This week we have two decent size epistles and four small ones. I read Fred Craddock’s Westminster Bible Companion commentary on the Peter’s and Jude and will reference some of his thoughts.
While we may not have all our questions answered about who, what, when and where when we read New Testament letters, ‘the recipients of these letters very likely understood every word they heard (letters were read aloud in the churches) because this mail was to them and about them,’ according to Craddock.
Craddock: One thing we wish to know is, who is Jesus Christ portrayed in this letter? This is not primarily a historical question; we are continually faced with the question, who is Jesus Christ for us today? And 1 Peter lies among the authoritative sources from which we seek answers…All of this to ask, what was it to be Christian in the time and place those of first readers? The extent to which we can know that will be the extent to which we can listen to the letter for ourselves.’
1 Peter, like other New Testament letters was written to encourage and correct. In addition some letters like Peter were written to communities who were undergoing suffering, either in the form of persecution or alienation from the community at large.
Craddock: Tension is there, to be sure, between believers and their culture. Repeatedly the readers are reminded that they are pilgrims, exiles, aliens in the world, but in the household of God they have a new family, a new home. Even so, how does this new family relate to governing authorities and social institutions with which they must deal every day? And how does the church respond to a society that is making life miserable for Christians.’
‘Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the exiles of Dispersion…who have been chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ….May grace and peace be yours in abundance.’ 1 Peter 1;1-2
Craddock: ‘And it is not coincidental that the two words of greeting join two heritages” ‘grace’ from the Gentile culture, ‘peace’ from the Jewish.’
‘Blessed be God…by his great mercy he has given us new birth...through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you….In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials…Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls….things into which angels long to look’ 1 Peter 1:3-4,8-9
Craddock: All teaching and preaching properly begin and end in praise of God.’
‘Therefore, prepare your minds for action…Do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct.’ 1 Peter 1:13-15
Craddock: ‘In religious literature of the day, persons too enamored with the immediate pleasures of life were said to be drunk, asleep, and ignorant of higher values. Hence, the New Testament’s frequent call for sobriety, being awake, and turning from a life of ignorance….How has God behaved toward us? This is what it means to be holy in all our relationships.’
‘Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul….For the Lord’s sake accept the authority of every human institution, whether of the emperor as supreme, or of governors, as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. Honor everyone. Love the family of believers. Fear God. Honor the emperor.’ 1 Peter 2:11, 13-14. 17
Craddock: This includes the Roman Empire under which the churches addressed in 1 Peter lived.’
Not all Christians in all times were being burned at the stake. There was a time in which Christians were just considered odd people. These folks needed to be reminded that they needed to get along with their communities.
There is more talk in chapter 2 and 3 of slaves and about women taking second fiddle in the household. I will skip over that since I have commented on it before.
‘Finally, all of you have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse, but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing. 1 Peter 3:8-9
Craddock: Verse 8 describes life as it should be within the fellowship: mutual love, singlemindedness, sympathy, tenderness, and humility.’
‘Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence….live the rest of your earthly life no longer by human desires but by the will of God.’ 1 Peter 3;15, 4:2
‘And most of all clothe yourself with humility in your dealings with one another, for ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble….Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of grace…will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 5:5, 7-11
2 Peter – Peter’s ire is up at the folks causing problems to some church community in Asia Minor .
Craddock: ‘2 Peter engages in quite a bit of name calling. Granted, the writer is vigorously involved in a battle with certain persons in the church who are regarded as both wrong and dangerous to the community of faith…The primary purpose of the letter is to warn the church, to counter the false prophets, and to rehabilitate the teaching concerning the coming of the day of the Lord.’
‘To those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ….His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.’ 2 Peter 1:1, 3
‘For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love….For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.’ 2 Peter 1:5-7
Craddock: ‘The message seems to be: If you will make provision for your faith with the following virtues (v. 5), God will make provision for your entry into the eternal kingdom.’
Who wants in?
‘Therefore, I intend to keep on reminding you on these things, though you know them already and are established in the truth that has come you.’ 2 Peter 1:12
‘But false teachers also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive opinions. They will deny the Master who brought them…’ 2 Peter 2:1
‘These people, however are like irrational animals, mere creatures of instinct, born to be caught and killed….These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm; for whom the deepest darkness has been reserved…They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves to corruption; for people are slaves to whatever masters them. 2 Peter 2:12, 19
‘For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment that was passed to them. It has happened to them according to the true proverb,
‘The dog turns back to its own vomit.’
