1 Peter 5:12–14

5:12 The preposition rendered “by” could just as easily be translated “through” (dia with the genitive; cf. Acts 15:23). There is considerable dispute as to whether Peter is identifying the person who carried and delivered the letter to its intended audience or whether he is indicating that Silvanus¹ served as his secretary. Then again, both may be true, as Silvanus may well have penned the letter under Peter’s oversight and then physically delivered it to the “elect exiles of the Dispersion” (1:1). For more on this issue, see the Introduction.

Two participles (“exhorting” and “declaring”) express Peter’s purpose for writing the letter. The first points to his instruction concerning how to live faithfully in a pagan environment, while the second highlights Peter’s role in “bearing witness” to God’s gracious and saving work in and through Jesus Christ.

The specific content of Peter’s exhortation and proclamation is “that this is the true² grace of God.” The antecedent of “this” is not clear, but the entire letter is likely in view. Thus the exhortation to “stand firm in it” is one final call for belief in and obedience to everything Peter has written (cf. Rom. 5:2; 1 Cor. 15:1; Phil. 4:1).

5:13 The “she” who sends her greetings is not Peter’s wife but the Christian congregation as a whole that is present with Peter as he writes. The church is portrayed as “likewise chosen” or, more literally, as the one who is “fellow elect” or “chosen with” (syneklektē). The cognate term eklektē is used in much the same way to identify fellow Christians in 2 John 1, 13. The reference to the church as “chosen” or “elect” corresponds to the “elect” nature of the exiles in 1:1, thereby framing the entire letter around the theme of God’s sovereign choice.

“Babylon” is probably a coded reference to Rome, functioning here as a “metaphor for displacement and alienation.”³ In this way Peter identifies with his readers: just as they are aliens and exiles, so too he writes from a place that is not his home. We thus see two expressions framing the letter: the “elect” of God in “exile” at the beginning, paralleled by Peter’s presence among the “chosen” in “Babylon,” a foreign city, at the end.

Peter also sends greetings from “Mark, my son.” There is no reason to think that this Mark⁴ is Peter’s biological child. Paul likewise often referred to other Christians as his spiritual children (e.g., 1 Cor. 4:17; 1 Tim. 1:2; 2 Tim. 1:2; Philem. 10). This reference reminds us again of the close relationship between Mark and Peter (and perhaps explains Peter’s influence on the composition of Mark’s Gospel account).

5:14 A “kiss of love” in the ancient world was a common sign of affection and devotion among family members, both biological and spiritual (cf. Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:12; 1 Thess. 5:26). It is entirely in keeping with Peter’s repeated emphasis in the letter on the love that all Christians are to have for one another (cf. 1 Pet. 1:22; 2:17; 3:8).

The omission of a verb in prayer wishes is common in the NT, as we see similar expressions in Paul’s letters (1 Cor. 16:24; 2 Cor. 13:13; Gal. 6:18; Eph. 6:24; Phil. 4:23). Peter’s focus on “peace” and omission of “grace” may be his way of highlighting the unique importance of spiritual serenity in the face of constant persecution and ostracism. In any case, his prayer is that peace would be the common experience of all Christians. Contrary to our way of concluding letters today, this is no literary formality but an intercessory cry that longs for his readers to experience the peace of God himself in their hearts (cf. Phil. 4:7).