The recipients of Peter’s letter
were experiencing various kinds of trials and varying degrees of persecution,
so Peter writes primarily to reassure and comfort them through their trials.
The letter’s purpose is outlined in 1 Peter 1:13, a verse which shapes the
discourse, and urges them to be holy even as God is holy (Lev 19:2). The following
pericope (1 Pet 1:13-2:10), which has just been cited, is an expansion on what
it means for Peter’s audience to be a holy people. . . . this priesthood who
are under the high priest of Jesus, have all the hallmarks of the Levitical priesthood.
They are to have a ministry of proclamation, teaching both the people of God
and the Gentiles about God’s greatness (1 Pet 2:9), they are landless (1 Pet
2:11) at least until the day of visitation. They are as slaves ransomed by Christ
(1 Pet 1:18) and they are to be holy, offering sacrifices through Jesus Christ
(1 Pet 2:5). (Nicholas Haydock, The Theology of the Levitical Priesthood:
Assisting God’s People in Their Mission to the Nations [Eugene, Oreg.: Wipf
and Stock, 2015], 72-73)
The footnote to the above reads:
The metaphor of sacrifice is also
used elsewhere in the New Testament (Rom 12:1; Heb 13:15-16), to refer to the
practice of offering praise, doing good works, and offering oneself. (Ibid., 73
n. 33)