Marathon Des Sables

Dubbed the toughest footrace on earth, Marathon Des Sables is a six-day marathon through the 50-degree Celsius heat of the Moroccan Sahara Desert. The race is 251 kilometers long (156 miles), the distance of six regular marathons. The participants carry their water and food for the whole day’s journey, and the organizers carry sleeping bags and medical supplies on camels. Each morning, when the race continues, contestants have one rule: If the camels coming at the back of the race passes them, they are out of the race. As tough as this race is, the contestants participate to win or finish the race to say they’ve conquered it.

Peter’s audiences were in a similar race, a spiritual race:

“Jesus Christ . . . whom, while not seeing, you loved him. In whom, not seeing but believing, you rejoice (ayalliao) with unspeakable joy while glorifying him and receiving the completion of your faith – the salvation of your souls.” (1 Pet 1:8–9)

Some grammar: “You loved” and “you rejoice” are the main verbs in this sentence. The rest are supporting participles – “not seeing,” “not seeing but believing,” and “glorifying and receiving.” Similarly, the phrase “while not seeing, you loved him” forms the background (aorist) to the rest of the sentence starting with “In whom, not seeing but believing” (present). And Peter repeated the cultic and emotional shout of joy, ayalliao, in this verse.

The believers in the diaspora had not seen Jesus, who lived and ministered in Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. They heard about him secondhandedly through apostles and relatives who visited them from those regions. Yet, they loved Jesus Christ. Peter commended that since he knew Jesus’s words to Thomas: “Blessed are those, not seeing, believe” (John 20:29).

Those Hebrew Christians, not seeing Jesus, loved him and believed in him, which led them to rejoice with unspeakable joy. It wasn’t their circumstances that gave them joy, but their love for Jesus and their faith in him. Their joy led them to glorifying him; glorifying him led them to receiving the completion of their faith. Peter said these participles in two grammar forms (perfect and present) that expressed these actions were regular ongoing events in the lives of his audiences. Those Hebrew Christians were regularly and faithfully glorifying Jesus Christ and continuously receiving the completion of their faith.

The word “completion” is telos, which means “the finishing line in a race.” They were reaching the finishing line of their faith. Their love of Jesus and faith in him led them to rejoice, glorify Jesus, and receive the goal of their faith.

The reward/prize for reaching the finish line was the salvation of their souls. When David was chased by Saul’s soldiers intending to kill him, he asked God to interfere.

“You come forth with your sword against those who are pursuing me,

And you tell my soul: ‘I am your salvation.’” (Ps 34:3)

This concept of saving a person’s soul referred to physical deliverance from trials and persecutions as well as spiritual deliverance that resulted in a reconciled and cherished life with God. God would deliver those Hebrew believers in their painful situation; even if not, their future with him was secured (cp. Daniel 3:17–18).

We, too, love Jesus and believe in him, although we have never seen him. We rejoice amidst trials and testing while continuing to praise him because that’s the way we receive temporal and eternal deliverance.