1 and 2 Peter (Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible | BTC)
Overview
In this volume theologian Douglas Harink looks at 1 and 2 Peter through the theological lens of Christians living in empire. In 1 Peter, he believes there is a rich theology waiting to be taken from the world of Peter’s readers and brought thoughtfully in our own.
In 2 Peter Harink traces a radically different trajectory as he examines the theological emphases found in the second book that to most modern Protestants are quite foreign. Thus, we find not only challenging theological categories, but also clear challenges to the dominant theological concepts that rule our interpretation of the faith. Indeed, Ernst Kasemann found them so problematic that he called it “perhaps the most dubious writing in the canon.” Needless to say, all readers are going to find the commentary challenging not in the ways we live, but in the categorical assumptions we make.
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- Contains an in-depth introduction
- Offers theological analysis of Scripture
- Includes bibliographical references and indexes
Top Highlights
“The Protestant doctrine of the priesthood of all (individual) believers has traditionally sought warrant in 1 Pet. 2:5. But neither here nor in 2:9 is Peter thinking in terms of individual believers.8 His focus is consistently corporate and oriented toward the world (Achtemeier 1996: 156; Green 2007: 61). The emphasis is not on the believer’s individual immediacy to God, or on priestly mediation among individual believers, or, of course, on the establishment of a priestly order in the church, but on the church itself as the mediation of the gospel to the world (cf. 2:9). The ‘spiritual sacrifice’ that this corporate priesthood and temple offers is its holy, cruciform life as a godly people in the midst of the nations, and for their sake.” (Page 69)
“There is no messianic community or witness without it. The church is a body of the ungodly who have been justified” (Page 97)
“our lives and the life of the church find in him their living origin, power, and end.” (Page 67)
“If we are to be true to the letter then, we will more likely find ourselves exploring the themes of messianic martyrdom than those of how Christians transform societies in which Christian influence is taken for granted or perhaps even welcomed. Indeed, I will show how Peter’s messianic/apocalyptic vision might lead us to reconsider some of our dearest beliefs about how Christians go about influencing and transforming the world.” (Page 20)
“Will the household of God endure the ‘fiery ordeal’? Or will they be overwhelmed in the test of messianic suffering? That apocalyptic question confronts the church in every moment of its vulnerable existence as ‘elect exiles of the Diaspora.’ In every moment there is only one way forward: the righteous will be saved in the trial only by God’s grace through faith and obedience.” (Page 119)
An outstanding, illuminating, impressive example of a commentary written in the canonical mode. This commentary displays instructive subtlety and scope in braiding scriptural, patristic, Reformation, modern, and postmodern wisdom together with the texts of 1 and 2 Peter.
—A. K. M. Adam, lecturer in New Testament, University of Glasgow
This is an example of theological interpretation of Scripture at its best. Harink combines close attention to the text with thoughtful theological reflection. He is aware of various historical-critical issues but does not allow them to distract from the theological concerns he brings to these letters. Moreover, his generous engagement with a variety of theological traditions invites all Christians to look at these oft-neglected epistles afresh.
—Stephen E. Fowl, professor of theology, Loyola College in Maryland
- Title: Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible: 1 & 2 Peter
- Author: Douglas Harink
- Editor: R. R. Reno
- Publisher: Baker
- Publication Date: 2009
- Pages: 224