1 Peter 5:2














The office of the Christian pastor - the bishop, the presbyter, the deacon - was something new in the history of mankind. The functions of the Christian pastor differ widely and radically from those of the heathen priest or philosopher; and they differ decidedly from those of the Jewish prophet or priest. The bonds uniting pastor and people together are more sacred, more tender, and more morally powerful than the official bonds which owe their efficacy merely to superior power or superior wisdom. It is only the religion of Christ which can furnish the basis for the pastoral relation, even among those who accept the great doctrines of man's spiritual nature and the Divine redemption.

I. THE NATURE OF THE PASTORAL LIFE AND MINISTRY.

1. The personal spring of this ministry is the pure devotion of heart and energies to the welfare of those for whom Christ died.

2. The intellectual character of the pastorate is expressed in the vocation described by St. Peter as "feeding the flock." The reference in this language is evidently to teaching, to wise and constant instruction in Divine and spiritual truth.

3. The moral work to be fulfilled is ruling in righteousness. It is not enough for the Christian minister to teach; he is called to guide in the way of virtue and piety, to exercise supervision over the character and the conduct of the members of the flock.

II. THE TEMPTATIONS AND PERILS OF THE PASTORAL LIFE AND MINISTRY. St. Peter deals very faithfully with his fellow-laborers; he reminds them that they are but men, and are subject to human infirmities, which must be guarded against by watchfulness and prayer.

1. It is possible for one to assume or to retain the pastoral office without a cheerful and cordial delight in it; as e.g. is the case with those who engage in the service of the Church, not by Divine summons, but through the influence of friends or through the force of circumstances. Such ministers lose the greater part of their power for good, because their heart is not in their work.

2. Mercenary service cannot be profitable to men or acceptable to God. He who for the sake of gain insincerely professes to seek men's spiritual welfare is beneath human contempt.

3. A domineering spirit is contrary to the very nature and purpose of the pastoral relation. That proud and ambitious natures have made the Church the means of rising to high station and to vast power is plainly taught by the history of Christendom. But upon the work of such men the blessing of the chief Shepherd cannot rest; for he was "meek and lowly in heart."

III. THE RECOMPENSE OF THE PASTORAL LIFE AND MINISTRY.

1. It is not present, but future.

2. It is not from man, but from God.

3. It is not perishable, but immortal.

For the faithful and the lowly servant of Christ there is reserved the amaranthine crown. - J.R.T.

The Church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you.
The Revised Version omits "the Church," and substitutes "she"; explaining in a marginal note that there is a difference of opinion as to whether the sender of the letter is a community or an individual. All the old MSS., with one weighty exception, follow the reading, "she that is at Babylon." That the sender of the letter is a church, symbolically designated as a "lady," seems the natural meaning. Then there is another question — Where was Babylon? An equal diversity of opinion has arisen. In my own opinion "Babylon" means Rome. We have here the same symbolical name as in the Book of Revelation, where it is intended primarily as an appellation for the imperial city, which has taken the place filled in the Old Testament by Babylon, as the concentration of antagonism to the kingdom of God.

I. WE HAVE HERE AN OBJECT LESSON AS TO THE UNITING POWER OF THE GOSPEL. Just think of the relations which, in the civil world, subsisted between Rome and its subject provinces: the latter, with bitter hatred in their hearts to everything belonging to the oppressing city, having had their freedom crushed down and their aspirations ruthlessly trampled upon; the former, with the contempt natural to metropolitans in dealing with far off provincials. The same kind of relationship subsisted between Rome and the outlying provinces of its unwieldy empire as between England, for instance, and its Indian possessions. And the same uniting bond came in which binds the Christian converts of these Eastern lands of ours to England by a far firmer bond than any other. The separating walls were high, but, according to the old saying, you cannot build walls high enough to keep out the birds; and spirits, winged by the common faith, soared above all earthly made distinctions and met in the higher regions of Christian communion. Now our temptation is not so much to let barriers of race and language and distance weaken our sense of Christian community, as it is to let even smaller things than these do the same tragical office for us. And we, as Christian people, are bound to try and look over the fences of our "denominations" and churches, and recognise the wider fellowship and larger company in which all these are merged.

