Audience

We do not know when or how churches began in Northwest Asia Minor, but we do know that when Paul tried to go there, the Holy Spirit forbade him (Acts 16:6-7). We do not know if the Holy Spirit forbade him to go because the church was flourishing (residents of Asia Minor, present in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost [Acts 2:9], had stayed to watch and help as Jesus began a whole new day of redemption), or if Paul was forbidden for some other reason. What seems clear is that Peter recognized a thriving church in the area and called those living in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia (modern Turkey) exiles of the Dispersion (1:1).

Those Who Stayed in Jerusalem Before Returning Home

This implies the church was made up of those who had returned to their homes after the persecution in Jerusalem and began to evangelize and plant churches in their homeland. Peter would have been the leader of the Jerusalem church during their stay there, at which time the property of the rich was sold to provide for their livelihood so they could remain in town, as God’s new covenant-people began to unify.

Peter, having known some of these key people well, wrote to them knowing they were living in a culturally and ethnically diverse area, subservient to Roman rule.

Obviously, the recipients of Peter's letter were not only Jewish people in Jerusalem and from these areas, but also pagan church members (1:18; 4:3-4) who would not have easily fit in with the Jewish culture.

Author

So, Peter probably wrote this letter (1:1; 5:1) from Rome (which he referred to as Babylon [5:13]) during Nero's reign, somewhere between 54 and 68 A.D. He was named first among the Lord’s apostles until he and his wife were forced to leave town. Herod had violently arrested and beheaded James and then taken Peter into custody and was about to execute him. Instead of being executed, the Lord miraculously freed Peter and, from that moment on, James became the leader of the church in Jerusalem.

Peter called himself an apostle of Jesus and made these observations about himself:

• He became who God planned as a result of being set apart by God’s Spirit.

• He became who God planned as a result of being set apart to obey Jesus His Son and to have his sins cleansed by Jesus’ blood (1:2).

Purpose

Peter was seeking to make sense of suffering for those persecuted for their faith. Peter encouraged perseverance with hope for two reasons: first, they would enjoy an ultimate end-time salvation, and second, they were already enjoying some of those saving promises.

Peter's main encouragement was for followers to endure suffering by continuing to do good (1:6-7; 2:19-20; 3:9, 14-17; 4:1), totally entrusting their souls to God (4:19).