To The Strangers … (11/2/25)

To The Strangers … (11/2/25)

             Peter’s first letter was not addressed to one person or one church as Paul often did. Peter addressed a region of the world where multitudes of Christians lived. He wrote to the “strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” (I Pet. 1:1).

             Christians tend to “read past” these words and move on to other things, but I wish we would not do that. These places were significant and played key roles in the history of Christianity. Let us take a brief survey of each of these places and note their significance in Biblical history.

             Pontus was the northernmost city on Peter’s list. It sat on the southern edge of the Black Sea. It is located in a region known as Anatolia today (in modern-day Turkey). Pontus was first mentioned in Acts 2:9, and thus this place would have been home to some of the first Christian converts (Acts 2:38-41, 47). Later, we see that Aquila also came from this area (Acts 18:2).

 Galatia is well-known to Christians, for we not only read about them here, but an entire book of the Bible was written to them by the apostle Paul. We read of the first converts in that area in Acts 13-14. The exact number of churches in this area is unknown, but it is evident that at the time of Peter’s writing, Christians were present and in need of instruction.

 Cappadocia is still referred to by this name today. This city is located in Nevşehir Province, Turkey. It is south of Pontus and east of Galatia. Cappadocia was another city mentioned in Acts 2:9. Thus, when the Jews from Cappadocia came to Jerusalem for Pentecost, they would have been among the first exposed to the truth (Acts 2:22-36).

             Asia was located to the west of Galatia and is commonly known as “Asia Minor.” This term does not refer to the continent known as Asia today. This land is home to the seven cities/churches named in Revelation 2-3. It is mentioned no less than 20 times in Scripture. Again, people from Asia were there in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:9), among other places.

             Bithynia was the last place mentioned in I Peter 1:1. This area was north of Asia (Minor) and west of Pontus. It is located to the east of modern-day Istanbul. What I find fascinating is that the only other time we read about this area is when we read about God telling Paul not to go there (Acts 16:7)! We will never know the reason why Paul was not allowed to go to this area (Deut. 29:29), but in God’s plan, someone was allowed to go there and preach the truth to those people (I Cor. 1:21). The reason we know that Christians were in Bithynia is because of Peter’s words addressing this epistle to them!

             This article provides an overview of the five areas mentioned in I Peter 1:1, but is it not fascinating to consider these people and their place in Bible history? God has not forgotten about them! God inspired Peter to write to “the strangers scattered throughout” those areas where the gospel had come and converted numerous Jews and Gentiles.

             Passages like this can teach many lessons, but one I want to emphasize is that God’s people are not forgotten. These folks might have been “strangers” to Peter, but not to God (II Tim. 2:19)! The same is true with us today. Just as a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without the Lord, so also we are known and loved by God.

 - Jarrod M. Jacobs