1 Peter 5:13 is a closing greeting. Peter sends best wishes from a congregation he calls “she who is in Babylon” and passes along warm regards from his companion Mark, whom he calls his son. The verse shows that the early church was a network of believers who stayed connected across distance, and that personal friendship was part of how the gospel spread.
Peter wrote the letter near the end of his life, to Christians scattered across what is now Turkey. The letter itself was likely carried by Silvanus, whom Peter names in the verse just before this one.
She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, greets you; and so does Mark, my son.
1 Peter 5:13 (WEB)
What 1 Peter 5:13 Means
The phrase “she who is in Babylon” is most often read as a code word for the church in Rome. Early Christians used Babylon as a symbol for a great, hostile empire, and Rome filled that role in their thinking. Peter is not describing the city of Babylon on the Euphrates. He is saying that a community of believers in the imperial capital sends its greetings. The word “she” refers to that church, personified as a woman, a common image in the New Testament for a gathered body of believers.
The phrase “chosen together with you” tells the readers that the Roman church shares their standing before God. Both groups are chosen, not by their own merit but by God’s call, a theme Peter has been developing since the opening chapter. The greeting is therefore not a formal courtesy between strangers. It is an expression of one family in Christ reaching out to another.
Mark, called “my son,” is most likely John Mark, the companion of Peter who is also traditionally linked to the Gospel of Mark. Peter’s word “son” points to affection and spiritual mentoring rather than biological kinship. The verse does not promise anything beyond this greeting. It simply records real people sending real warmth.
The Context of 1 Peter 5:13
First Peter is addressed to Christians living as outsiders in the provinces of Asia Minor, facing social pressure and some suffering for their faith. Peter writes to encourage them to stand firm, trust God’s grace, and live with hope. The closing section gathers those themes into a final charge: resist the devil, humble yourselves under God’s hand, and remember that the suffering is shared across the whole brotherhood.
Just before the greeting, Peter says that his letter is “the true grace of God in which you stand,” and in verse 10 he prays that God will perfect, establish, and strengthen his readers after their brief suffering. The greeting in verse 13 follows that prayer directly. It reminds the readers that they are not isolated. A church in the capital city is also standing in that same grace, and the greeting ties the scattered congregations into one body. Verse 14 then closes with a kiss of love and a blessing of peace.
Key Phrases in 1 Peter 5:13
Romans 16:16
Greet one another with a holy kiss. The assemblies of Christ greet you.
(WEB)
Paul sends greetings from the churches to one another in a similar way, showing that the early believers regularly exchanged warm, affectionate messages. Reading it alongside 1 Peter 5:13 shows how normal and important these greetings were in the life of the first Christians.
Philippians 1:3-5
3 I thank my God whenever I remember you, 4 always in every request of mine on behalf of you all, making my requests with joy, 5 for your partnership in furtherance of the Good News from the first day until now…
(WEB)
Paul describes his thankful remembrance of the Philippian believers and their partnership in the gospel. This passage expresses the same sense of shared mission that runs through Peter’s greeting, reminding readers that gospel fellowship is ongoing and personal.
A Short Prayer From 1 Peter 5:13
Father, thank you for the people you have placed in my life, including those I see every week and those I have not spoken with in years. Thank you that we are chosen together in your grace, and that no distance can break the bond you have made. Help me to reach out to my brothers and sisters with warmth and care, the way Peter did. Remind me to pray for churches I may never visit and believers I may never meet. Let my words of encouragement be a small way of showing that your family is one. Amen.
