Day 52: 1 Peter 1-3 - The Bible Dept.

Summary

The Bible Dept. Podcast: Day 52 – 1 Peter 1-3

Host: Dr. Manny Arango
Release Date: February 21, 2025
Podcast Series: The Bible Dept. by ARMA Courses

Introduction

In Day 52 of The Bible Dept. podcast, Dr. Manny Arango delves into the first three chapters of 1 Peter, offering listeners a comprehensive exploration of the epistle's context, audience, and enduring theological insights. This episode is part of a 365-day Bible reading plan designed to guide listeners through the entire Bible within a year, fostering a deeper connection with Scripture.

Context Clues: Understanding the Historical Background

Dr. Manny begins by setting the stage for 1 Peter by highlighting the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64. He explains that the fire, which devastated the city from July 18 to July 23, was likely orchestrated by Emperor Nero to clear space for his ambitious building projects. Consequently, Nero sought a scapegoat for the disaster, choosing to blame the Christians. This marked the beginning of widespread persecution against Christians, which would persist intermittently for the next two centuries across the Roman Empire.

“Nero needs a scapegoat for this catastrophe. And who does he blame? He begins to blame the Christians.”
— Dr. Manny Arango [02:30]

This persecution was significant as Christianity, previously a permitted religion under the umbrella of Judaism, faced renewed hostility not only from Jewish authorities but also from the broader Greco-Roman society. Christians were perceived as a threat due to their beliefs in Jesus as Lord, challenging the imperial cult and promoting egalitarian values that conflicted with Roman societal norms.

Dr. Manny further emphasizes that 1 Peter was written from Babylon, a symbolic reference to Rome, reinforcing the notion that Peter was addressing Christians amidst intense persecution in the heart of the Roman Empire.

Nerdy Nuggets: Addressing a Gentile Audience

A fascinating aspect of 1 Peter is its primary audience: Gentile Christians. While the epistle employs Jewish terminology and concepts, it is directed towards non-Jewish believers who had been dispersed across regions like Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia due to persecution.

“Peter is actually talking to Gentiles, okay, in the majority of this letter.”
— Dr. Manny Arango [09:20]

Dr. Manny highlights that Peter uses phrases such as "elect exiles of the dispersion" (1 Peter 1:1) and incorporates Jewish titles to resonate with Gentile Christians, encouraging them to embrace their new identity in Christ. This blending of Jewish and Gentile elements underscores the universal nature of the Christian faith and the inclusion of Gentiles into the spiritual heritage of Israel without requiring ethnic adherence.

He elaborates on the theological implications, stating that Gentile Christians are "grafted into" the heritage of Israel, becoming a "royal priesthood" and a "holy nation" (1 Peter 2:9). This reinforces the idea that faith, rather than ethnicity, defines one's place in God's covenant.

“You've been grafted in. There's this wild olive tree and God has taken branches that are not native to this tree and actually grafted them into this tree.”
— Dr. Manny Arango [13:10]

Timeless Truth: A Theology of Suffering

The core of Dr. Manny's discussion centers on the theology of suffering as articulated in 1 Peter. He outlines four key aspects that offer profound insights for believers facing trials:

Suffering Tests the Genuineness of Faith

Peter teaches that suffering serves as a refinement process, testing the authenticity of one's faith.

“Suffering tests the genuineness of your faith... more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire.”
— Dr. Manny Arango [14:00]
Opportunity to Follow in Jesus’ Footsteps

Christians are called to emulate Jesus' own sufferings, demonstrating resilience and faithfulness in the face of persecution.

“This suffering you have been called because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you might follow in his steps.”
— Dr. Manny Arango [16:10]
Message of Hope to the Outside World

By maintaining honorable conduct amidst suffering, Christians offer a powerful testimony to non-believers, showcasing the transformative power of their faith.

“Keep your Conduct among the Gentiles honorable... do not break the law.”
— Dr. Manny Arango [17:20]
Inevitability of Suffering and the Call to Persevere

Recognizing that suffering is an inherent part of life, Peter encourages believers to respond with integrity and steadfastness.

“It is better to suffer for doing good if that should be God's will, than for doing evil.”
— Dr. Manny Arango [18:30]

Dr. Manny underscores that 1 Peter offers timeless guidance on navigating suffering, urging believers to view trials as opportunities for spiritual growth, alignment with Christ’s example, and as a testament to their faith for the broader society.

Conclusion

Day 52 of The Bible Dept. provides a thorough examination of the early challenges faced by Christians as depicted in 1 Peter. Dr. Manny Arango adeptly connects historical events with theological principles, offering listeners both contextual understanding and practical application. By addressing a Gentile audience under persecution, Peter's epistle becomes a source of encouragement and instruction, reinforcing the enduring truths about faith, identity, and resilience.

Listeners are encouraged to continue their journey through 1 Peter, deepening their comprehension of Scripture and its relevance to contemporary life.

