Encouraging the persecuted
By this time persecution was breaking out against the Christians throughout the Empire. As long as Christianity was thought to be a branch of Judaism, it was protected by law, because Judaism was a legal religion. But people in general were becoming more aware of the differences between Christianity and Judaism. When the Jews in Jerusalem killed James the Lord’s brother (about the same time as Paul was martyred in Rome), everybody could see clearly that Christianity was not a movement within Judaism. It was plainly an unlawful religion.
In addition to this, people hated Christians because they could not mix freely in a society whose practices they saw as idolatrous and immoral. The Emperor Nero, who began a sensible reign ten years previously, was by now senselessly brutal and bitterly anti-Christian. He blamed Christians for the great fire of Rome (AD 64), with the result that fierce persecution broke out. About this time Peter wrote the letter that we know as 1 Peter. Its purpose was to encourage Christians to bear persecution patiently, even if it meant death (1 Peter 2:20-23; 3:14-15; 4:12-19), and to assure them of their living hope and glorious future (1 Peter 1:3-9).
But where has Peter been all these years? We last read of him in relation to the meeting with Paul and other leaders at Jerusalem thirteen or fourteen years earlier (Acts 15:6-7,12-13). We shall therefore go
back to the time immediately after that meeting to see if we can fill in some of the gaps in our knowledge concerning Peter.
Peter and Mark
When Barnabas left Paul before the start of Paul’s second missionary journey, he went to Cyprus with Mark, while Paul and Silas went through Asia Minor to Europe (Acts 15:36-41). Early records indicate that after Barnabas and Mark finished their work in Cyprus, Mark joined Peter. These two then worked together for many years, preaching and teaching throughout the northern regions of Asia Minor that Paul had been forbidden to enter (Acts 16:7-8; 1 Peter 1:1).
There is good evidence to indicate that, after this, Peter and Mark went to Rome for a period and taught the Christians there. When Peter left, Mark stayed behind, and the Romans Christians asked Mark to write down the story of Jesus as they had heard it from Peter. Mark did as they requested and the result was Mark’s Gospel.
Peter’s influence in Mark’s Gospel is seen in the rapid movement of the story, the straightforward reporting, the direct language and the vivid detail (Mark 1:30,41; 3:5; 4:38; 6:39; 10:14,21,32). This is particularly so when the story concerns Peter’s mistakes (Mark 9:5-6; 14:66-72). Peter and Mark helped the Gentiles in Rome to understand the story of Jesus better by giving translations of Aramaic expressions (Mark 3:17; 5:41; 7:11,34; 15:22,34) and explanations of Jewish beliefs and practices (Mark 7:3-4; 12:18;
14:12; 15:42).
Mark and Luke
About this time, Paul arrived in Rome as a prisoner for the first time, having with him Aristarchus and Luke (Acts 28:16,30; cf. 27:2). Both Mark and Luke were therefore in Rome when Paul wrote the letters of his first imprisonment, and no doubt they got to know each other well (Col 4:10,14; Philem 24). Over the years Luke had been collecting and preparing materials for the book he himself was planning to write, and on arrival in Rome was pleased to find Mark’s completed record. He was able to take some of Mark’s material and include it in his own book, which eventually appeared in two volumes, Luke’s Gospel and Acts.
In his Gospel, as in Acts, Luke wanted to show that Jesus Christ was God’s Saviour for people everywhere, regardless of race (Luke 2:32; 3:6-8; 4:25-27; 7:9), and that his followers had a responsibility to spread the message of that salvation everywhere (Luke 4:18; 19:10; 24:47). The concern that Jesus’ followers showed for the poor, the sick, the despised and other socially disadvantaged people was something they had learnt from him (Luke 6:20; 7:12,22; 13:11; 17:16).
Peter and Silas
After Paul’s release from imprisonment, Mark also left Rome. Later, Paul was imprisoned in Rome again and, believing he was near death, sent for Mark and Timothy to come to him (2 Tim 4:9,11).
Whether or not they reached Rome before Paul was executed, Mark seems to have stayed on in Rome, and was still there when Peter visited the city again (1 Peter 5:13. The early Christians referred to Rome symbolically as Babylon, the centre of organized opposition to God). Peter’s co-worker at this time was Silas, the person who had gone with Paul on his second missionary journey. Using Silas as his secretary, Peter then wrote the letter referred to above (1 Peter) and sent it to the churches of northern Asia Minor that he had helped to evangelize (1 Peter 1:1; 5:12).
Peter and Jude
A year or so later, when Peter was in Rome again, he heard of the activities of false teachers around the churches to whom he had previously written. He therefore wrote and sent off a second letter (2 Peter 3:1). In it he opposed the false teachers, who claimed that faith was not related to behaviour, and therefore immoral practices were not wrong for those with higher spiritual knowledge (2 Peter 1:5-7; 2:1-3). Peter also opposed those who mocked the Christians’ belief in Christ’s return. He urged them to repent before it was too late, because Christ’s return would bring in the final judgment (2 Peter 3:3-4,9-10).
At the time of writing this letter, Peter was probably awaiting execution (2 Peter 1:14; cf. John 21:18- 19). According to tradition he was crucified in Rome during the latter half of the AD 60s.
The sort of false teaching dealt with in 2 Peter was causing growing concern among the churches. Another New Testament letter written to oppose it was the letter of Jude (Jude 4,19). The writer was
probably a younger brother of Jesus and, like his older brother James, may have become a believer after the resurrection (Mark 6:3; John 7:3-5; Acts 1:14). The similarities between 2 Peter and Jude suggest that the two writers may have used a commonly accepted form of argument in opposing the false teaching.
This destructive mixture of philosophy and religion was yet another early form of Gnosticism.