1.
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our
Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The
message from God’s Word this 6th Sunday of Easter is taken from 1
Peter 3:13-22, it’s entitled, “Witnesses to Hope,” dear brothers and
sisters in Christ.
2.
There’s an old Chinese parable about
a poor man who lived with his son in an abandoned fort. One day the horse they
owned and depended on to haul vegetables to town—their sole means of
support—ran away. When the neighbors heard about it they went to the old man
and expressed their sympathy. “Too bad,” they said. “How do you know
it’s bad?” the old man responded. “The horse returned and brought back
with him a dozen wild horses.” The neighbors said, “This is good!” “How
do you know if it’s good?” he: asked. “When my son tried to tame the
horses he broke his leg.” “Bad,” they said, “very bad.” “How do you know
that?” the old man replied. “Shortly afterward a war broke out, but my
son was laid up and did not have to go to the front.”
3.
Events by themselves often are
looked on as hopeless situations. Just
like some people might say during this Covid-19 Pandemic in our Nation and
throughout the world. But no setback, failure, loss, or suffering stands alone.
Always there is another chapter, to follow. Always there is a final word, and
that word is God’s. Throughout his epistle Peter calls attention to suffering,
but in every, instance it has a good consequence.
4.
Peter urges his readers here in 1
Peter 3:15: “Be prepared to give an answer to everyone who, asks you to give
the reason for the hope that you have.” This is the “living hope”
given to them through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Elsewhere Peter reminds
them to pay attention to the Word of God in 1 Peter 2:2, “that by it you may
grow up in your salvation” (2:2). The hope is kept alive as they meditate
on that Word. St. Paul writes in Romans
15:4, “Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so
that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have
hope” (Rom 15:4). In the Bible we see again and again that God will not
give up even when the situation seems hopeless.
5.
Some 800 years before Christ, a
prophet named Hosea, whom we spoke about last week, bought his faithless wife
from her lovers for the price of a slave. He tried to win her back with love
and patience. His way with her typified God’s dealings with the wayward nation
Israel. Hosea 2:14-15 says, “I am now
going to allure her . . . and speak tenderly to
her. . . . I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the
Valley of Achor a door of hope” (Hos 2:14–15). Still, Hosea seems to
waver between punishing and forgiving his chosen people. Hosea 4:17 says, “Ephraim [his name for
Israel] is joined to idols; let him alone!” (4:17). You think it’s all
over, but, later on Hosea 11:3, 8-9 says, “It is I who taught Ephraim to
walk, taking them by the arms . . . How can I give you up,
Ephraim? . . . For I am God, and not man” (11:3,
8–9). A clear picture of the heart of God!
6.
St Peter says in 1 Peter 3:15-16
that as Christians we are to, “give the reason for the
hope . . . with gentleness and respect.” Peter had learned
that words harshly spoken—even though they are true—turn people off. But beside
the witness by words it’s evident that the witness of our lifestyle is also
effective and necessary. One of the finest examples of this is his advice to
Christian women who are married to pagans.
Peter writes in 1 Peter 3:1-2, “Be submissive to your husbands so
that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without
words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of
your lives” (3:1–2).
7.
So also husbands are urged in 1
Peter 3:7, “in the same way [to] be considerate as you live with your wives,
and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the
gracious gift of life” (3:7). Even to civil rulers believers are to show
respect. 1 Peter 2:13-15 says, “Submit
yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether
to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors. . . .
For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of
foolish men” (2:13–15).
8.
St. Peter gives us the reason for our
hope as Christians here in 1 Peter 3. He
repeats that, “Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous and the
unrighteous,” Here’s a good
illustration of this. Four high school
boys made a habit of getting on the bus, staring at the driver in a challenging
way, and then jaunting past the toll box. One day the driver stood at the door
and refused to let them on the bus. The response was that the boys dragged him
off the bus and beat him up, leaving him bleeding and near death as they fled.
At the trial they were found guilty. But their lawyer pleaded with the judge.
If these boys were convicted they would not be able to graduate, and their
record would be marked for life. The
judge turned to the driver and said, “You are the one who suffered. What
would make you happy?” He looked at the thugs and said, “The thing that
would make me happy would be to serve their sentence, to go to jail on their
behalf so they could finish school and change their lives.” The judge said,
“That’s ridiculous. Absurd, impractical. Nobody has ever done that.” The
driver replied, “Oh, yes. Jesus did.”