‘The sow is washed only to wallow in the mud.’ 2 Peter 2:21-22
Craddock: ‘The stern and harsh conclusion to chapter 2 is unsurpassed in the New Testament, but not without its companion texts. Jesus spoke of some acts so contradictory to God’s will that it would have been better if the perpetrator had been dropped into the sea with a millstone tied to the neck…or even never been born at all.’
‘First of all you must understand this, that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and indulging their own lusts and saying ‘Where is the promise of his coming?...But do not ignore this one fact, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away…’ 2 Peter 3:3-4, 8-10
Craddock: ‘It is evident, however, that with the adversaries the doctrine of the Lord’s return is but a specific element in a larger pattern of cynical skepticism…Faith that does not believe in the providence and in the final triumph of God experiences disappointment and delay.’
‘…What sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God…while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish…grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.’ 2 Peter 3:11, 12, 14, 18
Craddock: ‘let this letter provide the occasion for coming clear to ourselves what we believe on the subject. It is easy enough to be reactive in one’s beliefs: I do not believe in evangelism because of the fraud of televangelists. I do not believe in charitable endeavors because some recipients are ne’er-do-wells. I do not believe in the hereafter because some preachers try and scare their listeners. Having said that, what do I believe? What is my vision of the end of history? To what goal or purpose does life move?
The three Johns – with the help of Robert Kysar. Kysar says there is some similarity in the wording of these letters to the Gospel of John… He cites the use of light and darkness, eternal life and the term abiding as examples.
Kysar: ‘The major themes of 1 John include Christ’s fleshly incarnation and his saving work; God’s love and love among the members of the Christian community ; the nature of Christian morality and the Christians relationship with sin; and the imminence of the end times, or ‘last days.’’
‘This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all….If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not is us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word in not in us….He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 John 1:5, 8-10, 2:2
‘See what love the Father has given us that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are.’ 1 John 3:1
‘God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.’ 1 John 3:8
‘For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another….How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses to help?...Little children, let us love, not in word or speech but in truth and action.’ 1 John 3:11, 17-18
‘God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them….
We know because he first loved us.’ 1 John 4:16, 19
‘I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God; so that you may know you have eternal life….He is the true God and eternal life. 1 John 5:13, 20
2 John rebuts more scoundrels. It’s real short but with a big point: Christ did indeed come in the flesh.
Kysar: 2 John is important theologically because of its view of proper doctrine, which suggests that ‘orthodoxy’ had emerged as a standard by which to measure the authenticity of all who claim to be Christian
‘Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh; any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist…Do not receive into the house or welcome anyone who comes to you and does not bring this teaching.’ 2 John 7, 10
3 John – More dividers.
Kysar: ‘Diotrephes is dividing the congregation and defying its authority.’
‘Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just as it is well with your soul….I have no greater joy than this, to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 2, 4
‘But Diotrephes , who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. 3 John 9
‘Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate what is good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.’ 3 John 11
Peace out.
Jude – This is another small letter that many tend to skip over including preachers. Craddock notes that there isn’t a verse from Jude in the Revised Common Lectionary. It is also a lot like the Peter letters in terms of wording.
Craddock: ‘We accept as the purpose of this letter what the content rather clearly reveals: that is, to alert the church to the intruders among them who pervert the faith and divide the faithful, and to exhort the believers to stand firm in faith, to grow in grace, and to be renewed in the mercy that Christ shows toward them and that they are to exhibit toward those who falter and fail.’
Whew! That was almost longer than Jude.
‘Beloved, while eagerly preparing to write to you about the salvation we share, I find it necessary to write and appeal to you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. For certain intruders have stolen in among you, people who long ago were designated for this condemnation as ungodly, who pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.’ Jude 3, 4
Craddock: ‘What is at stake is the central body of beliefs, the tradition.’
‘These are grumblers and malcontents; they indulge their own lusts; they are bombastic in speech, flattering people to their own advantage….It is these worldly people, devoid of the Spirit, who are causing division. 16, 19
Craddock” Then what might they appear to be? Perhaps articulating leaders with charismatic personalities, preaching and teaching and modeling a new freedom of speech and relationship, and bringing a party spirit to the solemn assembly.’
‘But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God; look forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on some who are wavering, save others by snatching them out of the fire.’ 20-22
Craddock: ‘Everyone is welcome, of course, but not everything goes. Standards are to be observed, and flagrant violations cannot be winked at. On the other hand, some effort at forgiveness and restoration must be made.’
‘Now to him who is able to keep you from falling, and to make you stand without blemish in the presence of his glory with rejoicing, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.’ 24-25
