1 Peter 1:1-2 - Labels

Intro to Topic

All of us know what it is like to be on the periphery. My wife and I found ourselves on the “outside” after we had been profoundly rejected by our congregation.

Or, maybe you had to leave your old home for a new one, an old job for a new job, an old school for a new school, you old spiritual home for a new one and now you are on the margins, alone and unsure. The future that used to seem so bright and clear, has now become dark and hazy.

The memory resurfaced when I was recently looking at photos from our ministry at our former congregation. As I gazed at the photos, amazing works that God did at this congregation, the lives transformed, I seemed to hear once again the faint echoes of accusations about my leadership in my office. My staff that just a week before was ready to take the world for the Messiah with me, had all of the sudden decided I was a despotic, forked-tongued pretender. People I loved and poured my life into, now stabbed me with their words. I was put on sabbatical, told I could not step foot on the campus of our congregation and within a couple of weeks voted out of my leadership position. All my previous years of faithful service to the congregation — as a youth leader, associate rabbi, and senior rabbi — no longer seemed to matter. On that first Saturday morning, during what was described as a “worship service,” our ears rang with the sound of rejection as we could only watch from our computer a live service where we saw people smiling, hugging and high-fiving our leaving.

Even though we may try to convince our family, friends and co-workers that everything we are okay underneath the surface it feels like the dark clouds and cold air of winter have set it.

Psychologist suggest that 80% of the conversations we have with ourselves our damaging. We echo comments like, “I am stupid,” “I can’t do anything right,” “I am never going to succeed,” or, “I just can’t handle this.” Deep down, it turns out that people are much more self-critical, pessimistic, and fearful than they let out in their conscious thoughts.

People believe they have brighter futures than do their peers—better health, more money, better behaved kids, less relationship problems, etc. Positivity bias extends beyond optimism to personality: people think that they are kinder, more trustworthy, and nobler than their peers, a phenomenon known as the “holier than thou” effect.

We dearly loved the people in that congregation. We had served them faithfully and sacrificially for more than five years. Two of our children were immersed while we there and our oldest was just weeks away from having her Bat Mitzvah there but did not get to. I will tell you very candidly that being rejected by that congregation is one of the most painful things I have ever been through. The pain of it still reverberates to this day. We were scarred deep down.

Have God’s people ever wounded you? Have you been made to feel that you were on the outside of God’s inner circle? Sought for mercy but instead found only judgment. Asked for forgiveness but only found rejection.

It is easy to agree with that rejection because we don’t think we are good enough for God, lovable enough for God, worthy enough to be on the inside anyway.Such thinking can be the result of having been mistreated in some way by those who call themselves by His name.

Or the treatment confirms what we had thought anyway. Psychologist say that as much as 80% of our self-chatter a day is negative, “I am failure,” “I will never succeed,” “I just don’t fit in here.” So when those who call call themselves God’s people reject us it seems to confirm our negative self-chatter

Rejection, disapproval, or abuse by God’s people can be devastating because if you and I are not careful, we may confuse God’s people with God. And God’s people don’t always act like God’s people should.

The 1st letter of Peter written by Shimon or Simon that was his Hebrew name when he first became a follower of Messiah Yeshua. And, he was part of the inner-circle of the twelve disciples. When he made his confession that Yeshua was the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, Yeshua changed his name to Cephas which is Aramaic for “Rock” which was later translated into Greek as Petras or as we know it as “Peter.”

Yeshua promised Peter that he would become a leader for the apostles in Jerusalem for the messianic movement during its earliest years. And that is what happened. But being a leader does not mean universal acceptance or even local acceptance. When you read the first 11 chapters of the book of Acts, Peter is rejected by his peers and leaders in the Jewish community, his life threatened by the local authorities and even scrutiny by the early leaders in the messianic community in Jerusalem for his visit to a Roman Centurion’s house, Cornelius.

