Flashback to Gethsemane

Jesus, Peter, and his fellow disciples had three cups of wine during the Passover meal, and it was late at night when they reached Gethsemane, an olive orchard up a hill. Wine, walking uphill, and the lateness of night made it difficult for Peter to keep his eyes open and pray, as his friend Jesus, who was grieving to the point of his death, had asked him to. Peter kept falling asleep. “Your spirit desires to stay awake, Peter, but your flesh is weak,” said his master, Jesus.

Years later, Peter remembered those words. He said to his congregation,

“Beloved, I ask you – those living away from your home and those living away from your people – set aside fleshly desires that are waging war against the soul. Have a changed lifestyle among the nations (Gentiles) so that those who speak evil of you, saying you are evil workers, may see your good works and glorify God while they observe you in the daytime.” (1 Pet 2:11–12)

Hebrews, like Peter and Jesus, considered soul and spirit as synonyms and interchangeable unseeable elements that were opposite to one’s seeable flesh. In truth, one’s spirit/soul constantly waged war with one’s flesh. Just as Jesus asked Peter to side with his spirit and fight against his flesh, Peter wanted his Hebrew congregation to side with their souls and fight against their fleshly desires.

They were those living away from their home and living away from their people (Peter alliterated the opening line: parakalo . . . parikous . . . parepidimus “I ask . . . away-from-home . . . away-from-people”). Further, they lived among the nations or Gentiles who spoke evil of them, saying, “Those Hebrews do evil deeds.” The congregation’s submission to their fleshly desires would prove the Gentiles true. But if they sided with their spirit and waged war against their fleshly desires, they would prove the Gentiles false. Peter wanted them to side with their spirit and do good works so the Gentiles would see it and glorify God.

Peter’s final phrase is slightly complicated, “in the day of episkopi.” Coming from the preposition “upon or over” (epi) and the noun “lookout or sentry” (skopos), it often referred to someone watching over something, like a shepherd watching over his flock. As such, the scriptures use it for an administrator (Ps 108:8) or a leader in the church (Acts 20:28; Phil 1:1; 1 Tim 3:1; Titus 1:7; 1 Pet 2:12; 5:2). Twice, the scriptures referred to God as the observer: Luke 19:44 and here (1 Pet 2:12). Although it could be translated as “in the day of visitation,” the best translation is “in the daytime while they observe,” meaning when the nations observed them during the day (opposite to nighttime when the vision wasn’t clear), they saw good works and praised God for the Hebrew believers.

Peter had failed to heed Jesus’s request to side with his spirit and fight against the flesh. He didn’t want his readers to do the same. Instead, he wanted them to side with their spirit and fight against their fleshly desires. That way, they would do good for the nations to see and praise God instead of falsely calling the Hebrews ‘doers of evil deeds.’

I regularly find that my spirit and soul want to do what is right, holy, and righteous, but my flesh isn’t very cooperative. When I remember the Lord’s exhortation – “stay awake and pray” – I find the strength to wage war against my flesh’s desire and somewhat win.