II. We note, further, THE CLEAR RECOGNITION HERE OF WHAT IS THE STRONG BOND UNITING ALL CHRISTIANS. Peter would probably have been very much astonished if he had been told of the theological controversies that were to be waged round that word "elect." The emphasis here lies, not on "elect," but on "together." It is not the thing so much as the common possession of the thing which bulks largely before the apostle. In effect he says, "The reason why these Roman Christians that have never looked you Bithynians in the face do yet feel their hearts going out to you, and send you their loving messages, is because they, in common with you, have been recipients of precisely the same Divine act of grace." By the side of these transcendent blessings which they possessed in common, how pitiably insignificant all the causes which kept them apart looked and were! And so here we have a partial parallel to the present state of Christendom, in which are seen at work, on one hand, superficial separation; on the other, underlying unity. The splintered peaks may stand, or seem to stand, apart from their sister summits, or may frown at each other across impassable gorges, but they all belong to one geological formation, and in the depths their bases blend indistinguishably into a continuous whole. Their tops are miles apart, but beneath the surface they are one.

III. Then, lastly, WE MAY FIND HERE A HINT AS TO THE PRESSING NEED FOR SUCH A REALISATION OF UNITY. "The Church that is in Babylon" was in a vary uncongenial place. Thank God, no Babylon is so Babylonish but that a Church of God may be found planted in it. No circumstances are so unfavourable to the creation and development of the religious life but that the religious life may grow there. An orchid will find footing upon a bit of stick, because it draws nourishment from the atmosphere; and they who are fed by the influx of the Divine Spirit may be planted anywhere, and yet flourish in the courts of our God. But it also gives a hint as to the obligation springing from the circumstances in which Christian people are set, to cultivate the sense of belonging to a great brotherhood. Howsoever solitary, and surrounded by uncongenial associations any Christian man may be, he may feel that he is not alone, not only because his Master is with him, but because there are many others whose hearts throb with the same love, whose lives are surrounded by the same difficulties. If thus you and I, Christian men, are pressed upon on all sides by such worldly associations, the more need that we should let our hearts go out to the innumerable multitude of our fellows, companions in the tribulation and patience and kingdom of Jesus Christ.

(A. Maclaren, D. D.)

Marcus my son
I. THE WORKING OF CHRISTIAN SYMPATHY. Mark was a full-blooded Jew when he began his career. "John, whose surname was Mark," like a great many other Jews at that time, bore a double name, one Jewish, "John," and one Gentile, "Marcus." But as time goes on we do not hear anything more about "John," nor even about "John Mark," which are the two forms of his name when he is first introduced to us in the Acts of the Apostles, but he finally appears to have cast aside his Hebrew, and to have been only known by his Roman name. And that change of appellation coincides with the fact that so many of the allusions which we have to him represent him as sending messages of Christian greeting across the sea to his Gentile brethren. And it further coincides with the fact that his gospel is obviously intended for the use of Gentile Christians, and, according to an old and reliable tradition, was written in Rome for Roman Christians. All of which facts just indicate two things, that the more a man has real operative love to Jesus Christ in his heart the more he will rise above all limitations of his interests, his sympathy, and his efforts, and the more surely will let himself out, as far as he can, in affection towards and toils for all men. This change of name, though it is a mere trifle, and may have been adopted as a matter of convenience, may also be taken as reminding us of a very important truth, and that is, that if we wish to help people, the first condition is that we go down and stand on their level, and make ourselves one with them, as far as we can. And so Mark may have said, "I have put away the name that parts me from these Gentiles, for whom I desire to work, and whom I love; and I take the name that binds me to them." You must become like the people that you want to help.

II. The history of Mark suggests THE POSSIBILITY OF OVERCOMING EARLY FAULTS. We do not know why he refused to bear the burden of the work that he had so cheerily begun. When he started he did not bargain for going into unknown lands, in which there were many toils to be encountered. He was willing to go where he knew the ground. At all events, whatever his reason, his return was a fault, or Paul would not have been so hard upon him as he was. And the best way to treat him was as the apostle did; and to say to Barnabas' indulgent proposal, "No! he would not do the work before, and now he shall not do it." That is often God's way with us. It brings us to our senses, as it brought Mark to his. We do not know how long it took to cure Mark of his early fault, but he was thoroughly cured. The man that was afraid of dangers and hypothetical risks in Asia Minor became brave enough to stand by the apostle when he was a prisoner, and was not ashamed of his chain. And afterwards, so much had he won his way into the apostle's confidence, and made himself needful for him by his services, that the lonely prisoner, with the gibbet or headsman's sword in prospect, feels that he would like to have Mark with him once more, and bids Timothy bring him with himself, for "he is profitable to me for the ministry." Let no man set limits to the possibilities of his own restoration, and of his curing faults which are most deeply rooted within himself. Hope and effort should be boundless. So we may win victories on the very soil where formerly we were shamefully put to the rout.

