sad experience as a youth pastor of working with students who have parents who have not led by example. Nothing confuses a child more than a parent who demands that they do not drink alcohol, but then who gets drunk. Nothing confuses a child more than a parent who says do not have sex outside of marriage, but then who has sex outside of marriage. The parents may qualify statements by saying they cannot do those things when they are young. If that is the case, when the student reaches a certain age, that student, who is likely eager to be an adult, will do those things as soon as they are in more of a position to do so.

   Likewise, pastors who are not a living example to the flock are confusing the flock, not helping the flock. Leading by example is the call of God. I add that we people are not perfect, and part of leading by example is being willing to admit your flaws and your mistakes. I find young people admire adults who are willing to admit the times when they messed up.

   Now you may live a godly life that most people never even physically see. But doing so is a spiritual way of life, and you will develop into a spiritual person that the willing will recognize sooner or later. You will become a mentor.

   One last encouragement for you pastors and those of you who will be pastors in the future, first and foremost, always remember that Jesus is the Chief Shepherd! Peter was not the Chief Shepherd, rather Jesus is. The first step to good pastoring is to go by the guidance of the Chief Shepherd, and the second step is to be yourself. Relying on the love of Jesus, you can do pastoring work. Glory will result.

Hunter Irvine