18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. 19 After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— 20 to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.
For the first Sunday of Lent this year, the first and second readings focus on water with both referring to Noah. In the epistle, Peter writes of Christ’s sufferings and their impact. His basic point is that Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection redeemed us, but they also provide an example to all Christians for how we are to behave and give us the strength to lead such a life. Jesus’ sufferings were not in vain and neither are ours. Peter tells us that: “He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.” Although he suffered an excruciating death, Jesus did not remain dead. Furthermore, he entered the world of the dead and offered them salvation. In these verses, Peter looks at the consequences of the resurrection and presents Christ now as triumphantly sitting at God the Father’s right hand. Heaven is now under his authority and so, ultimately, will be everything. This is the basis of Christian hope. Note that immediately Peter writes that Jesus suffered for both the righteous and the unrighteous. He also refers to the Suffering Servant in Isaiah.
Which brings us to the point that Christ’s sufferings finally were not just like those of other Christians for they were “for sins”. His sacrifice also occurred once for all and there is no need for a repetition. He did this to bring humanity to God. Paul calls Jesus the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. Because of his action, death was defeated for good. As Donald Senior puts it: “The resurrection of Christ… demonstrates that Christians are no longer trapped within the bounds of mortality imposed by the ‘flesh’ but also, through the power of God, can live fully in the ‘spirit.’” But his ultimate triumph is through the Ascension and his seat at God’s right hand. This victory over persecution, suffering and all threatening forces is complete and so Christians know that ultimately nothing can harm them.
Peter then turns to baptism, which allows us to experience redemption, and he compares it to Noah. God had gotten fed up with the evil of humanity and decided to destroy the world. However, he waited patiently for a good man and his family to finish the ark. Then they were saved through water. The water of baptism saves us not by cleaning our body but by opening us to God’s redemptive work. Our inner life is purified, and we are in a way reborn. This is made possible by Jesus’ suffering, death, resurrection and triumph, all of which he did for us.
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