Author and theologian Douglas Harink (professor of theology, The King’s University College) has produced a simple yet concise commentary on 1 and 2 Peter. A few hundred pages in length, what I most appreciate about this new release (2019) is its to the point nature. I’m quite excited with this commentary series so far in that it may act as a bridge since a great number of Christians are turned off by the more technical commentaries out there. This commentary is great for those who want to whet their appetite but are hesitant to jump in head first.
On the authorship of 2 Peter…
The author assumes 2 Peter to be written by Peter, though he acknowledges differences between 1 and 2 Peter. I myself find no good reason to discount 2 Peter as being written by another.
I enjoyed the author’s short treatment of Satan in Peter’s epistle (1 Peter 5:8: “Be alert and of sober mind: your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour”). Harink finds that Satan is on the constant prowl against God’s people–the local community of faith–to disrupt its shalom. The community of faith must “resist the dangerous power of the devil to persuade us that there are better ways to triumph over evil than through the sufferings of Christ” (p. 128). We tend to think of Satan trying to influence us toward pride and lust and the more obvious vices, and while we can be sure that Satan will tempt us in any way he can, he often resorts to subtlety. Satan is often at work in our world and communities “through our very desires and actions for justice, good order, peace, and progress.” All the more reason to “stand firm in the faith” (5:9), which has to do with loyalty to Christ and the pattern/model of selfless suffering that he lays out for us to emulate.
Overall a great resource to have to aid one’s personal study of Petrine literature and a great resource for sermon preparation.
Thank you, Brazos Press, for the copy!
Questions That Matter 
January 16, 2020 at 3:01 pm
Thanks for the review Paul. It seems to me that Satan in the NT serves primarily to instigate persecution against Christians that they might deny their confession. Satan has much more to do with belief in Jesus’ exaltation and kingdom to the point of death than he does with personal sins like lust and pride.
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January 18, 2020 at 9:09 pm
Great observations! Though the NT was formed while Christians were a persecuted minority. I wonder if Satan hits Christians who are the majority differently than he hits those who are the persecuted minority (that is, does he have different tactics for American Christians than he does for Christians in the Middle East?).
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January 19, 2020 at 9:46 am
Definitely, I think you hit the nail on the head. Thinking about sin in general, and the Devil in particular, I think the NT emphasizes two things 1) the desire to accomodate to a hostile pagan culture through idolatry and fornication, and 2) the desires of the flesh that disrupt community life, especially when that community is under pressures from the outside (cf. Galatians 5:19-21). Paul seems to have thought the physical existence of these communities was at risk from infighting and pride, not just their spiritual existence in the age to come and in their witness among tbe pagans (Galatians 5:15).
When Christianity became a majority religion in Christendom, there was a bit of a shift in how sin and Satan were viewed since their was no pagan culture to accomodate to, no threat of communal dissolution, and no pressing need to witness to nonbelievers in their midst. Different circumstances.
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January 21, 2020 at 9:15 pm
Great observations! Galatians is very profound; one of my favorite books of the Bible.
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