1 Peter 5:1

‘Elders’ are the leaders of local churches. It does not mean that they are very old people. They have much experience as Christians and are wise and mature. In 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9 there is a list of the qualities that an elder should have. Peter was an elder. He had experience of all the things that he writes about. He wants to encourage other elders and to help them to do their work better. Peter was one of the 12 *apostles, so he saw everything that happened to Jesus. At first, he was afraid to suffer when the soldiers arrested Jesus. He even said that he did not know Jesus (Luke 22:54-62). Later he was much bolder. *Jewish priests put him into prison because he continued to teach about Jesus (Acts 5:17-42). We know from other early writers that Peter died as a Christian. He knew that he would take part in the *glory when Jesus comes back. He had already seen some of the *glory of Jesus when he was on a mountain with him (Matthew 17:1-13).