9.
But, there is even more
to the reason for our hope in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. Peter goes on
to say in 1 Peter 3:19-21, “in which he [Jesus] went and proclaimed to the
spirits in prison, 20because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience
waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few,
that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21Baptism, 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, How many times have we thought
something has reached its superlative state only to be surprised by something
even greater?” “There can never be a bigger
flood than this,” Noah must have thought after a catastrophic flood
decimated the earth. And, in one sense, Noah was right. God promises, “Never
again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again
shall there be a flood to destroy the earth” (Genesis 9:11). God even
offers a rainbow to seal the deal. But though there may never be another
worldwide flood, that doesn’t mean that there won’t be a greater flood than
even that of Noah’s day. Indeed, this is Peter’s argument when he references
Noah’s ark, in which, “a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely
through water.”
10.
Peter writes, “Baptism, which
corresponds to this, now saves you.” In the original language text, the
word for “correspond” is the Greek antitypos, meaning a “copy” or
“type.” Peter is arguing that the waters of Noah’s flood, as mighty as
they may have been, are no match for the waters of Baptism. Noah’s flood is
only an antitypos, or a “type,” of the original and greatest
flood of Baptism.
11.
The preacher of Hebrews makes a
similar argument when he says in chapter 9:24: “For Christ has entered, not
into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into
heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf” (Hebrews
9:24).
12.
The Greek word for “copies”
is antitypos. There’s a heavenly temple and an earthly one; the earthly
temple is only a dim copy of the glorious heavenly one. As it is with the two temples, so it is with
Noah’s flood and Baptism. Noah’s flood was only a dim copy of the glorious
flood of Baptism. For the glorious flood of Baptism not only drowns our sins,
it also saves our souls. It not only condemns and buries our old Adam, but it
also raises us to life as new creations. Finally, the glorious flood of Baptism
is done in the name of Jesus, and nothing is greater than Jesus.
13.
Our ancient Christian Creeds echo Peter’s
words here in our text. “He descended into hell to proclaim victory; he rose
triumphantly; he ascended into heaven; and he sits at God’s right hand to rule
over all things.” Many fine films depicting the life of Christ with color
and drama have been produced in our day. Unfortunately, they usually end with
the crucifixion.
14.
We may find it difficult to relate
to our Lord’s exaltation. That he was born, that he ate and drank, that he
suffered pain—these human experiences we share with Jesus. But the
descent, ascension, and being at God’s right hand are not part of our own
existence. But, it is important that we consider each of these steps or stages
of exaltation if we are to witness to the hope we have. Christ didn’t descend
into hell to give those who died in unbelief another opportunity to believe.
Therefore, our witness is urgent. It may be the only time the questioner will
hear the Good News. The Savior’s ascension into heaven, which we celebrate this
coming Thursday of this week, is linked with his visible return when “every
eye will see him” (Rev 1:7). That Jesus rules over everything in heaven and
on earth assures us that even as his kingdom of glory and power is real, so is
his kingdom of grace. “[My Word] will not return to me empty, but
will . . . achieve the purpose for which I sent it,” The
Prophet Isaiah says in, Is 55:11.
15.
Because God works through his Word,
we can be effective witnesses to the hope we have, although for the moment it
seems to produce few if any results. Because God will have the last word we won’t
give up. Joseph Conrad, in Typhoon,
his epic story of the sea, furnishes us with a picture of this very thing.
Winds and waves pound the ship as the sailor shouts to the Captain, “The
[life] boats are going now, sir!” Again and again he hears a voice “with
a penetrating effect of quietness in the enormous discord of noises, as if sent
out from some remote spot of peace beyond the black wastes of the gale: ‘All right’
(Joseph Conrad, Typhoon and
Other Tales of the Sea [New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1963] 38). Through the turmoil that threatened the safety of the
disciples in their tiny boat on Galilee, that tested the faith of the early
Christians in Peter’s day, and still threatens us today comes the voice of Jesus
who conquers all: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid” (Mt 14:27). Amen. Now
the peace of God that passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus until life everlasting.
Amen.
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