1Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the chosen ones who are living as foreigners in the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that doesn’t fade away, reserved in Heaven for you, 5who by the power of God are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved in various trials, 7that the proof of your faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes, even though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ— 8whom, not having known, you love. In him, though now you don’t see him, yet believing, you rejoice greatly with joy that is unspeakable and full of glory, 9receiving the result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10Concerning this salvation, the prophets sought and searched diligently. They prophesied of the grace that would come to you, 11searching for who or what kind of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them pointed to when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow them. 12To them it was revealed that they served not themselves, but you, in these things, which now have been announced to you through those who preached the Good News to you by the Holy Spirit sent out from heaven; which things angels desire to look into.
13Therefore prepare your minds for action. Be sober, and set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ— 14as children of obedience, not conforming yourselves according to your former lusts as in your ignorance, 15but just as he who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all of your behavior, 16because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
17If you call on him as Father, who without respect of persons judges according to each man’s work, pass the time of your living as foreigners here in reverent fear, 18knowing that you were redeemed, not with corruptible things like silver or gold, from the useless way of life handed down from your fathers, 19but with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish or spot, the blood of Christ, 20who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was revealed in this last age for your sake, 21who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope might be in God.
22Seeing you have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth through the Spirit in sincere brotherly affection, love one another from the heart fervently, 23having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which lives and remains forever. 24For,
“All flesh is like grass,
and all of man’s glory like the flower in the grass.
The grass withers, and its flower falls;
25but the Lord’s word endures forever.”
This is the word of Good News which was preached to you.
Cappadocia (Kap-uh-doh’shee’-uh), located in modern-day Turkey, is an isolated and unique fertile plateau region intersected by mountain ranges in Eastern Asia Minor; it is east of Lake Tatta, west of the Euphrates River, south of Pontus, and north of the Taurus Mountains. Though the word itself “Cappadocia” is not recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures, Deuteronomy 2:23 and Amos 9:7 mention “Caphtor” or “Caphtorium” which has been rendered “Cappadocia” in the Septuagint, that is, the Greek translation of the Old Testament (LXX). Unfortunately, this rendering is a mistranslation. In the New Testament, we have a total of two references to this location. First, in Acts 2:5-13 we discover that some citizens of Cappadocia were amazed at hearing their own languages spoken on the day of Pentecost while visiting Jerusalem. Quite possibly, a Jewish community might have settled in Cappadocia as early as the second-century b.c. Second, Cappadocia was listed as among the regions the Apostle Peter addressed in his first letter in 1 Peter 1:1. Throughout its fascinating history, Cappadocia was mostly known to be rural with the notable urban centers being Mazaca/Caesarea and Tyana. Some scholars claim Cappadocia was the original homeland of the Philistines. As early as Hittite times, Cappadocia was divided into royal and temple estates. After 585 b.c., Cappadocia was brought under Assyrian, Persian, and Greek in successive rule. Then after this region came under the control of the Seleucids, Cappadocia was ruled by its own kings sometime after 255 b.c. This is evidenced, for example, by a letter to Ariarathes, a Cappadocia king in 1 Maccabees 15:22. But their independence was short-lived. Roman influence and power had already started to develop in the late second and first centuries b.c. Under Emperor Tiberius, Cappadocia became a Roman province in a.d. 17. Following the road from Tarsus, Christianity spread northward into Cappadocia. As a result, Christianity developed a strong presence by the 4th-century a.d.