The author of this letter is indentified in 1:1 as Peter, the disciple who became a church leader in the early church. Now, as with so many other biblical texts, scholars believe that this letter was actually written in Peter’s name by someone other than Peter. As with the letter of Hebrews and James, this letter was probably written to a wide audience and not just one faith community.


At the time that this letter was written, probably around 95-100 CE, the Christian community knew the experience of persecution and the author wrote this letter to offer hope and support to all believers. The letter reminds the readers that Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection provided new life to all believers. The author refers to Jesus as the “living stone” who although rejected by humans, was chosen by God and is precious in God’s sight (2:4-10). For this author Christ’s suffering is an example of the lives that Christians, too, will live. Through the example of Christ and his teachings, Christians know how to live. Christians are called to always do what is right, even if doing what is right causes fear and persecution (3:13-15). As this author notes, we Christians are to live their lives by the “will of God” (4:2).