1 Peter: Is All of This Worth It?预览

Peter continues to teach the Gentile Christians about God the Father by reminding them of their faith in Jesus as Savior. They know about His death- the great sacrifice He made on their behalf. They know that by His resurrection death has been defeated and they are now alive in Christ forever. But Peter gently points them to God the Father, reminds them that Jesus is from the Father, is one with the Father, and was before time. Just as God the Father has eternally existed, so has Jesus. 

For Jews who came to faith in Christ, there was a clear connection between the Old Testament promises, covenants, feasts, stories, etc. and their fulfillment in Jesus. For Gentiles, the entire story was new to them. For example, here in verse 19, Peter refers to the “precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”  Jews understood that the Passover lamb, the annual sacrifice made by the high priest on behalf of the nation of Israel, was required to be perfect, spotless. Jesus then took the place of that annual sacrifice. The Son of God, sinless, offered himself as the once-for-all sacrifice for all nations, not just for Israel. Peter is not only teaching some history but also letting the Gentiles know that their salvation was God’s plan all along.

ASK:

-How often do you stop to consider the BIG story that God has written? Old Testament to New Testament. Creation to Nativity. Beginning to end. 

-What feelings do you have regarding your place in God’s story?

TAKE A NEXT STEP:

Take a moment to meditate on the “family of God.” Imagine it as a family tree, filled with faces from all times in history, all nations, all ethnic groups, all languages… Now imagine your spot in the tree. Who comes before you? Who will come after you?