III. Take another lesson — THE GREATNESS OF "LITTLE" SERVICE. We do not hear that this John Mark ever tried to do any work in the way of preaching the gospel. His business was a very much humbler one. He had to attend to Paul's comfort. That needed some self-suppression. It would have been so natural for Mark to have said, "Paul sends Timothy to be bishop in Crete, and Titus to look after other churches; Epaphroditus is an official here, and Apollos is a great preacher there. And here am I, grinding away at the secularities yet. I think I'll 'strike,' and try and get more conspicuous work." Or, he might perhaps deceive himself and say, "more directly religious work," like a great many of us that often mask a very carnal desire for prominence under a very saintly guise of desire to do spiritual service. That was self-suppression. But it was a clear recognition of what we all ought to have very clearly before us, and that is, that all sorts of work which contribute to one end are one sort of work; and that at bottom the man that carried Paul's books and parchments, and saw that he was not left without clothes, though he was so negligent of cloaks and other necessaries, was just as much helping on the cause of Christ as the apostle when he preached.

IV. Take as the last lesson THE ENLARGED SPHERE THAT FOLLOWS FAITHFULNESS IN SMALL MATTERS. What a singular change! The man that began with being a servant of Paul and of Barnabas ends by being the evangelist, and it is to him, under Peter's direction, that we owe what is possibly the oldest, and, at all events in some aspects, an entirely unique, narrative of our Lord's life. For quite certainly, in God's providence, the tools do come to the hand that can wield them, and the best reward that we can get for doing well our little work is to have larger work to do. The little tapers are tempted, if I may use so incongruous a figure, to wish themselves set up on loftier stands. Shine your brightest in your corner, and you will be "exalted" in due time.

(A. Maclaren, D. D.)

People
Marcus, Mark, Peter, Silas, Silvanus
Places
Asia, Babylon, Bithynia, Cappadocia, Galatia, Pontus
Topics
Accordance, Authority, Base, Care, Charge, Cheerful, Compulsion, Constrainedly, Constraint, Dishonest, Eager, Eagerly, Eagerness, Exercise, Exercising, Feed, Filthy, Flock, Forced, Gain, Gladly, God's, Greedy, Lucre, Mind, Minds, Money, Necessity, Overseeing, Overseers, Oversight, Profit, Readily, Ready, Reluctantly, Serve, Serving, Shameful, Shepherd, Shepherds, Sordid, Taking, Tend, Thereof, Unclean, Using, Voluntarily, Wants, Watch, Willing, Willingly, Yet
Outline
1. He exhorts the elders to feed their flocks;
5. the younger to obey;
8. and all to be sober, watchful, and constant in the faith;
9. and to resist the cruel adversary the devil.

Dictionary of Bible Themes
1 Peter 5:2

     5053   responsibility, for world
     5217   authority, in church
     5293   defence, human
     5330   guard
     5337   hiring
     5413   money, attitudes
     5833   diligence
     5840   eagerness
     5847   enthusiasm
     5871   greed, response to
     6135   coveting, and sin
     7942   ministry
     8344   servanthood, in believers
     8356   unselfishness

1 Peter 5:1-2

     5727   old age, attitudes

1 Peter 5:1-3

     4065   orderliness
     5700   headship
     7026   church, leadership
     8210   commitment, to God's people

1 Peter 5:1-4

     7720   elders, in the church

1 Peter 5:1-5

     7797   teaching

1 Peter 5:1-6

     5959   submission

1 Peter 5:2-3

     5220   authority, abuse
     5395   lordship, human and divine
     7021   church, OT anticipations
     7130   flock, God's
     7734   leaders, spiritual
     7943   ministry, in church
     8349   spiritual growth, means of
     8354   trustworthiness

1 Peter 5:2-4

     1220   God, as shepherd
     2330   Christ, as shepherd
     7024   church, nature of
     7789   shepherd, church leader

Library
Third Sunday after Trinity Humility, Trust, Watchfulness, Suffering
Text: 1 Peter 5, 5-11. 5 Likewise, ye younger, be subject unto the elder. Yea, all of you gird yourselves with humility, to serve one another: for God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. 6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time; 7 casting all your anxiety upon him, because he careth for you. 8 Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 9 whom withstand stedfast
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