Join the Journey: To follow along with the 365-day Bible reading plan and access additional resources, visit thebibledepartment.com.

Connect with Us: Follow The Bible Dept. on Instagram @he_bibledepartment for updates and community discussions.

Expand Your Study: For more in-depth courses and exclusive content, explore ARMA Courses at thebibledepartment.com.

This summary captures the essence of Day 52’s episode, focusing on the substantive content and theological insights while omitting promotional segments as per the provided instructions.

Transcript

Dr. Manny Arango (0:00)

Hey, Bible nerds. This is Dr. Manny Arango and I'm your host for the Bible department podcast powered by Arma. This podcast follows a Bible reading plan we created to help you read the entire Bible in a year. You can head to the show notes or thebibledepartment.com to download our reading plan and join the journey. First of all, if you have stuck with us for all these 52 days, number one, you're on a streak. Number two, I'm proud of you. Okay, we are diving into First Peter. Now, the reason that we put the books of Mark and first and Second Peter altogether on our Bible reading plan is because we want to wrap our minds around the person of Peter, okay? And Mark's Gospel is given to us through, through the hand of Mark, but probably the lips of Peter. And so it's natural to go, okay, great. I got Mark's account of Jesus's life, which was probably told to Mark from Peter. And now let's like, get a sense of what Peter has to say in his epistles to the churches. Obviously, Peter almost needs no introduction on every single list of disciples that we get. Throughout the entire all four gospels, they list Peter as the number one disciple. He's probably the oldest of all the disciples. There's a moment where there's a question about taxes. And Jesus says, look at the mouth of that fish. You'll get a coin for the taxes. And the only two people that have to pay the taxes are Peter and Jesus. Which means that a lot of people believe that the other disciples were way younger than Jesus and Peter. We know that Peter gets transformed or his vocation gets transformed. He goes from being a fisherman, like a blue collar worker to a fisher of men. But he never loses that, like blue, blue collar, like working class guy, kind of rough around the edges kind of vibe. And you get that even through this epistle that we're about to dive into. So today's reading is First Peter, chapter one, two, and three. We just got three chapters to cover today. If you have not done the reading, this is a great place. Time out, pause, stop, go, do the reading. Okay, Read First Peter, First Peter, chapters one, two, and three, come back and everything that I'm saying will make way more sense once you've actually done the reading. All right, let's dive into our context clues. Here's the context. There is a great fire in rome, okay, in AD 64. This is the context that actually produces this epistle that we know of as First Peter. Now Nero. Most historians believe Nero is responsible for this fire. What happened is that Nero loved building projects. My man loved new buildings that were most times dedicated to him, built by him. But there came an issue in Rome right around the mid-60s is that he ran out of places to build buildings. And so most historians believe that Nero secretly sets a fire to Rome so that it would burn down so that he could continue with his building campaign. Now you're gonna realize why this fire is such a big deal. It starts on July 18th of 64 AD and goes all the way to July 23rd. So imagine like a massive metropolitan area just burning to the ground in a five or six day period. This is a massively devastating thing. In the ancient world, Rome burns to the ground. It's called the great fire of Rome. You can look it up if you want to, but Nero needs a scapegoat for this catastrophe. And who does he blame? He begins to blame the Christians. A lot of people looking at Nero and a lot of people are suspicious. They think maybe Nero did this. Instead of fessing up, Nero just says, no, the Christians did it. They actually have all this doctrine about burning in hell. They're the kind of people who would do this. And then all these other things about Christians began to surface, like they're cannibals. So in the first century, this is the rumor, okay, they're cannibals. You know, they, they, they eat the body of their leader during their services and they drink the blood of their leader during their services. And not only that man, they, they, they, they're also involved in incest, okay, because they call each other brother and sister and they greet their brothers and sisters with a kiss, man, and they have these, these odd gatherings. Now, up until 64 AD, Christianity is what would be called in the Roman world a permitted religion. Why is that? Because the Romans believed that this is just a sect of Judaism and Judaism was a permitted religion. And so based on the umbrella of Judaism, Christians were free to practice Christianity. 64 AD, where Nero turns his sights to the church and begins to persecute the church. This begins a persecution that is going to last off and on for the next 200 years throughout the Roman Empire. So Peter is living in Rome at, at this time, okay, at the very, very end of the letter, you'll see that it's written. This is First Peter, chapter 5, verse 13, that this letter is written from Babylon. Now Babylon, even if you read John's Revelation, is really a moniker for Rome, that Rome is the new Babylon. Okay, so Rome is just going to get called Babylon. There's no historical record of Peter actually being in literal Babylon. And so he's in Rome. We have like historical data that Peter not only is in Rome, but eventually dies at the hands of Nero in Rome. Here we go. Context clue, okay, is that this fire that is probably started by Nero then begins to launch. And remember, like, this is context, okay? Remember up until this point, the only people who were really persecuting Christians were Jews. Okay? Remember Judaizers? There are people from