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Peter is writing to Messianic Jews living outside of the land of Israel in Asia Minor – modern‑day Turkey. They are facing trials and opposition because of their faith in Yeshua. Gentiles around them mock their devotion to the God of Israel, while fellow Jews who have not yet embraced Yeshua as the promised Messiah, view them as traitors. They are experiencing rejection and divisions in their families, being slandered and insulted, loss of reputation and honor, economic hardship, and possibly persecution by local authorities. They were experiencing fiery trials.
When experiencing fiery trials, it’s natural to worry. However, Peter doesn’t want us to do that. There’s something better. Verse 7: Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
Peter told us that God has mighty power. The faithful know that God’s mighty power created the universe with its hundreds of billions of galaxies, along with this amazing world we inhabit. And the faithful know that God cares about His people and that His mighty power is being used to care for us.
We can give all of our worries and cares to Him – not just some of our worries and cares – but all of them – because He cares about us, because nothing about our lives is insignificant to Him.
God wants us to bring every worry, every care, to His attention – spiritual, emotional and practical – and then trust Him to take care of it – in His time and in His way.
Faith, trust, confidence in God’s care brings us peace and helps us endure. Why worry when we can give all of our worries and cares to the Almighty – who is so much better at dealing with them than we are?
Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. By nature, we are not alert. We drift. We become complacent. We assume danger is far away. But danger often comes when we are not expecting it, when we let our guard down, when we are distracted – not as close to God as we should be. Peter tells us to not let that happen – to stay alert.
And he reminds us that we have a real enemy. The devil is not a symbol or a metaphor. He is real. He is the leader of the fallen angels – who assist him. The word devil means “slanderer” or “accuser.” He lies about God and the Word of God. He accuses God’s people, and places thoughts of unforgivable guilt, condemnation, despair into our minds.
He is not only a real enemy, he is a great enemy. Strong. Powerful. Very dangerous – like a lion. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
How do we respond to our great enemy who is trying to destroy us? Peter does not tell us to cast out Satan and take authority over territorial spirits. He tells us to stand firm against him, and be strong in our faith. Standing firm means refusing to move off the truth of God’s Word. It means resisting lies with the truths of the Word of God. It means trusting God when circumstances are painful. Being strong in our faith does not come from an easy life. It comes from testing, trials and endurance. Faith is strengthened as we endure until we overcome that trial.
Peter also tells us to remember something important: Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are. At this time, it wasn’t just the followers of Yeshua in Asia Minor – modern day Turkey – who were being persecuted. Believers throughout the Roman empire, and quite possibly beyond the Roman empire, were being persecuted.
It was good for these Messianic Jews to know that their family of believers all over the world were going through the same kind of suffering they were meant they were not alone. They were not being singled out. It was happening to all of their brothers and sisters everywhere. Knowing there was a world-wide fellowship of suffering helped them overcome feeling isolated and helped them persevere.
The devil and the other fallen angels are trying to destroy us, but if we remain faithful, they will not succeed. Quite the opposite. In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Messiah Yeshua. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. All power to him forever! Amen.
Peter lets them know that their present suffering is not the end of the story. In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Messiah Yeshua.
Glory means weight, heaviness, honor, beauty. God is glorious. He is full of glory. To share in God’s eternal glory means to be transformed, becoming greater, more honorable, more beautiful – more like the glorious God.
There are people in this world who have glory in various degrees – the rich, the powerful, the talented, the beautiful. However, earthly glory fades. But God’s glory and the glory He shares us with us is so much more glorious – and never fades.
Suffering has a way of diminishing our hope. When we are persecuted, it’s easy to think that faithfulness only brings pain, suffering, loss. No. The path of suffering results in eternal glory.
In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory. Sharing in God’s eternal glory is not something we deserve or can earn. It’s something we are called to. It’s something we are invited to experience.
Being called to share in God’s eternal glory comes from His kindness. God did not call us because we were worthy, strong, or faithful enough. He called us because He is kind.
In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Messiah Yeshua. Sharing in God’s eternal glory only happens “by means of Messiah Yeshua.” There is no other way it happens. It’s the result of who Messiah Yeshua is and what He did for us and our relationship to Him.
Who is He and what did He do for us? He is the Son of God. Divine. Eternal. He is the Messiah. The Savior. The Redeemer. The King.
What did He do for us? He became a human being. Lived a perfect life. Died to atone for us. Was resurrected and ascended to Heaven. Send His Spirit to live in us and unite us to Him and His Father and transform us into God’s likeness.
So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.
I love this: After you have suffered a little while. Our suffering is real, but it’s temporary. It may seem like it will last forever but it won’t. Knowing that it’s just for a little while makes it easier to endure.
And knowing that after we endure the suffering, God will restore, support, and strengthen us and place us on a firm foundation – also helps us endure.
Restore. Support. Strengthen. Place on a firm foundation. God restores us by healing what suffering has damaged – our faith, our courage, our hope. He supports us by steadying us when we are tempted to compromise or abandon our faith. He strengthens us by giving us courage and endurance when we are faltering. He places us on a firm foundation, giving us stability, by renewing our faith and our hope.
The restoration, support, strengthening and stability that we experience now are real, but incomplete. In eternity, restoration will be total. Strength will never fail. Support will be constant and complete. The firm foundation will never be shaken. Knowing this helps us endure suffering with confidence.
