Echoes of Jesus in the First Epistle of Peter

Book excerpt: How did the words of Jesus influence the writing of 1 Peter? That is the question that is at the heart of this study. Of course, the answer is complicated by the fact that 1 Peter nowhere directly references the words of Jesus. Nevertheless, the impact of his words are evident throughout the letter. The first third of the book lays the foundation for answering the question by giving clear and concise criteria for identifying places where 1 Peter uses the words of Jesus. The rest of the book walks through the text of 1 Peter section by section, submitting each potential echo of Jesus's words to the criteria previously developed. The book concludes by considering how the words of Jesus influenced the themes and content of the letter.