‘God was patient while Noah was building the ark. He waited, but only a few people went into the ark. A total of eight were saved through water. The water of the flood is a picture of the baptism that now saves you also.’ (1 Peter 3:20–21).
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, send us your Holy Spirit to open our ears to hear your preached Word. Comfort us by your promise that, through baptism with Jesus, we are saved through water. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
The story of Noah’s Ark is the quintessential children’s Bible story. Still today, a wooden boat with animals is a common toy found in baby nurseries around the world. What do you think of when you hear Noah’s story? When I hear this story I tend to think about God’s judgement through the flood; the promise of the rainbow; or perhaps some modern, scientific questions that come to mind. I do not typically think of baptism.
Yet, St Peter sees a connection between Noah’s story and our story in baptism. As he writes his letter of encouragement to the churches scattered around the Roman provinces in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey), Peter uses the word picture (or metaphor) of Noah being saved through water to illustrate baptism.
How metaphors work is that we understand one domain by connecting it with another. Concepts from one area are mapped to concepts in another area — giving new insight, new meaning, new knowledge. So Peter makes connections between Noah and baptism, revealing to us the truth of salvation. We could pick up a whole number of connections, but let’s concentrate on four.
(1) Water. First, Peter connects the flood waters to baptismal water. In Genesis chapter 6 we hear that the human race is filled with ‘great wickedness’ (Genesis 6:5) and that ‘the earth was corrupt’ (Genesis 6:11). This word ‘corrupt’ is related to the word for ‘slime pit’ — a deep pit full of putrid, rotting liquid. We could perhaps picture the world as a drop dunny on the side of a highway. It grieves God, but he decides sends the flood to ‘wipe [clean] the face of the earth’ (Genesis 6:7; 7:4). Rather shockingly, this “natural” disaster is directly related to human violence and wickedness. See, everything on earth is interconnected; human sin affects everything else: ourselves and our bodies, other people (like family members), our communities, even the earth itself (just think of pollution and climate change). God is grieved to judge the world by sending the flood (Genesis 6:6–7), but the snowballing effect of sin must be dealt with. Peter connects these flood waters with the waters of baptism. Our putrid, rotting corruption — our sin — is drowned and washed away in baptism. The snowballing effects of sin are dealt with, as Jesus gives his blood on the cross to wash you clean. Just as the wickedness and corruption of humanity is drowned in the flood waters, your wickedness is drowned in the waters of baptism. Just as the corrupt earth is wiped clean in the flood, you too are wiped clean in baptism. During our last confirmation lesson before COVID-19 restrictions, I invited the young people to mark a piece of paper with crosses to symbolize our sin: mistakes, things we were ashamed of, hurtful words, etc. Then we gathered around the baptismal font and drowned the bits of paper to show that ‘baptism saves you now also’ (1 Peter 3:21) — baptism is the way God deals with the sin of the world.
(2) Struggle. Next, Peter connects the struggle of Noah surviving the water with the struggle of the Christian life. The ancient Jewish people were not a seafaring nation — they weren’t very confident on large boats or the ocean. Deep waters or storms were for them symbols of chaos, trial, and struggle. Likewise, the scattered churches that Peter writes to are suffering: they’re being insulted and put to shame, treated unfairly, perhaps even beaten. Even though they do right, they were being treated as if they’d done wrong. Two weeks ago we heard how Peter encouraged his readers that they are following in the steps of their Shepherd (1 Peter 2:21) — Jesus suffered, so Christians can also expect to suffer as they follow in his steps. The storm and deep waters rage against us still today. What are you struggling with at this time? Are you in the midst of a storm, with thunder and lightning crashing around you, cold rain beating against you? Do you feel like a tiny boat tossed around on the dark seas? Peter encourages his hearers today that Christ also suffered. ‘Christ suffered for sins once and for all time. The One who did what is right died for those who don’t do right’ (1 Peter 3:18). Life on the ark is a struggle, but God has entered into your struggle — through Jesus, God himself suffers in order to deal with our suffering, once and for all time.
(3) Ark. Third, Peter connects the ark and baptism. Noah and his family are saved through the water on the ark. God remembered Noah, rescuing him and his family, plucking them out from the flood waters. I remember once as a child visiting the Brisbane City Botanical Gardens with my family. My sister must have been a toddler — about 2 or 3 years old. There was a path beside a pond. The water was so flat that it must have looked like a solid surface next to the path. So my sister walked straight out onto the pond. But of course it wasn’t solid, and she couldn’t walk on water, so I watched her sink. I remember standing there as the fear gripped me. I was dumbstruck — I couldn’t move, speak, or even make a sound. For a few seconds I just stuck, staring. Suddenly my Mum, who must have been some metres away, rushed over. She thrust her hand into the water and pulled my sister out of the water by the scruff of her neck and collar. Dripping wet, my sister was alive — saved through the water. The ark is God’s way of grabbing Noah and saving him through the water. Likewise in baptism, God grabs you from under the water by the scruff of your neck, and saves you. The beauty of metaphor is that it’s often ambiguous, with multiple interacting meanings. So what exactly does the ark correspond to in baptism: Jesus, the cross, the tomb, the Word, the church? It’s probably all of these! The point is that God has saved you, he provides the ark to pluck you safely from the water.
(4) Promise. Last, Peter connects the promise that God makes with Noah and the promise of baptism. God promises never to engage in such a destructive act again. “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.” (Genesis 8:21). God establishes a covenant (a promise), and gives the rainbow as a sign and seal. After the flood, life begins again. But humankind is still corrupt. Creation has not changed. It is set against God’s will. Even after the flood, we hear God say that “every inclination of the human heart is still evil” (Genesis 8:21). But God does an about face, he repents. God resolves that he will stay with the world. He won’t leave it. So he sets limits on himself — he won’t ever deal with sin that way again. Instead he will deal with sin through the suffering of his Son. ‘The One who did what is right died for those who don’t do right. He suffered and died to bring you to God.’ (1 Peter 3:18). Because of this, you have the promise of a clear conscience with God. The chaos of the water is the not the last word. In baptism we have the sure promise of something new to come. New hearts. New life. New hope. A new future.
My challenge to you this week is to remember your baptism. Find a photo. Talk with your family about your baptism, and what it means to you. Your baptism is not just some ritual in the distant past when you were splashed with water, removing dirt from your body. It is a symbol and sure promise that God is with you, he will stay with you, he won’t leave you, and he has saved you through water. Your sin was and is drowned each day. You were buried with Christ in the tomb of the flood waters, but were plucked out, alive. During struggles, cling to the cross, the Word, the church. God has made you a promise: through the death and resurrection of Jesus, the wickedness and corruption of all the earth is washed away in a flood. He promises you a clear conscience, today — now and forever. You are saved through the water. Live each day as new people in this promise. Amen.
