Commendable?

Read 1 Peter 5:12-14

Context: Peters final greetings to his readers.

Text:

12With the help of Silas,[a] whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it. 13She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark. 14Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ. (NIV)

Footnotes:

1 Peter 5:12 Greek Silvanus, a variant of Silas

taken from www.biblegateway.com


When you get to the end of one of the books of the Bible in letter format, do you skip over the final greetings? I tend to, but I've discovered that there is a wealth of information there. In this letter to the 'elect' scattered across the globe, Peter only references two people (Paul tends to reference lots), Silas and Mark and he gives a veiled reference to one woman. Who were these people and why were they so special that he calls them out to all the readers of his letter?

First is Silas, whom Peter regards as a faithful brother. Apparently Peter wrote about him before (there is no reference to that prior letter in the Bible) explaining that he represents the true grace of God. Silas is referenced in Acts 15:22. The Council of the church at Jerusalem heard Paul talk about his miracles among the Gentiles, and they chose two men who were 'leaders among the brothers' to send with Paul and Barnabas on their journey to Antioch...Silas was one of these men. I wonder what had happened in his life that made him such a testimony to grace?

There is a lot of controversy over who "she who is in Babylon" really is. Some commentaries say that she is Peter's wife, who traveled with him frequently on his missionary journeys. Others say it is a reference to the church which was in Babylon.

The final person is Mark, whom Peter identifies as his son. Most scholars believe that this is the Mark who wrote the gospel. He is referenced a couple of times in Acts. In Acts 12:12, Peter has escaped from prison and he went to the house of Mary, mother of Mark (remember when the servant girl was so excited she forgot to let Peter in?). Later he is mentioned in chapter 15. Barnabus wanted Mark to go along with him and Paul to revisit many of the cities they'd been to, but Paul refused because Mark had deserted them previously. Apparently Mark made amends, because Paul's letter to the Colossians his second letter to Timothy actually commend Mark. Colossians 4:10 tells us that Mark is actually the cousin of Barnabas. Many believe that Peter helped Mark accept Jesus as his Savior.

Both of these men, along with the 'woman' from Babylon must have been well known among the many different churches who received Peter's letter. They were examples of faithfulness and grace. If you were to write a letter to Christians in another area, do you know whom you would commend and why? Would someone else commend you?