Kella Ortega

11141999
TREDTRI Biblical Analysis Paper

"Slaves, be subject to your masters with all reverence, not only to those who are good
and equitable but also to those who are perverse” (1 Peter 2:18) is a text that conveys total
loyalty. Total loyalty would entail that the servant should never question the word of their lords.
They should never consider or regard the effects or the nature of their lord's command.

It is a questionable statement because of two reasons. The first is that it promotes

servitude. Even if servitude was seen as legal and common during those times, in the modern
perspective, where freedom is highly valued, servitude is not a popular concept. Following such,
it is seen as something deviant and unorthodox. As modern-day Christians, it may be hard to
connect with this concept because it is not experienced by the majority. However, it is important
to establish a relationship with the bible and the teachings of the religion in order to understand
the Christian faith better. Second, it promotes the tolerance of committing sin or any other
unlawful or untoward actions. Even if it were done for a better cause, encouraging the act of sin
is against the foundations of the Christian faith. Yet, in 1 Peter 2:18, the act of committing sin for
one's master is not negated upon. From these two reasons, it is only appropriate for it to be
studied and understood better.

Out of the other questionable texts of the bible, 1 Peter 2:18 was chosen due to my
disagreement with the text. Aside from my problems with its perspective, I also believed for it to
be against the teachings of Jesus Christ. However, as it was only interpreted through the
content of only the text itself, I think that I may not have understood it the way the writer wished
for it to be interpreted. To thoroughly understand the content of this text and learn of its
significance in the bible, it will be analyzed, not only with regards to the text, but also with
regards to the perspective of the person who wrote it.

If inferred with the rest of the passage:

18 Slaves, be subject to your masters with all reverence, not only to those who
are good and equitable but also to those who are perverse.
19 For whenever anyone bears the pain of unjust suffering because of
consciousness of God, that is a grace.
 20 But what credit is there if you are patient when beaten for doing wrong? But if
you are patient when you suffer for doing what is good, this is a grace before
God.
21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered* for you, leaving
you an example that you should follow in his footsteps.

the text chosen (1 Peter 2:18) may simply be interpreted as a reminder to all slaves or servants
to be loyal because of the benefits they may acquire from faithfully serving their respective
masters. The rest of the selection also explains that it is more beneficial to be loyal to a master
who does good rather than those who do wrong. Although it teaches to give total servitude and
devotion to a master, it also says that servants must choose their masters based on the benefit
they may gain from working for their masters. As such, the passage conveys that servants
should choose God as their master in order to reap the fruits of their servitude.

In addition to the benefit they may receive from their servitude, the text also conveys that
servants should not retreat from the possibility of punishment or pain (Constable, 2012). Since
servants are expected to follow their masters faithfully, even in committing sin, it is only
inevitable for them to experience punishment from other people who find fault within their
actions. This is alike the case of Jesus Christ. Jesus lived his life only following the instructions
given to him by his master, God. Many people did not agree with what he was doing. As such,
he was seen as a threat and later on punished – tortured and crucified to death. Following the
example of Jesus Christ, this passage calls for servants to still remain loyal to their master and
to not question their master’s orders in times of suffering.

The text was said to be written by Peter, one of the original 12 apostles of Jesus Christ.
He was most especially known for his denial of his association with Jesus Christ. He was also
known to be a confident and prominent disciple of Jesus Christ (Christian Inconnect, 2011).

Although the first epistle of Peter was said to have been written by Peter, there is proof
of Peter having had Silas to help him write it. In fact, some say that Silas acted as Peter's scribe
or secretary when it was being written. Experts say that this is most likely a fact, since the
original text was extremely well written in the Greek language. As, although Peter may have
been well-versed in a number of languages as a fisherman who needed to communicate with
many kinds of people in order to sell his goods, the proficiency of writing in literary Greek in the
first epistle could not be explained by his occupation. A scribe's presence in helping to conjure
the written work is a valid explanation for the oddness of the quality of its language (Dunham,
1991).

There were also quite a number of experts who questioned the validity of Peter's
authorship of 1 Peter, claiming for it to have been written on a later time when Peter had already
passed-on through an act of martyrdom. But, biblical experts also say that the text was most
likely written after Peter was imprisoned and before he was martyred. It was estimated to be
written during the time of King Nero (Zondervan, 2011). From what was mentioned about the
reign of Nero, it can be easily seen that Christians of this time experienced great persecution.
The text may be a calling or a reminder for all those who were serving God to remain as faithful
servants to their Lord despite the increasing blasphemous words being spread about Him. This
is especially true if the great fire that Nero instigated and blamed upon the Christian community
then was to be considered. Nero slandered the name of God, the Christian community during
that era, and also the religion they were practicing. To many, the Christian religion was
considered to be wrong and immoral. Seeing the text in this context, the 1 Peter 2:18 is a call to
all servants to never question their master, God, even if all they hear from society is that serving
Him is considered as evil. If this idea was contrasted with the text, the word "perverse" may not
simply mean wrong deeds. It may also be understood as what society considers as perverse,
since "perverse" is a very subjective and culture based term. In fact, even now, the word
"perverse" still constitutes different standards depending on the person who says it. Some
interpret a slight touch on bare skin to be perverse, while some only consider really obscene
sexually oriented acts, like watching pornographic videos, to be perverse.

Peter mentions in the text that he was located in "Babylon" when he was procuring the
text. However, experts have yet to agree on where he truly was located. He was hypothesized
to have resided either in Egyptian Babylon (a military post), Mesopotamian Babylon, Jerusalem,
or Rome (Zondervan, 2011). If it were in Rome, the concept mentioned earlier about the
passage being a reminder may be further envisioned. He would have truly had experienced the
condemnation and the spite the reign of Nero gave to the Christian community that resided in
Rome during his time and wrote about it in 1 Peter.

From the research conducted, 1 Peter 2:18 was a biblical passage that brought about
strength and new insights to the early Christian communities who were struggling against
persecution. It was seen that although the text may initially seem to promote teachings against
the Christian religion, it was actually a text that conveyed a great insight about the Christian
faith. The text projected the struggles the early Christian communities experienced. It also
depicted the spiritual fight the early communities underwent in order to keep believing and to
remain being loyal. Other than its portrayal of the problems faced during the time it was made, it
also showed the greatness of Peter as a disciple of Jesus Christ. In making this passage, Peter
was able to display his great understanding of the communities he sent the epistles to. It also
showed how deeply he understood the teachings of Jesus Christ and also how well he studied
Jesus' life.
References

An overview of the book of 1 Peter. (2001). Christian Inconnect. Retrieved December 4, 2012,
from http://www.christianinconnect.com/1peter.htm

Constable, T. (2012). Notes on 1 Peter. Study Light. Retrieved December 3, 2012, from
www.soniclight.com/constable/notes/pdf/1peter.pdf

Dunham, D. (1991). Holman bible dictionary: 1 Peter. Study Light. Retrieved December 3, 2012,
from http://www.studylight.org/dic/hbd/view.cgi?number=T6666

Zondervan. (2011). New international version bible: 1 Peter. Biblica. Retrieved December 4,
2012, from http://www.biblica.com/niv/study-bible/1-peter/