¹Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia . . .

So begins the first of only two letters we have from the apostle Peter. Given that Christian history has revered him and the apostle Paul as the two most influential followers of Christ, it seems strange that we have preserved for us thirteen letters of Paul’s and only a few words from Peter, of whom Jesus spoke quite highly:

“I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.” (Matt. 16:18)

Peter was the most outspoken of the twelve apostles, but he often expressed faith succinctly on behalf of the group. The above accolade Jesus gave him was preceded by Peter’s answer to a question Jesus posed:

“But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matt. 16:15–16)

Peter writes now about thirty years after the Lord’s resurrection (around A.D. 62–64) and addresses his audience with authority and the aura of an elder statesman. His readers reside in a wide geographic area in what is now modern-day Turkey. Paul had passed through this area during his second missionary tour more than ten years earlier.

The specific believers to whom he is writing were “scattered,” reflecting what is called the Christian diaspora. The Jews themselves had their own diaspora, with many emigrating from Israel due to Roman oppression and relocating around the Mediterranean Basin. Of those remaining in Palestine, the converts to Christ were further persecuted by the Jews and driven out (see Acts 7:1–8). So Jewish Christians were twice-persecuted.

Of course, Peter’s letter was not exclusively written to Jewish Christians, even though his ministry was primarily to the Jews, while Paul would primarily focus on the Gentiles (Gal. 2:7–8). There was considerable overlap. In fact, Peter was the one God used to open up the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 10–11), and he and Paul needed to hammer out the implications of how or whether to incorporate Jewish customs into the life of faith (Gal. 2). So it is quite interesting that Peter now writes to believers in the areas where Paul had already made his gospel mark. There was complete harmony in their teaching, and in fact, this first letter of Peter’s was fully embraced as authoritative by the early church without dispute.

Lord, thank You for the harmony among the early apostles in the truth.