Chapter Five

Instructions to pastors and flock (1-9). Apostolic blessing (10-11). Greetings and news (12-14).

1 Peter 5:1. I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: In the closing chapter of the epistle, addressing all readers with instructions to both pastors and flock, Apostle Peter first establishes his authority as a teacher in the Church. Addressing his instructions to pastor-elders—presbyteros precisely in the sense of office in the Church (cf. Acts 11:30), not in the sense of advanced age (Slavonic: “elders”), the Apostle humbly calls himself their fellow elder (ho sumpresbyeros). “Then, wishing to show that he surpasses them, and that he calls himself an elder out of humility, he presents his dignity, namely, that he is a witness of Christ’s sufferings. He speaks as if to say: if I, who have explained such visions to you, do not find it degrading to call myself a fellow elder, then it is not right for you to exalt yourselves over your subordinates” (Blessed Theophil.). The Apostle calls himself a witness of Christ’s sufferings not only in the sense that he preached about the sufferings and death of Christ, of which he was an eyewitness, but also in the sense that in his very life and activity he became a confessor of Christ, bearing various sufferings for Christ’s name; perhaps the Apostle foresaw, by divine inspiration and in accordance with the Lord’s prediction of Apostle Peter’s martyrdom (John 21:18-19), his own sufferings and death for Christ, and in this foreknowledge called himself a confessor of Christ. Finally, in the same v. 1, the Apostle calls himself a partner, sharer (koinonos) of future glory in Christ’s Kingdom, in whose certainty for all true confessors of the Christian faith the Apostle is firmly convinced (1 Pet 5:4), as well as Apostle Paul (Col 3:4; 1 Tim 4:8).

1 Peter 5:2. shepherd God’s flock, which is among you, watching over it willingly, not under compulsion, and not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 1 Peter 5:3. not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 1 Peter 5:4. and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. The Apostle elaborates in detail the gospel image of the true spiritual pastor (John 10:1-16). The Apostle touchingly and insistently exhorts the spiritual pastors of God’s flock to feed and guard the inheritance of God entrusted to them (cf. Acts 20:28). Unfolding the concept of true pastorship, the Apostle warns pastors against three moral defects and at the same time requires three virtues opposite to these defects: pastors must feed God’s flock 1) not under compulsion, but willingly and in a way pleasing to God, 2) not from love of money, but eagerly, 3) not from ambition or desire for power, but by being examples themselves. “He does not feed under compulsion,” the one who in himself presents his own flock with an example of good activity and thereby moves them to vie with the teacher before each other. “Not with unlawful gains,” he who does not come forward with pride and does not rise above his subordinates, but lives without luxury, or he who does not seek fine clothes and sumptuous food, which produce pride and serve as a pretext for dishonest gain. “By lot (portion),” calls the sacred assembly” (Blessed Theophil.). When pastors observe these apostolic requirements, the Apostle promises them with certainty a heavenly reward in the future Heavenly Kingdom (cf. 1 Pet 1:4; John 10:28).

1 Peter 5:5. Likewise, you younger people, be subject to your elders; all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. 1 Peter 5:6. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. If the essential duty of pastors, as the senior members of the Church by position and office, consists in proper care for the junior members of the Church—for all the members without hierarchical rank, then all these latter are first of all obligated by the duty of obedience to pastors, and also all should submit to one another out of Christian love, gentleness, and humility. The Apostle proves the saving power of humility, in contrast to the destructiveness of pride, similar to Apostle James (Jas 4:6), by reference to Prov 3:34 according to the Greek translation. In v. 6, pointing, as before (1 Pet 4:17), to the impending judgment of God, the Apostle urges all Christians to humble themselves, to acknowledge their powerlessness before God’s majesty and power—in hope that the Lord, sooner or later, in His own time, will exalt the humble: “the word ‘time’ hints at exaltation in the future age, which alone is unchanging and eternal. For the present exaltation is not secure and firm, but rather is degraded than exalted” (Blessed Theophil.).

1 Peter 5:7. Cast all your care on him, because he cares for you. For the Christian who completely humbles himself under God’s mighty hand, it is fitting to put aside all anxious worry and place all hope in God’s providential care, according to the commandment and promise of Christ the Savior (Matt 10:30; Luke 21:18).

