Reach

Scripture: 1^st Peter 3:18-22

Structure:

• Introduction
• Righteousness & Atonement
• Exaltation & Confidence
• Conclusion – Humanity

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

If you have ever been fishing with a rod and reel then you will know the importance of not getting your line in a tangle. If you let out the fishing line too quickly the nylon on the reel turns into a birds’ nest. When that happens you just have to slow down and let the line all the way out, until it is untangled, then wind it back up again.

Untangling fishing lines is good practice for brushing knots out of children’s hair and untangling your wife’s necklaces.

This morning we continue our series in first Peter, focusing on chapter 3, verses 18-22. This passage is a bit of birds’ nest. No disrespect to Peter but people throughout the centuries have got themselves into all sorts of knots trying to understand what Peter meant. Even the great reformer, Martin Luther, said he could not understand this passage. What may have been obvious to Peter’s first century audience is simply lost on us. So we approach this reading with humility, being honest about the limits of our knowledge.

From first Peter chapter 3, verses 18-22, we read…     

¹⁸ For Christ diedfor sins once for all,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 through whom alsohe went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison ²⁰ who disobeyed long ago when God waited patientlyin the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were savedthrough 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 good consciencetoward 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.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

Just as it is important to avoid getting your fishing line in a tangle, so too we need to keep our thoughts in order when we read Scripture. To save any intellectual birds’ nests, the big idea of today’s message is: nothing is beyond Jesus’ reach. The victory and Lordship of Jesus is comprehensive in its scope, both in this world and in the spiritual realm. So that’s the headline: ‘Nothing is beyond Jesus’ reach.’

With that in mind, there are five things in today’s text that I want to draw your attention to, and they are all about Jesus. These verses speak of the righteousness of Christ, the exaltation of Christ, the atonement of Christ, the confidence we can have in Christ and the humanity of Christ.

Righteousness, Exaltation, Atonement, Confidence and Humanity. R.E.A.C.H. It spells reach. First let’s consider the righteousness of Christ and the atonement of Christ together – because they go hand in hand in Peter’s thought here.

Righteousness & Atonement:

Righteousness has to do with right relationship – acting with justice and kindness in our relationships with others. Loving God and loving our neighbour.

Atonement also has to do with relationship. In very simple terms, the meaning of atonement can be found in the syllables: At-one-ment. If we do something unrighteous (something unjust or unkind) in our relationship with another person, then the relationship is no longer one. It is damaged. Perhaps not broken into a thousand pieces but at least fractured, no longer whole.

For us to be in right relationship with that person again we must make atonement – we must do something to put the relationship right so we are at-one with that person.     

Let me illustrate what I mean. I have here a packet of biscuits from the kids’ Sunday school. This packet is unopened. It is one. It is whole. None of the biscuits are missing. But what if I were to open the packet and eat one or two of the biscuits?

Well, if I did that (and I’m not saying that I have) but if I did, then the packet of biscuits would not be one anymore. I could not, in good conscience, give the Flock Sunday school kids a half-eaten packet of biscuits. What would I need to do to make atonement in that situation do you think?

[Wait] That’s right. I would need to replace the biscuits. Then my relationship with the kids and my relationship with myself (my conscience) would be right again. It would be at-one and whole.   

Of course, replacing a packet of biscuits is an easy thing to atone for. But some things cannot be replaced. If you break someone’s heart or betray their trust or do something that cannot be undone, then it becomes far more difficult to put the relationship right again and atonement feels out of reach. Well, it might be out of reach for us but it is not out of reach for Jesus.  

In verse 18 of chapter 3 Peter writes: For Christ diedfor sins once for all,the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.

This verse is talking about the atonement Jesus made for humanity on the cross. Jesus was completely righteous in all his ways. He alone is the only human being to have lived a sinless life and so he alone is the only one who can atone for the rest of us who have sinned and cannot atone for ourselves.

In the Old Testament Jews would atone for their sins (they would replace the biscuits they had stolen) by sacrificing an animal, one without blemish, one that was whole and healthy. That was a ritual they had to keep repeating. It was like the atonement did not stick. It was only temporary. So righteousness, of a lasting kind, was always out of reach for them.

But Jesus died for sins once for all. The quality of his sacrifice was sufficient to atone for all sins through all time, so there is no need for any more animal sacrifices. Jesus does not just replace the packet of biscuits. He redeems the whole biscuit factory.