Jerusalem that are persecuting. When Paul would go in the cities, there are Jewish people who believe in Judaism, like ethnic Jews, who are persecuting Paul. Okay? So this persecution is actually the first time that we're gonna see persecution, not just from the Jews, okay, who have a religious issue with Christianity, but from Romans, from the Greco Roman world that has a bigger issue with Christians. And the bigger issue is going to be they believe in treating slaves like respectable human beings and they believe that wives have equal footing with their husbands and they believe all kinds of countercultural things. And so the Roman world is now launched into persecution because of a lie that Nero tells that these Christians are responsible for burning Rome down. But then the more that the Roman world begins to peer in to, to what it is these Christians believe, the Romans are now gonna have cause to persecute the Christians because they are preaching that there is someone who is Lord and that person is not Caesar. That person is not Nero. That person is not Julius or Augustus or Domitian. That person is Jesus. And if Jesus Christ is Lord, that means Caesar is not. And they have a countercultural ethic. And because they stand for something that is at odds with a Roman way of life, the Romans are going to continue to persecute Christians. And Peter has a lot to say. Okay, so that's our context clue. Let me move to our nerdy nugget and then I wanna spend the bulk of our time today on our timeless truth. Let's get to our nerdy nugget. Okay? Peter is actually talking to gentiles, okay, in the majority of this letter. This letter is written to Gentiles. You can see in chapter one, verse one, who he's talking to elect exiles of the dispersion. Now that is going to sound like he's talking to Jews because it's going to sound like he's talking to dispersed Jews or the Jewish diaspora. But throughout the whole letter, Paul is actually going to talk to gentiles with Jewish verbiage or Jewish titles. And so he says to the elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia. All of these places are regions in Asia Minor, which would be current day Turkey. And so because of this persecution, Christians have fled. They are dispersed. This is why Peter is calling them the exiles of the dispersion. They've exiled, they've run away, they have fled persecution, but persecution is going to follow them. There's no way to get around that. And so the whole letter is actually really like a massive appeal to these Christians to keep the faith and to suffer. Well, and there's really, I would say, a theology of suffering found within the pages of 1 Peter. Let's stick with our nerdy nugget for a second. Peter's talking to Gentiles and we know that because of verses like chapter one, verse 14, it says this as obedient. He's talking to the, to the recipients of the letter and he's saying as obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance. Okay, Jews were not in former ignorance. That would be Gentiles that would have led lifestyles of former ignorance. Look at verse 18, same chapter. Knowing that you were transferred from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers. Okay? The Jewish forefathers would not fit the bill on this one. Not with perishable things, but silver or gold. And then last 1 Peter 4, chapters 3 and 4, 1 Peter, chapter 4, which is a part of our reading for tomorrow, but it gives us insight on who Peter's actually talking to. 1 Peter, chapter 4, verse 3, says for the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do. Living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this, they are surprised when you do not join them in the same food of debauchery and they malign you. Okay, so Gentiles would never be inviting Jews to participate with them and debauchery. Okay, so all these context clues tell us Peter's writing to Gentiles. However, Peter starts saying things like this to this group of Gentiles. Okay, this is actually one of the most beautiful passages of scripture. This is chapter two, verse nine. It says this, but you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you might proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness and into marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy, Peter. Okay, Peter is going to use all of these Jewish terms. Okay, there we go. And appropriate them to Christians who are not Jewish but that are gentile. This is like the root, this is foundational for New Testament theology. When it comes to, like, are we the true Israel? Are we a replacement for Israel? No, actually, Peter would just agree with Paul. No. You've been grafted in. There's this wild olive tree and God has taken branches that are not native to this tree and actually grafted them into this tree. You are now a holy nation. You can claim as yours all of the terms that God used for his people in the Old Testament. You're a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a chosen race. I need you to see how fundamental this is for the identity formation of, of the church. Peter is saying you no longer Israel is no longer just Israel based on circumcision or keeping the Sabbath or dietary food restrictions, but Israel is Israel because of the circumcision of the heart. And now Gentiles, your nationality and your ethnicity and that stuff doesn't just come from your families of origin. No. You now get grafted into this heritage that is Jewish, but you don't have to ethnically be Jewish in order to access that. You access that by faith and you identify. Now you're a chosen race. Can you imagine, like, hearing these words from a Jew named Peter? You're a chosen race. It's like the gentile race. No, no, no, no, no. You're part of this chosen race called Jews. The reality is that for Paul and for Peter, they didn't see Christians as a replacement for Israel. They saw Gentiles who are not ethnically Jewish as the fulfillment of Judaism. That those who accept Jesus as Messiah are not replacing ethnic Israel, but they are actually fulfilling the promise that God made to Abraham.