1 Peter 5:8. Be sober and vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:9. Resist him firmly in the faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being suffered by your brotherhood throughout the world. But to entrust oneself to God’s will, to God’s providence, does not mean to abandon vigilance: negligence is contrary to God’s care for people and extremely destructive to their moral state precisely because people are surrounded by dark forces that place every kind of temptation and obstacle in their way to salvation. The Apostle with fatherly love and concern warns his readers against the dangerous negligence which the devil especially uses for the ruin of people. “Those who are accustomed to sleep spiritually (and this means being absorbed in vanity) and thereby burden the watchfulness of the soul are attacked by the wicked beast of despair. Warning against this, the disciple of Christ urges always to be watchful and beware of the sower of tares, so that when we sleep—that is, live a life of negligence and idleness—he does not secretly sow evil thoughts and turn us from true life” (Blessed Theophil.). The adversary or enemy of mankind—the devil here (v. 8) for his cruelty and ferocity is compared to a lion, which with roaring seeks the prey of his greed and for this purpose prowls the earth (cf. Job 1:7) and causes destruction and harm to all the negligent and careless. The Apostle therefore strongly arouses the attention and energy of believers to struggle with mankind’s ancient enemy: “resist him, standing firm in the faith” (v. 9), which closely recalls the corresponding instruction of Apostle James (Jas 4:7). As an incentive to patient endurance of sorrows and struggle with the devil, the Apostle also points out the thought that suffering is a common lot of early Christians. “Probably many sorrows for Christ were endured by those to whom this Apostle Peter wrote: that is why he comforts them at the beginning and at the end of the epistle—there by the fact that they become sharers in the Lord’s sufferings, and here by the fact that they suffer not they alone, but all believers throughout the world” (Blessed Theophil.).

1 Peter 5:10. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little while, will himself perfect you, establish you, strengthen you, and make you steadfast. 1 Peter 5:11. To him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. But the highest comfort to the readers in their sufferings, the Apostle offers by pointing to God’s grace, which is able to overcome all trials for Christians on the path to perfection and bring believers to the complete accomplishment of the goals of God’s call to salvation. To God the Savior of people, the Apostle here, v. 11, offers a doxology (cf. Matt 6:13).

1 Peter 5:12. I have written briefly to you through Silvanus, whom I regard as a faithful brother, to encourage you and testify that this is the true grace of God in which you stand. At the end of the epistle, the Apostle indicates the means and person through whom he used to transmit this epistle to the readers, pointing namely to Silas, who was formerly a companion of Apostle Paul (Acts 15:40; 2 Cor 1:19; 1 Thess 1:1), as the transmitter of the epistle, and, as the Apostle notes, a man and worker in the Gospel who is entirely faithful. At the same time, the Apostle briefly indicates the theme or fundamental essence of the epistle, pointing to it in the testimony of the truth, the certain reality of God’s grace, in which Christians are called and stand (cf. 1 Pet 1:10 and following).

1 Peter 5:13. She who is at Babylon, chosen like you, greets you, and so does Mark, my son. 1 Peter 5:14. Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to you all who are in Christ. The words “in Babylon,” “chosen together with you,” and “(my) Mark” require explanation in the postscript. That Babylon in v. 13 probably means Rome, we have already mentioned in the introduction to the commentary. In antiquity, and partly in modern times, some interpreters understood the expression “chosen together with you” to mean the wife of Apostle Peter, and considered Mark (the Apostle and evangelist) to be his biological son (this conjecture was based on the account Acts 12). In reality, the “chosen” one refers to the Church of God gathered in Rome. By Mark is meant the evangelist, whom he calls his son according to the Spirit, not according to the flesh” (Blessed Theophil.). The Apostle closes his epistle with greetings of love and peace. While Paul writes (Rom 16:16; 1 Cor 16:20) for believers to greet one another “with a holy kiss,” Peter says: greet “with a kiss of love.” But the thought of both is one and the same. Paul knows that love is superior to all virtues, even to martyrdom for Christ, and therefore calls the kiss “holy” given in God. And Peter, when speaking of a kiss of love, means: true love. Therefore he adds: “Peace to all of you who are in Christ.” He does not speak of ordinary human peace, but wishes for them to receive that peace with which Christ blessed them as He went to His suffering, saying: “Peace I leave with you,” and noting the difference: “not as the world gives” (John 14:27) (Blessed Theophil.).