Jesus died for sins to bring us to God. You see, we have all broken trust with God. We have all done injury to God’s heart. We have all taken something that cannot be replaced. That’s the bad news. The good news is that Jesus’ death somehow makes us at-one with God again. Jesus’ death and resurrection brings right relationship, with God, within our reach.

Our salvation is not automatic though. While the atonement of Jesus is a permanent fix and while it does bring righteousness within reach, we still have to take hold of it by faith. And this is what Peter is getting at in verse 21 of chapter 3 when he talks about baptism:

…and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also — not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good consciencetoward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

Baptism is the ritual of Christian initiation. It is a beginning.  It is how we demonstrate we want to be a Christian. Baptism is a way of publicly saying, ‘I want to take hold of the righteousness that is now within my reach because of Jesus’ death and resurrection.’

Notice that it’s not just Jesus’ death which saves us but his resurrection also. Jesus’ death and resurrection go together. Baptism is a symbolic re-enactment or identification with Jesus’ death and resurrection. When we go down under the water we are saying, ‘my old way of life is now dead to me’. And when we rise up out of the water we are saying, ‘I pledge to live for righteousness.’

Peter wants to make it clear that it is not the ritual of baptism itself that saves us. The water is not magic. It is Jesus’ death & resurrection that saves. Baptism is a way of asking God (on the basis of the atonement Jesus made) to cleanse our conscience and forgive our sins.

Sometimes people put off being baptised because they feel like they are not good enough yet. Baptism is not a badge that says you’ve made it. It is a confession that says you are a sinner (you’ve eaten the biscuits and you can’t replace them) but you want to live for righteousness. So you don’t you have to be perfect in order to be baptised but you do need to be prepared to make a few changes to your lifestyle. Baptism does not mean business as usual.  

Okay, so we are talking about how nothing is out of reach for Jesus and he brings righteousness and atonement within reach for us.

In this morning’s reading Peter also focuses on the exaltation of Christ and the confidence this gives to Christian believers.

Exaltation & Confidence:

We live in a relatively egalitarian society here in New Zealand. One which is quite flat in terms of its social structure. No one likes to stick out too much. In some ways this is good. We enjoy a certain degree of equality; of being on an even footing with others. But the shadow side to this is tall poppy syndrome. Tall poppy syndrome is a phrase which means cutting people down who might succeed or rise above the rest.

New Zealand is not like other countries. We are less inclined to celebrate success and more inclined to criticize those who do well. Which sounds crazy, when you say it like that, but it’s true.

A couple of weeks ago a guy called Jay came and spoke to a group of Wellington Baptist pastors. Jay is the national coordinator for 24-7 youth work in New Zealand and he is also the founder of a movement called E Tū Tāngata.

E Tū Tāngata is a Maori term.  E Tū means stand and Tāngata means people. But it translates as Stand Together. E Tū Tāngata is about people standing up together against tall poppy syndrome. That means valuing ourselves and others. Not putting ourselves or others down.

When speaking to groups of people Jay often asks the question, ‘On a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate yourself?’ (10 being absolutely amazing and 1 being not great). Most people say they are a 6 or 7, because they live in New Zealand and that’s the right answer in kiwi culture. We want to be just above average but not too far above the rest because then we will get cut down. 

The problem with tall poppy syndrome is that it infects our mind-set. It puts us on a downward mental spiral. Life is hard enough without being hard on ourselves too. We need to be on our own side.       

When the Bible talks about the exaltation of Christ it means the lifting up of Jesus. The exaltation of Christ includes his resurrection from the dead, his ascension to heaven and his enthronement at the right hand of God. Peter spells this out in verse 22 where he says:   

[You are] saved 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.

Jesus’ exaltation makes him the tallest poppy around and in New Zealand culture that also makes him (and his followers) a target.  

As kiwis we might hear those verses about Jesus’ exaltation and think: Not sure I like that image of Jesus. I liked him better when he was washing feet and being a carpenter and rubbing shoulders with ordinary people. I liked him better when he was more on my level.

The truth is Jesus has always been a 10 and that’s okay. In fact, it is good news, because Jesus being better than us (his being perfect) is what brings righteousness and atonement within reach. God wants to raise us up. He wants us to realise that, in Christ, we are 10’s also.   

You know, tall poppy syndrome makes us blind and deaf to certain things. When we read that verse in the gospels where Jesus talks about loving your neighbour as you love yourself, we might hear, ‘I must love my neighbour and whenever I fail to love my neighbour I’m no good, I’m a 1 or a 2’. Something else to feel stink about.  

