EXPLORE IT! - 1 Peter 4:17-19

In the Scripture passage for this week, the writer of 1 Peter continues in his discussion on suffering as a Christian (4:15-19). The Emperor Nero began persecuting Christians in AD 64 when he blamed the Christians for the burning of Rome. He was the one who crucified the Apostle Peter upside down and who beheaded the Apostle Paul.

The Emperors Domitian and Trajan also persecuted Christians from AD 81-117. Their reigns were especially difficult for the Christians living in Asia Minor at the time. These Christians are the ones to whom the letter of 1 Peter is addressed. The Revelation of John was also written during this time and is also addressed to the seven different churches of Asia Minor, some of which experienced extreme persecution.

It is in this context that the writer of 1 Peter declares that if you suffer as a Christian (a derogatory term back then), don’t be ashamed, because you are wearing the name of Christ 

He proclaims that God is bringing judgment on his house, this world, and that judgment starts with us.

And he adds: If it’s hard for the righteous to be saved, then do you think it’s easy for sinners? 

And his final conclusion is: God hasn’t given up, so don’t you give up.

According to Church tradition, before Peter left the church in Antioch for Rome where he was executed, he left directions that a man named Ignatius be appointed to the Church at Antioch. Ignatius was a disciple of the Apostle John and was believed to be one of the children that sat on Jesus’ knee. But later Ignatius was also arrested and taken by ship to Rome to die in the Coliseum.

On the way to Rome, Ignatius wrote seven different letters to the churches. In these letters is seen his perspective on martyrdom and his own impending execution. In his letters he says that he sees his upcoming martyrdom as a way to “imitate the Passion of my God.” In his Letter to the Magnesians he writes, “Yes, everything is coming to an end, and we stand before this choice – death or life […] And if we do not willingly die in union with his Passion, we do not have his life in us.” Ignatius had a high view of martyrdom, and he saw this as his way of being able to meet with God.

When a group of the early Christians tried to figure out a way to get his sentence revoked or lightened, he asked them to please leave him alone for he wanted to die in imitation of Christ. He saw his martyrdom as a witness to the Passion of Christ and himself as Christ’s servant even unto death.