The Shepherd of Babylon

I Peter 5:13 says, “The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son.”

The shepherds play a wonderful part in the Christmas story. They were given an angelic message, acted upon it, and found the baby Jesus. They went out and witnessed abroad the good news. Their names were not given, but I suppose we could call them the Shepherds of Bethlehem.

I want us to reflect for a moment on a shepherd we do know much about—Peter. He first appears as a fisherman, something he could never get out of his blood (John 21:3). It was through Peter’s brother, Andrew, a disciple of John the Baptist, that Peter heard about Jesus. Andrew told him, “…We have found the Messias” (John 1:41). When Peter met Jesus, his name was changed from “Simon the son of Jona” to “Cephas,” which means “a stone.” 

We know much about Peter the fisherman, one of the closest disciples, often looked at as the leader of the twelve. Let us look how Peter the fisherman became Peter the shepherd. In John 21, we see how after the resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias (Galilee). Seven of them were there. Peter declared that he was going fishing—the rest followed. After fishing all night, they caught zippo, zero. In the morning, Jesus appeared on the shore and commanded them to cast their net on the right side of the ship. The result was a full net, 153 great fish. The number was not incidental. In that day there were 153 Gentile nations. The Decapolis, on the east side of the Sea of Galilee, represented those nations. Jesus was showing them the great harvest the Gentiles were.

Before dining at Jesus’ fire, Peter alone went and gathered the net of fish. After the meal, Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him. He called him “Simon son of Jonas” not “Cephas.” When He said, “…lovest thou me more than these,” He could have meant more than these other disciples, or more than the great number of fish he had gathered. Remember, before Peter denied Christ three times, he boasted that he would not deny Christ, even if the other disciples did (Mark 14:29). 

My choice is fish. I do think Peter remembered his denial. Then Jesus gave Peter a threefold commission, “Feed my lambs…feed my sheep…feed my sheep” (John 21:15-17). He then told him to “follow me.” Peter then asked, “What shall this man do?” (meaning John). Jesus’ response was “What is that to thee? Follow me” (V. 22).

Peter went on to fulfill all three commissions. First he led the early church after Pentecost—the lambs so to speak. After Paul came on the scene, the record is mainly about him; his trials, his missionary journeys, the churches he started, and the letters he wrote to them. Peter’s two little letters at the back of the New Testament say little about himself. We do see that he was feeding the sheep (the second commission) at Babylon—the Jews that were left after the dispersion. His third commission was fulfilled in his two letters written to the churches Paul had started (I Peter 1:1), and to all Christians of like faith (II Peter 1:1).

In our text, Peter signs off as the “church that is at Babylon,” and “Marcus my son,” not himself. There is still a church in the Babylon area today (Google), thanks to Peter, the Shepherd of Babylon!