But we can be slow to hear the second part of what Jesus is saying there which is love yourself. Love in this context means to seek the well-being of your neighbour and yourself. We cannot sustain love for our neighbour out of an empty well. Loving yourself means taking care of your own needs. Not being self-indulgent but having grace for yourself. Not being too hard on yourself. Not letting your inner critic dictate a mantra of negative self-talk. 

The exaltation of Jesus is something for us to celebrate because it gives us confidence. Who do you want to see exalted? Who do you want to see in charge? Do you want someone who doesn’t know what they are doing? Who makes poor decisions and cannot be trusted? Or do you want someone who is wise and kind and just? Someone who is firm but fair, strong but also compassionate. I think we all want the latter. We want Jesus to be lifted up because he can be trusted. The exaltation of Christ gives us confidence. Confidence to reach for righteousness and peace. Confidence to love our neighbour as we love ourselves.     

Verses 19 and 20 of chapter 3 are among the most knotty in the Bible. This is where the birds’ nest often comes into play. Peter writes:

Jesus was… made alive in the Spirit. ¹⁹ through whom alsohe went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison ²⁰ who disobeyed long ago when God waited patientlyin the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were savedthrough water,

Much ink has been spilt by scholars trying to understand these words. While we cannot fully comprehend exactly what Peter is saying here, the general gist seems to be that the exaltation of Christ gives Christian believers confidence.

Say whaaat? Let me explain.    

Peter says that Jesus made proclamation to the spirits in prison who disobeyed in the days of Noah. Who these spirits are and where the prison is exactly is disputed. I won’t confuse you with all the different theories but I will present you with the majority opinion among Bible experts today.

You may remember from the series on Noah, a few months ago, that the people of Noah’s day were so bad that God gave up on them and decided to start again with Noah and his family. It is thought that the spirits Peter refers to were the evil spiritual beings of Noah’s time who, according to Genesis 6, overstepped God’s boundaries by sleeping with human women.

In Jewish tradition these fallen angels were behind a lot of the bad stuff that happened in Noah’s day, so God locked them up in a prison somewhere in the spiritual realm. Jesus went to these spirits in prison to let them know he had conquered sin and death and so he is in charge. Sort of a victory speech.

The message to Peter’s readers is to be confident in their suffering for Christ because Jesus still reigns and rules. He has not surrendered believers to the power of evil forces. Jesus triumphed over all evil by his death & resurrection. By implication those who put their faith in Christ and share in his suffering will also share in his exaltation and reign with him. [1]

Suffering with and for Christ is a reason for confidence, because it is the path to exaltation.

Peter was comparing the fledgling church of the first Century to Noah and those with him in the ark. The Christians of Peter’s day were like Noah and his family; a small minority in a world that was hostile to them. But they could be confident that, like Noah, their future would be secure when the flood of God’s judgement came.

The fact that Jesus is exalted to the highest place means that nothing is out of reach for Jesus. As the psalmist says:

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.    

Nothing is out of reach for Jesus.

Conclusion:

The H in our REACH acrostic stands for the humanity of Jesus. Verse 18 tells us Jesus was put to death in the body. This is a reference to Jesus’ humanity. Jesus had a physical body like us. He experienced the weakness of the flesh like we do. He understood hunger and pain and temptation. And he died as all people must. Jesus was fully human. He was not just a heavenly tourist on this earth.

The fact that Jesus is from heaven and is human means that he can bring the kingdom of heaven within reach for us. Jesus offers us his righteousness, his exaltation, his atonement, his confidence and his humanity.

May grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

• What is righteousness? What is atonement? How do we make (or find) atonement? Are there things in your life that you long to atone for?

• How do we take hold of the righteousness and atonement that Christ offers?

• On a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate yourself? (10 being absolutely amazing and 1 being not great).  Why is that do you think? Would your private answer be different from your public answer? How so?

• What is meant by the exaltation of Christ? Why is Jesus’ exaltation good news for us?

• Why does Peter compare his readers to Noah and his family? In what ways was Noah’s situation parallel with Peter’s first century audience? In what ways is Noah’s situation parallel with ours?

• What confidence do you take, personally, from Jesus’ exaltation and humanity?

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[1] Refer Thomas Schreiner’s commentary on 1^st Peter, page 198.