The Flood Story - Types and Baptism

2024-12-14T06:06:38Z

The Flood Story and Jesus

Jesus brings up the Flood story from Genesis just one time (in the recorded teachings we have).

First to set the scene, Jesus and his disciples are visiting the temple, and the disiples are kind of “ooo-ing” and “aaah-ing” when Jesus tells them about about the coming destruction…

Matthew 24:1–2 (ESV):  24 Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his
disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he
answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will
not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”  

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Mt 24:1–2). (2016). Crossway Bibles.

Matthew 24:37–39 (ESV): 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming
of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating
and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered
the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away,
so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Mt 24:37–39). (2016). Crossway Bibles.

At one point in Jesus’ description of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, he brings up the Son of Man and Noah…

Jesus says that the “coming of the Son of Man” will be like when Noah built the ark, and no one understood until the flood (κατακλυσμός | kataklysmos) came and took them away.

In Jesus’ mind the flood narrative gives him imagery and vocabulary to talk about when God allows foreign powers to come and bring judgement… This isn’t an interpretation of the flood narrative, but it clues us into the idea that the Hebrew bible is full of imagery, like a quilt, that follows a (or several) pattern(s).

Jesus understood the flood story as a pattern - a theological category to talk
about God overthrowing the corrupt power systems of our world - Tim Mackie

I think sometimes we look at the flood and think God is so bad for taking out all of humanity, but we miss the point… God is RESTORING humanity by removing corruption… that’s eventually the story we’re invited into via faith in Jesus

Types #

A type is a category of prophecy, and an antitype is the revelation of the type.

Essentially - a type is a pattern, and the antytype is the revelation of the meaning of the pattern - and without understanding the preceding types (in this case, the flood) then the antitype cannot be understood (in this case baptism)

a trivial example of how a type, or a pattern, can be noticed and even build anticipation is to think 2, 4, 6, 8… what comes next? 10, and we all know that immediately. Types in general, and types in the Bible are no different, albeit not so simple…

Flood and Baptism #

Brace yourself…

1 Peter 3:18–22 (ESV): 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous
for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the
flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which he went and proclaimed to the
spirits in prison, 20 because 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. 21 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, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with
angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.  

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (1 Pe 3:18–22). (2016). Crossway
Bibles.

Notice verse 21 - “Baptism, which corresponds to this”

Corresponds is the word ἀντίτυπος (antitupos) in Greek, which means “anti-type” This means clearly that the type, or a type, for baptism, is the flood narrative… or that baptism is the antitype for the flood

What does this mean for baptism?

21 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, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with
angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him

Through baptism, we experience with Jesus, resurrection and rule of the angels, authorities, and power of the world…

Take Away #

For the disciples listening… are they arguing about when the flood happened? or if it was a global or local flood?

No… they are listening to Jesus unpack patterns in the Bible and they hear him invite them, through a story they know very well, into rule and reign with him

The Flood Story - Quilt Analogy

2024-12-14T05:43:43Z

The Flood Story in the Hebrew Bible

I’m slowly making my way through some Bible Project classes online because Tim Mackie is a fantastic teacher and BP has done be a great service by opening my eyes to the reality of the Biblical narrative and what it means for my life of faith in Jesus.

The second session is filled with great points and 10 minutes in I had to jot this one down…

A Quilt as History #

Imagine your grandmother’s grandmother made a quilt, and passed it down the family tree. In a sense, that quilt contains history that would pre-date you but would absolutely have meaning to you… However, you might look for meaning that was never intended to be present.

The pieces of the quilt have their own history - there will be material that might’ve been part of a dress, or curtains, or bedsheets, or anything else someone in the family tree found interesting and meaningful for the story they are telling with their quilt.

The question of what each of the pieces mean on their own, or in where they come from is interesting perhaps, but it’s not the same question as asking what those pieces mean now that they have been curated into the family quilt… The creator(s) of the quilt may repurpose those pieces entirely, and it wouldn’t be “right” for you or me to be upset that one piece of the quilt came from an article of clothing or cloth associated with something we might not like - the author (your grandma) repurposed it for that very reason, to change the meaning and communicate something to you, perhaps something totally different than what that cloth might’ve meant before it was added to the quilt.

Creation as a Quilt #

The quilt is a curated piece of pieces of fabric - and to bring the metaphor home very abruptly, so is the Hebrew Bible… the authors of the Hebrew scripture absolutely repurposed stories and images that were present in their time and before, but not to make something that is a cheap copy, but to communicate the story of the actual God of gods, ruling over the world.

For example - the very beginning of the creationa ccount in Genesis 1 has the spirit of God hovering over the waters. Without getting into more details than a short write-up warrants, the waters in ancient thought represent chaos. Not only that, but there is an older creation account called the Enuma Elish where their savior god, Marduk, fights the chaos waters (Tiamat) and conquers her eventually… The thing about the Hebrew narrative is that Yahweh doesn’t have to fight the waters… he subdues with his words because he isn’t in tension with creation, or even with chaos, all things obey him and the chaos waters that other gods had to fight and die over are no different. So the meaning of the waters is somewhat consistent across lots of cultures, but Hebrews took the stories and in essence made them “more true”, but at the very least made them relevant to the story they are/were communicating about the God of gods and Lord of love - that he is the creator of all things and invites us to partner with him (as his image-bearers).

Calm Down #

A lot of Christians get upset or skiddish when other stories and cultures get brought up - as if the Bible had to fall from heaven in their favorite English translation… but in my opinion that is the silliest and cheapest view of the Word of God… he chose people out of foreign lands to make an inheritence for himself, his people, and those people tell his story using images that they know.

It’s important for us to answer interesting questions but not lose sight of what’s important… The Enuma Elish is an interesting piece, and there’s parallels with the Hebrew bible, but the Hebrew creation account clearly communicates that Yahweh doesn’t have to labor and fight for order, he speaks order into chaos. That lesson is wholly different from other creation narratives, but is it derivative of them…

That used to bother me, but understanding that the authors of the Bible, carried forth by the guidance of God’s spirit, curated these stories and narratives for God’s people to communicate the truest Truths about him and his love for people help me understand the reality of God partnering with humanity

which starts in the Garden and is how Revelation ends

Posts tagged: flood-story Archive