- 1.1 Notice the greeting, “in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” which is the same as Paul’s greetings.
This passage could be the preaching of a leader of a Christian community, addressed to adults who have just been baptized. In those days people were more preoccupied than they are now about their salvation after death. To those being baptized, the apostles spoke of the inheritance of God which was reserved for them and had been won by Christ in his resurrection: The inheritance that does not corrupt nor goes bad nor passes away (v. 4).
The newly baptized knew that their Christian faith was threatened and persecuted. To ask for baptism meant to commit oneself to Christ until death.
You have not yet seen him… (v. 8). Faith, hope, and love for Christ: the three virtues (or powers) urging Christians to go together. Christ came to glory through suffering. The Christian follows the same path and already knows true joy amid trials.
- 13. The logical consequences of baptism are developed. We cannot go backward; giving in to the evils of the world would mean going back to the slavery from which Christ delivered us through his blood.
Verses 22-25: here we recognize this being born anew, being born from above, which Jesus tells Nicodemus in John 3:9.
What follows is a call to live perfectly: not attached to the things of the present, but eager to live a useful and holy life before God, in proportion to what we have cost him.
- 2.1 Two words stand out in this paragraph: stones and priests. They speak about what the new Christians will be.
You are stones (v. 5). God’s presence in his people is the stone which stands out and on which, all those who neither saw nor took notice of him, stumbled (Is 8:14). In another sense, Jesus is the stone rejected by the builders, which becomes the foundation of a new building: this is the new people of God that arises from the remnant of Israel and then extends to all nations. Christians are the stones of this Church: living stones because each one shares the life of God, and because each one has an active part to play in the Church, the body of Christ (Eph 4:12-16).
You will also be priests. To understand what this means, we must read God’s words to Moses in Exodus 19:5. God decided then to become present in the world and to transform the course of history through a people of his own which would be Israel. Peter tells us: “The real people of God, the true Israel, are you who have accepted Christ.” We, who are baptized, do not form one more religion: we are an active minority and the leaven of the world.
We are priests in the sense this word had for ancient people: those who know, those who risk coming close to God. We were made responsible for the mission of preparing men and women so that salvation may mature in them. People and nations may discover their common destiny and, in the end, admit that they cannot solve their problems without making the Gospel the law of their whole lives.
A Christian aware of his dignity as a priestly member of the people of God, by sheer gift and grace cannot but proclaim his wonders (v. 19). This is what evangelization is all about. These Christians are a chosen race, a community of priest-kings called to proclaim the Gospel.
- 11. Here we are invited to be model citizens, workers and spouses. If we are slandered, that is one more occasion to show the beauty of Christian life and that those who slander us are wrong. If the authorities begin to persecute us, this is not an excuse to disobey the laws.
Also, see the commentary on Titus 3:1.
- 3.1 In speaking to married couples, Peter prefers to address himself to women. Is it because he recognizes the importance of their mission? Or rather, because in the rest of the letter, he paid more attention to men who, according to Jewish customs, occupied the front rows of the assembly?
Why does he ask them to obey their husband? Is it because God wants it that way, or because the Church is anti-feminist and wants women to be submissive? This point was explained in 1 Corinthians 11:9 and Ephesians 5:22. The apostles heard and taught the revolutionary ruling of Jesus who gave women the same rights as husbands in marriage. However, since they lived in a male-dominated society, they could hardly imagine or discover a new way of sharing between spouses.
In any case, they could not reform the male-centered culture of their time overnight. They were speaking for women accustomed to obey. Some of them understood their promotion (Lk 8:1), but it happened that they showed this with actions that scandalized many (see commentaries on 1 Cor 11:6 and 1 Tim 2:11).
- 18. In verse 19 we have the reference to what our creed calls “the descent of Christ into hell”: see also Ephesians 4:9 and the commentary on Matthew 27:52.
Peter, using the expressions of his day, speaks of the sinful people in Noah’s time. For the Jews, they were the example of those who sin by irresponsibility and lack of real concern for the will of God. Yet, Christ saved them: he came for everyone, and not only for those who have been faithful or who had the chance of meeting him in his Church.
Note the comparison between the deluge and baptism: water washes away the old world, a life of sin: the person who comes to Christ begins a new life, striving for “a pure conscience.”
In the body he was put to death, in the spirit he was raised to life (v. 18). (The text says, “he died according to flesh.”) This means that he died because he had accepted and really taken on our mortal condition, but he had to be repossessed by the Spirit of God. It is a reaffirmation of the double nature of Christ. Compare with Romans 1:4.
- 4.1 They find it strange (v. 4). We, perhaps, too easily accept to organize our life, as do those who are not waiting for the promises of Jesus; in our conduct, there is nothing to surprise them.
The gospel has been preached to many who are now dead (v. 6). This refers to the previous passage 3:18-20. It is a way of speaking about the mysterious encounter that, after his death, Jesus had with the dead of past ages, whom he had come to save as well.
Keep your minds calm and sober for prayer (v. 7). Prayer requires a disciplined life. Go to bed when it is time and give up entertainments that only devour time and make us halfwits.
- 12. These verses present a summary of the central idea in this letter.
Let us note that Peter cannot concede that a Christian should have to be judged or go to jail through his own fault, murder, theft, etc. How many “Christians” in name only are in jail today? And, how many more should be there?
- 5.1 In the varied counsels that follow, note what concerns the elders, leaders and pastors of the community.
In persecution, Peter also sees a work of the devil, who does his best to discourage those who hope in Christ.
It is a proven fact that when we get ready to make an important decision or to make some commitment in the service of Christ, many unexpected obstacles arise. The person who becomes intimidated loses everything. When he tries again to take some steps, the devil will increase his attacks. These trials are common and to face them we need to be alert in our faith.
- 12. To remind you of the kindness of God (v. 12). This kindness, or grace, means God’s whole plan to save us, all that came to us through Christ.
Babylon: in the language of the Christians of the time indicates “the great city,” the center of pagan religions, namely, Rome (see Rev 17). Rome already has a community, the Church, at the time that Peter writes.