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Easter Season · Third Sunday of Easter · Year A

1 Peter 1:17-23

Born Anew Through the Living Word

April 19, 2026

The Sacrificial Lamb, Josefa de Ayala (Josefa de Óbidos)
The Sacrificial Lamb, Josefa de Ayala (Josefa de Óbidos), c. 1670Walters Art Museum
A Portuguese painter, one of very few women running her own workshop in the seventeenth century. A bound lamb lies on a slab with flowers scattered round it, alive and looking out.You were ransomed with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish.Walters Art MuseumA father-and-son collection given to the city of Baltimore, running from Egypt to Art Nouveau, and free to enter.Walters Art Museum
Revised Common Lectionary
GospelLuke 24:13-35Lk 24:13-35
Epistle1 Pet. 1:17-231 Pt 1:17-23
Old TestamentActs 2:14a, 36-41
PsalterPs. 116:1-4, 12-19Ps 116:1-4, 12-19

Overview & Insights

“You have been born anew… through the living and enduring word of God.” (1 Peter 1:23)

This section is widely thought to preserve material shaped for the instruction of the newly baptized, which suits its place in the weeks after Easter. Its governing image is exile: the readers live as sojourners (v. 17) and have been ransomed out of an inherited way of life, the verb belonging both to the market for freeing slaves and to the exodus. The standard set for the lamb, without blemish or spot (v. 19), is the Passover requirement of Exodus 12. Where the paragraph ends is what distinguishes this longer form, since verses 22 and 23 turn from what was paid to what was produced, a purified obedience issuing in unfeigned love of the brethren, and a new birth from imperishable seed through the abiding word of God. The scripture chosen to illustrate that word, Isaiah 40:6-8, follows immediately.

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Take it further: 1 Peter 1:17-23

Commentary

Commentary on 1 Peter 1:17-23Commentary on 1 Pt 1:17-23 Working Preacher (Luther Seminary)

Lutheran reading of the indicative-imperative structure of Peter's baptismal exhortation.

1 Peter 1:17-23 Commentary1 Pt 1:17-23 Commentary Center for Excellence in Preaching

Reformed preaching commentary on the perishable-versus-imperishable contrast in the text.

The First Letter of Peter - The Gift and Call of God in Baptism Agape Bible Study

Catholic lesson on new birth and baptism covering this passage.

1 Peter 1 Resources1 Pt 1 Resources Precept Austin

Evangelical verse-by-verse resource hub for the chapter containing this reading.

1 Peter 1 - Coffman's Commentaries1 Pt 1 - Coffman's Commentaries StudyLight.org

Additional commentary voice on the call to holy conduct in verses 17-23.

Background & Word Study

1 Peter 1 Interlinear1 Pt 1 Interlinear BibleHub

Greek interlinear for word study of 'imperishable seed' and related terms.

Book of 1 Peter SummaryBook of 1 Pt Summary BibleProject

Overview video situating this exhortation within the letter's design.

The Church Fathers

Catena on 1 Peter 1Catena on 1 Pt 1 catenabible.com

Patristic comments on the chapter containing this reading.

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