1Pe 5 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for 1Pet 5:1-14: 5:1-14 Peter ends the letter with final exhortations to elders (5:1-4 ), to younger people (5:5 ), and to the church as a whole (5:5-11 ). These exhortations are followed by final greetings and a closing (5:12-14 ). Summary for 1Pet 5:1-4: 5:1-4 Elders were the spiritual leaders of the early churches (see also Acts 14:23 ; 20:17 ; 1 Tim 5:17-19 ; Titus 1:5 ; Jas 5:14 ). By calling himself a fellow elder , Peter identifies with them in their responsibilities and with the charge that he gives them.

Summary for 1Pet 5:1-14: 5:1-14 ^a Peter ends the letter with final exhortations to elders (5:1-4 ^b), to younger people (5:5 ^c), and to the church as a whole (5:5-11 ^d). These exhortations are followed by final greetings and a closing (5:12-14 ^e).
Summary for 1Pet 5:1-4: 5:1-4 ^f Elders were the spiritual leaders of the early churches (see also Acts 14:23 ^g; 20:17 ^h; 1 Tim 5:17-19 ⁱ; Titus 1:5 ^j; Jas 5:14 ^k). By calling himself a fellow elder, Peter identifies with them in their responsibilities and with the charge that he gives them.
5:2 ^l Care for the flock (literally Shepherd the flock): Our word pastor comes from New Testament imagery of a shepherd pasturing his flock.
5:5 ^m You who are younger: This phrase, in contrast to the elders, might refer to a particular class of ministers, perhaps elders in training or those who assisted the elders in various ways. But probably it simply denotes the younger individuals in the church (see, e.g., 1 Jn 2:12-14 ⁿ).
5:9 ^o family of believers: Greek adelphoi, a term that refers to people, both male and female, who are members of the same family.

• all over the world: Persecution was not confined to the churches of Asia Minor. In various forms and with varying intensity, Christians were persecuted almost everywhere the Good News about Jesus Christ was preached. Peter reminds his readers of this to console them and encourage them to emulate those who had successfully endured the test of suffering.
5:10 ^p a little while: Sufferings on this earth—while sometimes appearing to be endless—are in fact only momentary compared with the glorious eternity that believers will spend with God (cp. 1:6 ^q; Rom 8:18 ^r; 2 Cor 4:16-18 ^s).
5:12 ^t with the help of: This phrase identifies Silas as the amanuensis, the person who wrote the words as Peter directed.

• Silas (Greek Silvanus): Silas is the shortened form of Silvanus; both names refer to the same individual. Silas was Paul’s constant colleague after the time of the council in Jerusalem (Acts 15:40 ^u; 16:19 ^v; 17:10 ^w, 14-15 ^x; 18:5 ^y; 2 Cor 1:19 ^z; 1 Thes 1:1 ^aa; 2 Thes 1:1 ^ab). We are not sure how Silas ended up with Peter in Rome, but he may have traveled with or followed Paul (Acts 27:1–28:31 ^ac).
5:13 ^ad Babylon was probably symbolic for Rome. Like Rome, Babylon was a great city, the capital of an empire. Babylon held sway over much of the ancient Near East in the 500s BC. As a great city and the capital of the empire that burned Jerusalem and took many captive Israelites back to the city, Babylon was regarded as the power center of a world hostile to God’s people. For this reason, the book of Revelation uses “Babylon” as a metaphor or code word for Rome. Peter probably also used the title in the same way.

• Mark, also called John Mark, was another co-worker of the apostle Paul. Mark wrote the Gospel of Mark, which is generally thought to be based on Peter’s teachings.
5:14 ^ae a kiss of love: See study note on Rom 16:16.