This first letter of Peter was written after all the events of the book of Acts. Close to the end of Peter’s life when He is now living in exile in the city of Rome which Peter calls “Babylon.” Babylon the city of evil, the city of exile, the city where Daniel stood against Kings and Lions, the city where three Jewish boys entered a fire but were not burned because they were protected by a fourth in the fire. Babylon, Rome, the city of evil where an exile’s faith is tested.

Though Peter is the originator of the thoughts of the letter, the actual letter was written down by Silvanus. This letter is called a “circular letter” and was meant to be sent out to five different locations in Asia Minor where messianic followers of Yeshua had been dispersed. Peter is writing to an ethnically mixed audience made of Jews who became followers of Yeshua and non-Jews who were probably once proselytes in the synagogue or came to faith through these Jewish followers of Yeshua. These were early messianic congregations with a distinctive messianic Jewish; that on the one hand, were deep in the heart of the Roman Empire; but on the other hand, were at the furthest extremities from Jerusalem.

These people were mixed ethnically and mixed socially. Some were slaves, some were masters, some were Roman citizens, some were not citizens, some wealthy, some poor, some some were parents, some were children but all of them, no matter their ethnicity, their social status, all were being persecuted by some God’s people, some by Rome’s people and some by both.

Peter was God’s man to write this letter. Peter had faced all this rejection and was facing this rejection. He was a fellow exile in Rome.

Gods’s people, in the synagogue, that he grew up were now calling him a traitor to his religion, a plague on society, a problem the Pharisees wanted to eliminate. The government that he lived under, Rome, called him a criminal, outlaw and unbeliever.

But, not all labels have to stick.

Peter rips the labels off. He flips the script on the negative and hateful labels the ones that said: outcast, rejected, heretics, pretenders, fakes and frauds. He says we are not on the run like criminals. We are like Abraham, sojourners in the world, not a criminal living in exile.

Peter uses a Hebrew idea that comes from the word, “ger.” The “gēr” the sojourner are always in a vulnerable position to the dominant society. Abraham called himself a sojourner in though he was living in the land of promise. Israel was called a sojourner while staying in Egypt. In God tells Israel they will always be a sojourner while on planet earth because they are merely tenants in the land of Canaan. says that as long as we are longer for a better home than this current earth we are sojourners looking for a heavenly city, a heavenly Jerusalem. Peter says you are not a criminal like Cain wandering the earth, you are a sojourner like Abraham who is looking for a better city, a better empire, a better peace that does not come from this world but from heaven above.

gēr

Peter says to these disciples, you are not heretics, nor rejected by God but chosen. Yeshua said in , “you did not choose me but I chose you” to be chosen according to is to be a “treasured possession.”

And none of this was by accident but God knew about it in advance. The Message translation of says it like this, “Not one is missing, not one forgotten. God the Father has his eye on each of you...”

Not one is missing, not one forgotten. God the Father has his eye on each of you...”He wanted to show a world his real treasure, you. Don’t be surprised if God’s people don’t view you as God’s treasure, says, “the stone which the builders rejected - this One has become the chief cornerstone.” Yeshua said in , “If they have called the head of the house beelzebul, how much more the members of his household.” Labels only stick if allow them to. Which labels are you allowing to stick: chosen, treasured, sojourner like Abraham; or, outcast, reject, unwanted, beelzebul?

Peter says to these disciple, “you are God’s real treasure.” Don’t be surprised if God’s people and Rome’s servants don’t view you as God’s treasure, says, “the stone which the builders rejected - this One has become the chief cornerstone.” Yeshua said in , “If they have called the head of the house beelzebul, how much more the members of his household.”

Eugene H. Peterson, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2005), .He wanted to show a world his real treasure, you. Don’t be surprised if God’s people don’t view you as God’s treasure, says, “the stone which the builders rejected - this One has become the chief cornerstone.” Yeshua said in , “If they have called the head of the house beelzebul, how much more the members of his household.” Labels only stick if allow them to. Which labels are you allowing to stick: chosen, treasured, sojourner like Abraham; or, outcast, reject, unwanted, beelzebul?

