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Introduction and Background

Theology for Pilgrims

The author of the letter is mentioned as the apostle Peter (1 Peter 1:1). At the end of the letter, Silvanus (that is, Silas; Acts 15:32) and Mark are also mentioned (1 Pet. 5:12–13). Because of this, some have suggested that Silvanus may have written the letter according to Peter’s dictation or instructions. The Greek of the letter is so good and cultured that Peter could hardly have known the language that well.

Even though Peter was considered an “uneducated, common man” by the Jewish council (Acts 4:13), we cannot know exactly how well he spoke Greek. The council’s description mainly meant that Peter was not trained as a teacher of the Law and had not received formal Jewish religious education. Peter’s home region near the northern end of the Sea of Galilee (John 1:44) was bilingual, and Greek was commonly spoken there as well.

The place of writing is mentioned as Babylon (1 Pet. 5:13), which was already early on understood as a symbolic name for Rome (compare Rev. 16:19; 17:5, 9–10).

The recipients were the “elect exiles” living in the central and northern parts of present-day Turkey. Although both “elect” and “exiles” (diaspora) could refer to Jewish Christians, it is generally believed that the readers included all Christians in the area—both Gentile and Jewish believers (compare 1 Pet. 1:14, 18 and 4:3–4, which hardly fit former Jews).

It is not known exactly who founded the churches in the region. The apostle Paul preached the gospel in Galatia, but not in Bithynia (compare Acts 16:7). Perhaps the churches were founded by disciples of Paul and/or Peter. 1 Peter 1:12 could indicate that Peter had not visited the churches himself.

The reason for writing the letter was the persecution of Christians in the region. Some Christians had abandoned their faith, some cursed their persecutors. Peter encouraged his readers to remain in Christ, because only in this way can salvation be obtained:

“who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
(1 Pet. 1:5, ESV)

The time of writing is the mid-60s. Nero's persecutions had not necessarily begun yet (they did not extend to Asia Minor, but only to Rome), as the letter speaks rather positively about governing authorities (1 Pet. 2:13–17). Therefore, the year of writing may have been AD 63 or 64.

The authenticity of the letter has been questioned for the following reasons:

1. The language of the letter is too good Greek to have been written by Peter.

2. Large-scale persecutions of Christians are thought to have begun only after Peter’s death.

3. The content is thought to be too similar to Paul's.

4. The letter contains many quotations from early Christian tradition.

Because of these arguments, some scholars date the letter to the end of the first century, perhaps to the period of Domitian's persecutions, in the 90s AD. According to this view, the author would have been a disciple of Peter. Some consider the author to be a disciple of Paul, who wanted to write in Peter's name to strengthen the unity of the church.

However, the problems presented are not necessarily good reasons to reject Peter as the author of the letter.

1. The influence of Silvanus as a scribe can explain the high quality of the Greek.

2. The book of Acts already describes persecutions against Christians. The issue may not have been state-organized persecution, but rather the arbitrary hostility and violence from crowds against believers (compare Acts 19:23–40).

3. The strong “Paul-like content of the letter may also be explained by the influence of Silvanus, who was a co-worker of Paul. In addition, 2 Pet. 3:15–16 mentions Paul’s letters, showing that Peter knew Paul’s teaching.

4. Paul himself also used early Christian tradition in his letters (for example, Phil. 2:5–11).

It should also be remembered that writings such as the Gospel of Peter and the Apocalypse of Peter were rejected when the New Testament canon was confirmed, because they were not considered apostolic writings. Why then would Peter’s letters have been included into the New Testament if they had been known to be written by someone other than Peter?

Suffering

The letter contains more than thirty short exhortations, many of which are connected to the suffering the readers were facing (for example, 1 Pet. 3:17). Words related to suffering appear fourteen times in the letter. Christ Himself also suffered, yet He did not slander back those who persecuted Him (1 Pet. 2:21–25).

Peter even encourages his readers to rejoice in their sufferings (1 Pet. 4:12–19), for even a Christian's sufferings may be turned to the good of the kingdom of God.

There was also the question of whether faith should be shown in everyday life or not. If faith was openly shown, persecution often followed. Because of this, it was tempting to think that faith could be hidden in daily life and that one could be a Christian only during worship services. But a Christian cannot live as a believer only part-time.

Bishop Bo Giertz described the First Letter of Peter as "a sermon on how to live by the grace of baptism." The letter has also been called “theology for pilgrims.” It contains many exhortations to spiritual struggle and perseverance in faith.

The letter includes around sixty quotations or references to the Old Testament.