Holding on to Hope - 1 Peter 3: 21-22

Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

Ladies, I love reading straight through a book of the Bible for so many reasons. One of the main reasons is that making the determination to read through a single book means that we can't skip over topics or sections just because they're tough. Let's be honest, if we weren't reading through the book of 1 Peter, we'd skip over the end of yesterday's passage along with the entirety of today. Well, I'd at least be tempted to.

What could the message of 1 Peter possibly have to do with Noah? The initial understanding isn't simple. Without the help of commentary, I'd be lost. Since we can't skip it, let's try to figure it out together. The first connection I noticed is that the story of Noah delivered a message of righteousness during a time of difficulty. From all that we've read about Peter's audience, it seems he was using this letter for the same purpose.

There's another connection to Noah's story that has to with baptism in 1 Peter. The Jewish people held the stories of Noah in high regard. They told and retold his story, and Peter saw the flood to be a picture of a Christian's baptism experience.

In his commentary, Be Hopeful, Warren Wierse said,

The flood pictures death, burial, and resurrection. The waters buried the earth in judgement, but they also lifted Noah and his family up to safety. The early church saw in the ark a picture of salvation. Noah and his family were saved by faith because they believed God and entered the ark of safety. So sinners are saved by faith when they trust Christ and become one with Him. (page 108)

Through this baptism, we get to identify with Jesus Christ, our Savior. This is our gift! This is our JOY, even in suffering, difficulty, or pesecution. In fact, identifying with our Savior often happens because of the difficulty, suffering, or persecution. Jesus knew no sin; yet, He chose to follow His Father's path to death. Through baptism (a symbol of His death & resurrection), we get to identify with our Jesus. What a beautiful picture.

These two verses are deep. There's a lot mentioned, and I could spend more time dividing them out in study. However, I think our time could be more beneficial if we sit and think on the message these verses share. I'm inviting you to read the same passage from The Message version and share where you see HOPE in this passage.

"You know, even though God waited patiently all the days that Noah built his ship, only a few were saved then, eight to be exact -- saved from the water by the water. The waters of baptism do that for you, not by washing away dirt from your skin but by presenting you through Jesus' resurrection before God with a clear conscience. Jesus has the last word on everything and everyone, from angels to armies He's standing right alongside God, and what he says goes." (1 Peter 3: 19-22)

Jesus, You are our only HOPE. Thank you for keeping Your word, for being obedient unto death, and for making a way for our salvation. I pray that you'll give us time over the weekend to revisit the truth of these verses. Help us to realize that (even in dysfunction and difficulty) we get to identify with you, and that is the greatest gift we could ever ask for.