People will put all kinds of bad labels on you. The labels did not stick to Yeshua, they will not stick to you. A good friend of mine once said to me, “Michael, time and truth walk in hand-in-hand. Don’t worry all the false labels will come down.”

My wife has this orchid. When she first got it, it had these beautiful purple flowers on it. Then as the flowers died all that was left was two sticks. I told her the plant was done. It was dead. It was not worth keeping. I told her to throw it out. It was trash.

She smiled and said, “no.” She said it will produce flowers in season just wait. Weeks turned to months and I started to make fun of the plant. I called it sticks, I mocked my wife’s faith in the dead sticks to produce flowers. Then at just the right time, it started producing little bulbs that bloomed to flowers once again. None of my labels stuck because the plant did what the plant was supposed to do.

None of the labels that have been placed on you will stick either because you are set apart by the Holy Spirit for obedience producing good fruit and when you fail, when you sin you are also set apart to be forgiven, for the sprinkling with the blood of Yeshua the Messiah. God’s people may have put hateful and negative labels on you, Rome’s citizens may have done the same but they do not have to stick to you. You have been given better labels by God: chosen, sojourner like Abraham, a treasure, a doer, forgiven.

What Peter wants for these persecuted followers of Yeshua is what he wants for you: grace and shalom to be multiplied. Grace to be accepted just as you are. Shalom to have all of your life fit together and make sense. Multiplied, pressed down, shaken together and pouring out into your life.

Peter experienced grace before he ever knew its definition. The grace of Yeshua that never once brought up how Peter denied him three times. Never once brought up Peter’s failure to stay loyal when it counted the most. Yeshua’s grace to Peter was to accept him just as he was and to believe he could be even more than he was. He could be that leaders of leaders and this was how his life would make sense.

Which labels are you allowing to stick: chosen, treasured, sojourner like Abraham; or, outcast, reject, unwanted, beelzebul?

Have you been hurt by God’s people? Have they put labels on you that have hurt you and brought your down?

Have you been hurt by Rome’s people? Had them label you?

Rejection, disapproval, or abuse by God’s people or Rome’s servants is devastating. Don’t confuse the abuse of God’s people or Rome’s servants with God. Unfortunately, God’s people don’t always act like God’s people should and the servants of Rome are just doing what Rome wants.

What will it take for you and I to heal from these wounds? What if you could hear the words of 1 Peter as if they were being written specifically to you. Not to your friend, not even to your spouse but what if they were written to you.

Peter, the leader of leaders. That guy who had an imperfect track record but was still Yeshua’s man. That guy is talking to you telling you that all those false labels can’t stick on you. Peter is saying to you: you are on a journey like Abraham, you are so special to God, He sees you as a treasure on planet earth, you are dearly loved, you are watched over, you are filled with His Spirit, you are forgiven. But he does not stop and he says, “All I want for you is for you to know that you are not guilty as charged, you are totally accepted by God. Your life is not going to spiral out of control. Your life is going to be whole and make sense. And this is something that you are going to experience over-and-over again.”

Peter is speaking to you who have been wounded by God’s people, hurt by Rome’s servants.

When my wife and I found ourselves on the “outside” after we had been profoundly rejected by our congregation, one of my heroes of the faith spoke into my life. This is a person I have immense respect for. He is a leader of leaders today in our world. In the midst of all hurt, all the false labels being put on me and my wife, he said to me, “Michael, none of them are true. These labels are false. There treatment of you wretched. You are man of integrity, grace and zeal for Messiah’s kingdom. Don’t let their words bring you down.”

Those words were like the rays of the sun breaking through dark storm clouds. They had a way of destroying all the false labels, had a way of stopping all the negative self-chatter. Those words brought life to my soul.

Peter’s words are to you who are suffering at the hands of God’s people or Rome’s servants or both. His words are meant to be life for you. Breath them into your heart: sojourner like Abraham, chosen, treasured, loved, not forgotten, filled not empty, forgiven not judged, accepted not rejected, whole not in pieces.

Do you hear his words to you? Then you should hear him saying, “you are not on the outside, you are right in the will of God.”