Background to 1 Peter

Intro:
1. One man sarcastically writes, “Every Christian shall sit in his flower-bed. He shall find a heaven upon earth and all things shall work together for good to provide him with a garden like life.

Thorns and thistles shall be unknown to him and he shall sit in his flower-decked domain, passing the time of day, reveling in the sunrises and rejoicing in the sunsets. His hours between conversion and the grave shall be marked with sweet repose and uninterrupted pleasantries.

His spirit, freed from the weights and burdens that plague other men, shall soar ever upward until it touches the fleecy clouds of God’s blue heavens. God’s pet he shall be spared suffering, pain, and tension.”

2. Then the writer concludes in his letters, “Heresy! Pure unmitigated heresy!” I don’t know if such a view of the Christian life is actually heresy, but without a doubt it is a fantasy, a bubble which will soon burst when it meets with brutal reality!

3. The background of I Peter.

I. First, the Author of the book.

A. Ultimately – God. 2 Tim. 3:16-17

B. Humanly – the apostle Peter.

his changing character—Jn 1:42; Acts 2:14
followed Jesus' call—Mt 4:18-20
sank when he took his eyes off Jesus—Mt 14:28
confessed Jesus as Lord—Mt 16:13-17
viewed Jesus wrongly—Mk 8:32-33
tried to protect Jesus from suffering—Mt 16:22
why Jesus scolded him—Mk 8:33
at the Transfiguration—Mt 17:4
his reactions to the Transfiguration—Lk 9:33
among inner circle of disciples—Mk 9:2
impulsiveness of—Mt 17:24-27
learned a lesson in service—Jn 13:6-7
his fate contrasted with Judas's—Jn 13:27-38
Jesus encouraged him in his faith—Lk 22:31-32
Jesus predicted his denial—Lk 22:33-34
warned about coming temptations—Mt 26:40-41
cutoff man's ear—Mt 26:51-53; Jn 18:10-11
how he got into high priest's courtyard—Jn 18:15-16
three stages to his denial—Mt 26:69ff
denied Jesus using an oath—Mt 26:72-74
Jesus talked to him about love—Jn 21:15-17(2)
Jesus predicted his death—Jn 21:18-19
importance of his speech at Pentecost—Acts 2:24
healed lame beggar—Acts 3:5-6
why religious leaders felt threatened by—Acts 4:2-3
religious leaders notice change in—Acts 4:13
how people were healed by him—Acts 5:15-16
sent to see Samaritans—Acts 8:14
the breaking down of his prejudice against non-Jews—Acts 9:43
contrasted with Cornelius—Acts 10:45
defended his eating with Gentiles—Acts 11:12ff
arrested by Herod Agrippa I—Acts 12:3-5
rescued from prison by an angel—Acts 12:7
why Paul confronted him—Gal 2:11 -12
his writings contrasted with Paul's—2 Pet 3:15-18
[Life Application Study Bible]

Tozer, “Peter would have made a wonderful American! He usually opened his mouth and talked before he thought and that is a characteristic of many of us…Peter was a man with glaring contradictions and inconsistencies in his life…I wish that from the time I was converted at the age of 17, I had gone straight forward; but I did not and most of us have not. We zig-zag our way to heaven in place of flying a straight course…Well Peter is a bundle of contradictions and I take the position that