1st Peter Chapter 3
Originally posted Friday November 7, 2008
1st Peter,
Chapter 3:1-7 Wives and Husbands
In keeping with typical 1st century household codes - both
Jewish and Greek, the wife is expected to be submissive and to accept her
husband's authority. This is particularly important in the case where the
husband is not a Christian. The wife's "conduct," - her "purity
and reverence, can be an example that may "win over" her husband
to the faith. Purity is not especially moral purity although that is expected.
It also can be portrayed in appearance, thus the emphasis on modesty in hair
style, jewelry and clothing. Such an encouragement to modesty reflects an
appropriate appearance for those who are aliens and exiles in a culture
where the expensive trappings of dress mark one's social status. The true
adornment is seen in one's deportment. It will be the inner qualities of
gentleness and unpretentious nature that express true beauty. The writer
provides supporting examples from Israel's past, particularly that of Sarah.
She and other "holy women" accepted the authority of their
husbands as their lords. ("Lord" was the predominate title for
the head of the patriarchal family in which obedience to the husband was
equivalent to obedience to God.) The wives addressed in this letter are,
by faith, the daughters of Sarah by virtue of continuing to do good and
"not fearing any intimidation" (from her husband).
The husband is not to be inconsiderate of his wife. "In
the same way" refers to the writer's mention of Sarah. In her "life
together" with Abraham she was obedient and her obedience was an extension
of her obedience to God. In the same way, as God loves the husband so he
is to love his wife. There is no room for mistreatment, discourtesy or
unfaithfulness in this understanding of the husband's relationship with his
wife. He is to pay honor to her (to love, respect and praise her) just as he
would honor the Emperor (2:17).
Paying honor to his wife as the "weaker sex" is understood as being
physically weaker and is not related to any weakness in faith. In fact the
last verse contains a powerful statement on the equality of the husband and
wife. They are, as far as God is concerned, joint heirs of God's grace and the
gift of eternal life. The husband is to remember this lest his attitude toward
his wife gets in the way of the integrity of his prayers.
1st Peter,
Chapter 3:8-22 Suffering for Doing Right
In the New Testament human suffering is generally seen in
light of Christ's suffering at the hands of others. Paul considered suffering
to be an expected part of a Christian's life. Some writers saw suffering as a
test of faith. Others wore suffering as a badge of honor. In all cases
suffering put the sufferer in connection with Christ. In this passage the
writer addresses the issue of undeserved suffering. He begins by
establishing guidelines for personal behavior within the community of
faith but his primary focus is on the believer's response to abuse from
non-Christians.
Suffering is a community event. As Paul wrote, "when
one suffers all suffer." The question the writer addresses is how can
suffering be limited if not avoided and faced when it does happen? Of first
importance is a unity of spirit among believers. This unity is
expressed in mutual love for one another demonstrated by sympathy, kindness and
"a tender heart." Retaliation in kind is not in keeping with Jesus'
example of nonviolent resistance. Rather than acting with a spirit of
vengeance, Christians are to "repay evil...with a blessing" (vs. 9). To do otherwise, as noted
in the citation of Ps.34:12,
is to do the same evil as those who have caused suffering.
The writer asks the rhetorical question: who will harm a
person who eagerly does what is good? The sense of the question is
more surprise than actual. It is as if he said, "What kind of people
would cause suffering, in reputation or body, to the innocent? He
does not expect an answer and immediately moves to strengthening the believer's
resolve with a catalog of responses:
Those who do good and still suffer will be blessed by God.
The sufferer does not fear what the abuser fears nor is
the sufferer intimidated. He fears God and knows where he stands; he
is strengthen by his confession of Christ and is ready to honor Christ in
defense of his faith.
The sufferer who is abused for doing good (being faithful to
Christ) responds to abuse with gentleness and respect. By doing so he brings
shame upon the abuser. (This was the basic principle of Gandhi's non-violent
resistance of the British rule in India and Martin Luther King Jr.'s marches in
Selma and elsewhere.)
The writer concludes by recounting the suffering and death
of Christ and his role in bringing the believers to God. From the death of his
body he was made alive in the resurrection, Christ alive as
Spirit. The writer's claim that Christ, in the spirit, descended into Hades
(hell?) to preach "to the spirits in prison" is unique in the New
Testament. (In the reform tradition - Calvinism, this verse is used in a
version of the Apostle's Creed.) How the verse is interpreted varies widely. By
its connection with the Noah tradition the implication is that Christ
preached to those who did not repent and were drowned by the flood. When he
supposedly did so is not disclosed. There seems to be no positive or
negative outcome as a result of this event. Its presence is
best understood as a parable, an independent piece of oral tradition - of
which there were many. It was placed here to highlight the difference
between those who spiritually as well as physically died in the time of Noah
and the eight people who were saved in the ark. The connection made by the
writer is baptism. Noah and his family were saved by God through the
water just as baptism signifies the believer's salvation. Both Noah and
the believer have responded to God with faith and both passed through the
waters (see Heb. 11:7).
No comments:
Post a Comment