Sylvanus
'By Sylvanus, our faithful brother, as I account him, I have written unto you briefly.'--1 Peter v. 12 (R.V). I adopt the Revised Version because, in one or two small points, it brings out more clearly the Apostle's meaning. This Sylvanus is, beyond all reasonable doubt, the same man who is known to us in the Acts of the Apostles by the name of Silas. A double name was very common amongst Jews, whose avocations brought them into close connection with Gentiles. You will find other instances of it
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Ephesians, Peter,John

An Apostolic Testimony and Exhortation
'... I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand.'--1 Peter v. 12. 'I have written briefly,' says Peter. But his letter, in comparison with the other epistles of the New Testament, is not remarkably short; in fact, is longer than many of them. He regards it as short when measured by the greatness of its theme. For all words which are devoted to witnessing to the glory of God revealed in Jesus Christ, must be narrow and insufficient as compared
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Ephesians, Peter,John

The Church in Babylon
'The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you ...'--1 Peter v. 13. We have drawn lessons in previous addresses from the former parts of the closing salutations of this letter. And now I turn to this one to see what it may yield us. The Revised Version omits 'the church,' and substitutes 'she'; explaining in a marginal note that there is a difference of opinion as to whether the sender of the letter is a community or an individual. All the old MSS., with one weighty exception,
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Ephesians, Peter,John

Marcus, My Son
'... So doth Marcus, my son.'--1 Peter v. 13. The outlines of Mark's life, so far as recorded in Scripture, are familiar. He was the son of Mary, a woman of some wealth and position, as is implied by the fact that her house was large enough to accommodate the 'many' who were gathered together to pray for Peter's release. He was a relative, probably a cousin (Col. iv. 10, Revised Version), of Barnabas, and possibly, like him, a native of Cyprus. The designation of him by Peter as 'my son' naturally
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Ephesians, Peter,John

The Slave's Girdle
'... Be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.'--1 Peter v. 5. The Apostle uses here an expression of a remarkable kind, and which never occurs again in Scripture. The word rendered in the Authorised Version 'be clothed,' or better in the Revised Version, 'gird yourselves with,' really implies a little more than either of those renderings suggests. It describes a kind of garment as well as the act of putting it on, and the sort of garment which it describes
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Ephesians, Peter,John

A New Year's Benediction
I have this morning taken this text as a new year's blessing. You are aware that a minister of the Church of England always supplies me with the motto for the new year. He prays much before he selects the text, and I know that it is his prayer for you all to-day. He constantly favors me with this motto, and I always think it my duty to preach from it, and then desire my people to remember it through the year as a staff of support in their time of trouble, as some sweet morsel, a wafer made with honey,
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 6: 1860

30TH DAY. A Crown of Life.
"He is Faithful that Promised." "When the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away."--1 PETER v. 4. A Crown of Life. What! is the beggar to be "raised from the dunghill, set among princes, and made to inherit a throne of glory?" is dust and ashes, a puny rebel, a guilty traitor, to be pitied, pardoned, loved, exalted from the depths of despair, raised to the heights of Heaven--gifted with kingly honour--royally fed--royally clothed--royally attended--and,
John Ross Macduff—The Faithful Promiser

The Millennium in Relation to Satan.
In our last chapter we saw that Christ descends from Heaven to find an organized effort to prevent him coming back to the earth. Under the leadership of Anti-christ, the kings of the earth with their armies assemble together at Armageddon with the express purpose of making war upon the Lamb (Rev. 17:14). It is in connection with this impious revolt that we read, "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh" (Ps. 2:4), laugh at their folly and madness, "The Lord shall have them in derision." As well
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return

A Preliminary Discourse to Catechising
'If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled.' - Col 1:23. Intending next Lord's day to enter upon the work of catechising, it will not be amiss to give you a preliminary discourse, to show you how needful it is for Christians to be well instructed in the grounds of religion. If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled.' I. It is the duty of Christians to be settled in the doctrine of faith. II. The best way for Christians to be settled is to be well grounded. I. It is the duty of Christians
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

The Royal Marriage Feast.
PART I.--THE WEDDING GUESTS. "And Jesus answered, and spake unto them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, and sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of
William Arnot—The Parables of Our Lord

