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1Pet.5:1. I implore your shepherds, a fellow shepherd and witness of the sufferings of Christ and a sharer in the glory that is about to be revealed: 1Pet.5:2. shepherd the flock of God that is among you, overseeing it not under compulsion, but willingly and pleasing to God, not for vile gain, but out of zeal, 1Pet.5:3. and not lording it over the inheritance of God, but setting an example to the flock; 1Pet.5:4. and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive an unfading crown of glory. 1Pet.5:5. Likewise, younger ones, obey the shepherds. The Apostle was supposed to talk about humility, which he already mentioned, saying: “doing good” (1 Peter 4:19). He calls himself a “shepherd” (presbyter) either by age or by the dignity of a bishop; for the book of Acts (Acts 20:17) also calls elders and bishops. Then, wanting to show that he has an advantage over them and that he calls himself a “co-shepherd” out of humility, he exposes his dignity, namely, that he is a “witness of the suffering of Christ.” He says something like this: if I, who explained such visions to you, do not consider it low to call myself a co-shepherd, then it is unfair for you to rise above your subordinates. The Lord also says about humility: “if I, the Lord and Teacher, washed your feet” (John 13:14). The Apostle adds that he is “a sharer in the glory that is about to be revealed,” in order to present the advantage of humility, just as Paul says: “When Christ your life appears, then you also will appear with Him” (Col. 3:4). The one who shepherds “unforcedly” is the one who in himself offers his flock an example of good activity, and thereby encourages them to compete with the teacher before each other. “Not for vile gain” is shepherded by the one who does not come forward with pride and does not rise above his subordinates, but lives not luxuriously, or who does not covet precious clothes and luxurious dishes, which produce pride and serve as a reason for vile self-interest. “Heritage” refers to the sacred assembly. The addition “setting an example for the flock” means the same as “feed freely.” In the words “and when the Chief Shepherd appears,” the conjunction “and” is placed instead of “so that,” that is, so that when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of incorruption. Nevertheless, as you submit to one another, clothe yourselves with humility, for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. “Get on” means: gird yourself, put on your clothes, or put on yourself, surround yourself on all sides. 1Pet.5:6. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time. The Apostle speaks of “his time,” just as David says: “which (the tree) bears its fruit in its season” (Ps. 1:3), the word “in ... time” hints at exaltation in the future century, what exaltation, and it is only one, unchangeable and lasting. For the exaltation here is neither safe nor secure, but is rather humbled than exalted. And that humility elevates, the Lord Himself says about this: “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11). And: “whoever of you wants to be first must be last of all” (Mark 9:35). With the word “in due time,” the apostle indicated that exaltation from humility is promised in the next century. For the time of unchanging blessings is in the next century. 1Pet.5:7. Cast all your worries on Him, for He cares for you. Then, in order to remove the fear that comes with humility, he says: do not be afraid, but cast all your care on the Lord, for He cares, that is, takes care of all this. 1Pet.5:8. Be sober and watchful, because your adversary the devil walks around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 1Pet.5:9. Resist him with firm faith, Those who are accustomed to sleeping spiritually (which means being absorbed in vanity) and thereby burdening the sobriety of the soul are attacked by the crafty beast of despair. Warning against this, the disciple of Christ urges us to always stay awake and beware of the sower of tares, so that when we sleep, that is, we lead a careless and lazy life, he does not secretly sow evil thoughts and distract us from true life. Because he, he says, constantly goes around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Saint Justin the Martyr believes that the reason for such unrelenting deceit and slander on the part of the devil is that the devil, before the coming of the Lord, did not clearly know how severe his punishment was, since the holy prophets expressed this mysteriously (so Isaiah secretly depicted the whole sad history and fate of the devil in the person of the Assyrian (Is. 18:4-7)), and when with the coming The devil clearly recognized the Lord that “eternal fire” was set before him and his angels (Matt. 25:41), since then he has been constantly building feats for the believers, wanting to make many fellow members of his apostasy, so that he would not be the only one to endure the ignominy of condemnation, and in this he would find cold and evil consolation. 3 knowing that the same sufferings are happening to your brothers in the world. Probably those to whom the Apostle Peter wrote this endured many sorrows for Christ; That is why he consoles them at the beginning and at the end of the epistle - at the beginning by the fact that they become sharers in the sufferings of the Lord and heirs of the glory that is to be revealed, and here by the fact that not only they alone suffer, but also all believers living in the world. 1Pet.5:10. May the God of all grace, who has called us to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered for a little while, perfect you, establish you, strengthen you, and make you steadfast. 1Pet.5:11. To him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen. And at the beginning of the epistle (1 Peter 1:2-3) the apostle said that the Father had mercy on us through the Son, and now, at the end of it, he teaches that the same Father called us through the Son. For this is the purpose of the apostles, to preach the sacrament, even if they did it together with exhortation. 1Pet.5:12. I wrote this briefly to you through Silouan, your faithful brother, as I think, to assure you, comforting and testifying, that this is the true grace of God in which you stand. This Silouan is an excellent believer and strives zealously in the work of preaching. Paul also mentions him, and together with Timothy calls him, in his epistles, a co-worker; Thus, he writes: “Paul and Silvanus and Timothy” (1 Thess. 1:1). 1Pet.5:13. The church chosen like you in Babylon and Mark my son greet you. Rome is called “Babylon” because of its nobility, which Babylon enjoyed for a long time. “Chosen” refers to the Church of God, formed in Rome. He calls the evangelist Mark, calling him a son according to the Spirit, and not according to the flesh. It was he who ordered him to write the Gospel. 1Pet.5:14. Greet each other with the kiss of love. While Paul writes (Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:20) for believers to greet each other with a “holy kiss,” Peter says: greet each other with the “kiss of love.” But both have the same idea. Paul knows that love for the Lord is greater than all virtues, even martyrdom for Christ, and therefore he calls that kiss given in God a holy kiss. And Peter, when he talks about the kiss of love, means: true love. Therefore he adds: Peace to you all in Christ Jesus. He is not talking about the ordinary, human world, but wants them to receive the peace that Christ has awarded them, going away to suffer and saying: “peace I leave with you,” and noting the difference: “not as the world gives” (John 14:27). For you must keep peace not out of partiality, but because you are bound by love, so that you must endure blows from rivals. The Lord's disciples everywhere, at the end of their messages, add a prayer, like a seal, and thereby show their sincere holiness. Some of those who were before us thought that Mark, about whom Saint Peter speaks, was his son in the flesh. They based this guess on the fact that in the Acts of the Apostles Luke says that after the angel of God miraculously freed the Apostle Peter from the prison in which he had been imprisoned by Herod and ceased to lead him, he, the Apostle Peter, “came to the house of the mother of John, called Mark” (Acts 12:12). They believed that he had come to his own home and to his legitimate wife. The first conciliar letter of the Apostle Peter was written from Rome. St. Justin. Oper pag. 1592–1593. Paris. 1857. You might be interested in: