Peter's two letters could be called "Rocky I" and "Rocky II," for Jesus had declared Peter to be the rock on which He would build His Church (Mt. 16:18).
We see in them not the Peter of the Gospels, the man with foot-in-mouth disease, but a rock-solid saint. His two epistles are full of sound advice for daily Christian living.
Peter's letters, like James', are practical; Paul's letters, like John's, ; are more intellectual. Peter and, James are exhortatory; Paul and John are expository.
There is no "Rocky III" because Peter was martyred in Rome in or around A.D. 66. The prophecy Jesus had made about how Peter was to die (Jn 21:18-19) was fulfilled when Nero crucified him. Tradition says Peter insisted on being crucified upside down because he did not want to seem equal to his Master.
Peter wrote these two "general epistles" to Christians scattered throughout the empire, i.e., the civilized world (1: 1). He had taken the center of Church authority to the center of the world, Rome, and spent the last decade of his life there. He refers to Rome symbolically as "Babylon" (5:13) for Babylon was the traditional enemy of the Jews, the empire that had enslaved them 600 years earlier, just as Rome had done again.
Now Rome was turning her hatred also on the New Israel, the Church, as Nero began persecuting Christians. Peter writes this letter to advise Christians how to deal with abuse and persecution. The "fiery ordeal" (4:12) endured by those Christians outside Rome to whom Peter wrote was not yet martyrdom, for Nero's killings were confined to the city of Rome. Only later did the empire begin killing Christians everywhere. It was probably the scorn and sneers of their neighbors, who resented Christians for being different.
Yet Peter does not blame the state as an institution for its mistreatment of Christians. In fact, like Paul in Romans 13, he tells his readers to submit to its authority as divinely instituted and for God's sake (2:13-14). The state, like the whole world, is seen not as an opague thing but as a door or window to and from God.
Peter's tone is full of gentleness, and also encouragement. He practices what he preaches about being a pastor (shepherd) of souls, an example rather than a lord (5:1-3; compare Jn 13:12-17). Peter had finally learned Jesus' simple lesson, and learned it well. Like Paul, he preaches service and submission: of citizens to the state, of servants to their masters, wives to their husbands, and generally of all Christians to each other (3:9)
Christian "submission" makes sense only if the state, master, husband, parent, or friend is seen as an icon of Christ. If we really believed our Lord's solemn words, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me" ( Mt 25-40), we would not balk at the idea of "submission."
There is a consistent teaching throughout the Bible, especially in the New Testament and especially in the epistles, that the divine order forhuman society and relationships involves hierarchy, authority and obedience. But the waters that run in these hierarchical riverbeds are waters of love and humility, not power (5:5; compare Ephesians 5:21).
1 Peter focuses most especially on the problem of suffering. Peter tells his flock three essential practical truths about Christian suffering:
First, that we should not be surprised at it. "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal which comes upon you to prove you, as though something strange were happening to you" (4:12) If the Head suffers, His body must also suffer, for otherwise it is not His body. He never promised us a rose garden without thorns; instead, He promised that "if they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours" (Jn 15:20). George MacDonald says, "The Son of God suffered not so that we might not suffer but so that our sufferings might become His."
Second, because of this real incorporation into His body, suffering can be or become joy: " . . . But rejoice in so far as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed" (4:13) We must not be bitter or resentful toward God for allowing us to suffer, but to realize that sufferings are God's blessings, not His punishments. {As St. Philip Neri said, "The cross is the gift God gives to His friends." )
Third, there is an eschatological dimension to understanding suffering. "You may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed." Suffering does not weaken us but strengthens us in the long run (15:10). The biblical answer to the problem of suffering is not some abstract, timeless truth but two real historical events: the two comings of Christ, one past, one future. The full "answer" is something that will happen when Christ returns. (In this light, read 1:3-10, probably the key passage of the whole letter.)
Fourth, in order to transform suffering into joy by its incorporation into Christ, our sufferings must be for good, not for evil. Paradoxically, only unjust suffering is good: suffering justly is evil. "What credit is it if, when you do wrong and are beaten for it, you take it patiently? But if, when you do right and suffer for it, you take it patiently, you have God's approval" (2:20; compare 4:1-16).
Peter Kreeft is the author of many books including "Making Choices'' (Servant Books) and Back to Virtue (Ignatius).
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