“To the older men among you I give this exhortation, for I too am an older man with them and a witness of the sufferings of the Christ, a sharer even of the glory that is to be revealed:

1 Peter 5:1-3.

4. How does Peter’s language show that he did not exalt himself above the elders to whom he was writing?

⁴ We can rejoice that there are Christian men who want to conform to the apostle Peter’s counsel. In providing spiritual help to members of the congregation, they render assistance in the same spirit as that shown by the apostle. Love for God and their brothers motivates them. Note that Peter did not exalt himself over the elders whom he was exhorting or encouraging. He spoke of himself as “an older man with them,” that is, as a ‘fellow elder.’ The apostle thus referred to himself as a brother who had a sympathetic understanding of their position as elders in the congregation. Such a sympathetic attitude in dealing with fellow believers makes an elder a real blessing to his brothers.

5. How was Peter a “witness of the sufferings of the Christ”?

⁵ The words of Peter also show that he recognized the weighty responsibility that had been entrusted to him. He identified himself as a “witness of the sufferings of the Christ, a sharer even of the glory that is to be revealed.” Peter knew firsthand about the way in which the Son of God was reviled, physically abused and finally nailed to a stake. He was a direct spectator and saw the resurrected Jesus Christ and his ascension to heaven. And in his second letter he says:

“It was not by following artfully contrived false stories that we acquainted you with the power and presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, but it was by having become eyewitnesses of his magnificence. For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when words such as these were borne to him by the magnificent glory: ‘This is my son, my beloved, whom I myself have approved.’ Yes, these words we heard borne from heaven while we were with him in the holy mountain.”​—2 Peter 1:16-18; compare Matthew 16:28–17:9.

6. Why did the elders whom Peter addressed have good reason to heed his words?

⁶ Surely, the elders to whom Peter was directing his encouragement had good reason to pay attention to the words of a fellow elder who could speak of himself as a ‘witness of Christ’s suffering and a sharer of the glory to be revealed.’ Not only did the apostle appeal to them in a humble manner but his own example was worthy of imitation, for, as the Bible record shows, actively and at times with considerable danger to himself, he made known to others the things of which he was an eyewitness.​—Acts 2:22-38; 4:8-12, 19, 20; 5:29-32.