Consolations against Impatience in Sickness.
If in thy sickness by extremity of pain thou be driven to impatience, meditate-- 1. That thy sins have deserved the pains of hell; therefore thou mayest with greater patience endure these fatherly corrections. 2. That these are the scourges of thy heavenly Father, and the rod is in his hand. If thou didst suffer with reverence, being a child, the corrections of thy earthly parents, how much rather shouldst thou now subject thyself, being the child of God, to the chastisement of thy heavenly Father,
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Exhortations to Christians as they are Children of God
1 There is a bill of indictment against those who declare to the world they are not the children of God: all profane persons. These have damnation written upon their forehead. Scoffers at religion. It were blasphemy to call these the children of God. Will a true child jeer at his Father's picture? Drunkards, who drown reason and stupefy conscience. These declare their sin as Sodom. They are children indeed, but cursed children' (2 Peter 2:14). 2 Exhortation, which consists of two branches. (i) Let
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Some Other Writers of the New Testament
[Illustration: (drop cap L) Ancient engraving of man reading scroll] Let us now look at the rest of the books which make up the New Testament. In the days when Paul preached at Athens, the old capital of Greece, much of the ancient splendour and power of the Greek people had passed away, for the Romans had conquered their country, and they were no longer a free nation. Yet, although the Greeks had been forced to yield to Rome, their conquerors knew that the Grecian scholars and artists were far
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making

Its Source
Let us here review, briefly, the ground which we have already covered. We have seen, first, that "to justify" means to pronounce righteous. It is not a Divine work, but a Divine verdict, the sentence of the Supreme Court, declaring that the one justified stands perfectly conformed to all the requirements of the law. Justification assures the believer that the Judge of all the earth is for him, and not against him: that justice itself is on his side. Second, we dwelt upon the great and seemingly insoluable
Arthur W. Pink—The Doctrine of Justification

The Scriptures
apo blefouV ta iera grammata oidaV Many Allusions to Scripture In the year 1729,' wrote John Wesley, I began not only to read but to study the Bible.' The results of that devoted study of the Word of God are to be seen in every page that he wrote. Both the brothers must have had a most profound, exact, and extensive acquaintance with the Scriptures. Indeed, it is only a close study of the Bible on our own part that can reveal to us the extent of their intimacy with it. There can hardly be a single
Charles H. Kelly—The Hymns of Methodism in their Literary Relations

How the Gospels came to be Written
[Illustration: (drop cap B) Early Christian Lamp] But how did the story of the Saviour's life on earth come to be written? We have seen that many years passed before any one thought of writing it down at all. The men and women who had really seen Him, who had listened to His voice, looked into His face, and who knew that He had conquered death and sin for evermore, could not sit down to write, for their hearts were all on fire to speak. But as the years passed, the number of those who had seen Christ
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making

Some Gospel Truths Opened, According to the Scriptures; Or, the Divine and Human Nature of Christ Jesus;
HIS COMING INTO THE WORLD; HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, DEATH, RESURRECTION, ASCENSION, INTERCESSION, AND SECOND COMING TO JUDGMENT, PLAINLY DEMONSTRATED AND PROVED. AND ALSO, Answers to several Questions, with profitable Directions to stand fast in the Doctrine of Jesus the Son of MARY, against those blustering Storms of the Devil's Temptations, which do at this Day, like so many Scorpions, break loose from the bottomless Pit, to bite and torment those that have not tasted the Vertue of Jesus, by the Revelation
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

In the Dungeon of Giant Discourager
IN THE DUNGEON OF GIANT DISCOURAGER I feel very discouraged at times, and sometimes the spells of discouragement hang on for a long while. I wonder if I am sanctified. From unaccountable sources, bad feelings of every description depress my soul, and along with these bad feelings come doubts that cast gloom over me. I have prayed and prayed that these feelings of discouragement might leave me; but they have not done so. I despair of prayer bringing me the help I need. Really, I know not what to do.
Robert Lee Berry—Adventures in the Land of Canaan

The Poor in Spirit are Enriched with a Kingdom
Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3 Here is high preferment for the saints. They shall be advanced to a kingdom. There are some who, aspiring after earthly greatness, talk of a temporal reign here, but then God's church on earth would not be militant but triumphant. But sure it is the saints shall reign in a glorious manner: Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.' A kingdom is held the acme and top of all worldly felicity, and this honour have all the saints'; so says our Saviour, Theirs is the
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

The Providence of God
Q-11: WHAT ARE GOD'S WORKS OF PROVIDENCE? A: God's works of providence are the acts of his most holy, wise, and powerful government of his creatures, and of their actions. Of the work of God's providence Christ says, My Father worketh hitherto and I work.' John 5:17. God has rested from the works of creation, he does not create any new species of things. He rested from all his works;' Gen 2:2; and therefore it must needs be meant of his works of providence: My Father worketh and I work.' His kingdom
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

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