When we understand that God has the willingness and the power to do these great things for us now and in eternity – the response is to praise Him. All power to him forever! Amen. Peter acknowledges that the ability to call us to share in his eternal glory, restore, support, strengthen and establish does not come from human effort. It comes entirely from God.
All power to him forever! Our enemies – human and demonic, seem strong – but their power is limited and temporary. God’s power is not. It is total. It is all powerful. It is eternal. Unending.
Knowing that God’s almighty and forever power will help us overcome in the present, and bring us into eternity where we will share His glory and honor – should cause us to praise the Almighty.
All power to him forever! Amen. “Amen” means what has been communicated is true. It is faithful. It means “I am in agreement.”
It’s good and right that all power belongs to God forever. Amen?
I have written and sent this short letter to you with the help of Silas, whom I commend to you as a faithful brother. My purpose in writing is to encourage you and assure you that what you are experiencing is truly part of God’s grace for you. Stand firm in this grace.
In this one verse, Peter tells us who helped him write this letter, why it was written, and how we are to respond when faith brings suffering.
This letter was not written by Peter alone. It was co-authored by Silas. Who was Silas and why is he important? Silas, also called Silvanus, was a Messianic Jew. He was a leader in the Jerusalem community. He was a prophet – a man who heard clearly from God and spoke God’s truth faithfully. He was a member of Paul’s missionary team.
After the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15, when one of the most important theological questions in church history was settled – how are Gentiles who are saved to live? – the apostles and elders entrusted Silas to carry that decision to the other communities of Yeshua’s followers. Silas was not just a courier, but a representative of the Council, a teacher and explainer of the Council’s ruling.
As part of Paul’s missionary team, Silas proclaimed the Good News about Messiah to Jews and Gentiles; endured beatings and imprisonment in Philippi; sang hymns in the inner prison after being whipped; helped establish communities under persecution. He co-wrote one of the books of the Bible – this letter. Silas was a great man of God. So when Peter writes, “I commend him to you as a faithful brother,” he is telling these believers that Silas is a trustworthy man who should be respected. They should listen to him when he explains more about what he and Peter wrote in this letter and about other things.
My purpose in writing is to encourage you and assure you that what you are experiencing is truly part of God’s grace for you. Peter and Silas wrote this letter to encourage and assure these believers that they weren’t suffering because they were sinning, or misunderstood God’s will, or because God had abandoned them. “If God loved me, this wouldn’t be happening.” No. Their suffering needed to be understood as part of God’s grace for them. He was improving them, refining them, strengthening them.
My purpose in writing is to encourage you and assure you that what you are experiencing is truly part of God’s grace for you. Stand firm in this grace. To “stand firm in this grace” means remaining rooted, anchored, steady, immovable – when following Yeshua causes pain.
How do we stand firm? By reminding ourselves of who we are: chosen, called, set apart, loved by God.
By reminding ourselves of truths about the present and the future: With God’s grace, we will be able to endure this. Messiah will return. Suffering is temporary. Glory and eternal life are certain.
By staying connected to the community of God’s people – where truth, encouragement, and shared endurance strengthen us.
This letter ends with: Your sister church – your sister community of called out ones – here in Babylon sends you greetings, and so does my son Mark. Greet each other with a kiss of love. Peace be with all of you who are in Messiah.
Peter sends greetings from “your sister church here in Babylon,” along with Mark, whom he calls his son in the faith. This Mark is John Mark, a close companion of Peter and a significant person among Messiah’s people. This close relationship enabled Mark to write a book of the Bible – the Gospel of Mark – one of the four books of the New Testament that records the life and teachings of The Most Important Man Who Ever Lived.
Babylon may be understood in two ways: most see it as a symbolic reference to Rome, a place of power and opposition to God. Others, like me, interpret it as literal Babylon – the area of ancient Mesopotamia. In the first century, that region was home to a large and influential Jewish community, making it a fitting place for Peter’s ministry to the Jewish people. That community lasted for hundreds of years more. Did you ever hear of the Babylonian Talmud?
From this important Jewish area in the east, greetings are sent to persecuted believers in the west, in the Roman empire, reminding them that God’s people are united despite distance or persecution.
Peter then tells them to “greet one another with a kiss of love.” This was a culturally recognized sign of affection and honor, but within the community of Messiah it took on even deeper significance. It expressed unity and love – not formed by race or earthly status – but by a common faith. The kiss of love proclaimed that Jews and Gentiles, men and women, slaves and free were all beloved sons and daughters of God. That was radical – very radical – and very wonderful.
Finally, Peter ends with: Peace be with all of you who are in Messiah. This peace is not absence of conflict but something positive. It’s shalom – wholeness, completeness and well‑being. This peace only comes from being in Messiah, from being united to Yeshua. He alone reconciles us to God, and to each other, and brings peace to our unpeaced minds and hearts and souls. And He can bring peace to us even when we are suffering and experiencing fiery trials.
Let’s pray:
Almighty and faithful Father, we thank You that because of Your kindness You have called us to share in Your eternal glory. Teach us to bring all of our worries and cares to You. Keep us alert. Help us overcome our great enemy. Help us stand firm. When we are experiencing problems and trials, remind us that suffering benefits us. After we have suffered a little while, thank You that You will restore us, support us, strengthen us, and establish us on a firm foundation. Unite us in love and bless us with Your shalom. We acknowledge that all power belongs to You now and forever – and that’s a wonderful thing and the way it should be. Amen.