Buried, He Carried My Sins Far Away 1 Peter 3:18-22
Sermon by Don Emmitte, Grace Restoration Ministries
Today we come to the third in our series titled Oh, Glorious Day! Each of these messages is built around the theology expressed in the chorus of the song sung by Casting Crowns:
Living He loved me,
Dying He saved me,
And buried He carried my sins far away,
Rising He justified freely forever,
One day He's coming, oh, glorious day, oh, glorious day!
Last week we looked at “Dying He Saved Me.” Today we see “Buried, He Carried My Sins Far Away.”
TAKE YOUR BIBLES, PLEASE…
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, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, 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. 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. (1 Peter 3:18-22 ESV).
Never let it be said that your pastor is intimidated by the difficult passages of Scripture! I could have chosen so many passages to undergird the truth that Jesus’ death was the means of salvation to the world without ever turning to our text today. It is undoubtedly one of the most difficult to both translate and interpret. However, by avoiding this passage I would be doing a great disservice to you in deepening your understanding of the incredible victory Jesus won for us through His death.
Now, I’m not going to make the same mistake I have made as a younger preacher. I remember one Wednesday evening in Bible Study, preaching through this book and coming to this passage, I spent considerable time discussing the different theories about the “spirits in prison.” After a lengthy discourse, one of my friends came up to me and said, with a large grin on his face, “Preacher, I am sure glad you explained all of that. I have been wondering about that all my life!”
SO LET’S BEGIN WITH A CENTRAL STATEMENT OF TRUTH: JESUS SUFFERED ONCE FOR THE EXPRESS PURPOSE OF BRINGING ALL OF MANKIND BACK TO THE FATHER. His burial was a key part of this act.
Buried, He Carried My Sins Far Away… Oh, Glorious Day!
So, there it is! There are some specific principles we need to understand about this, but that it the single most important thing you can hear me say today.
Craig Glickman has written a wonderful little book, Knowing Christ, in which he draws on an experience from the assignation of President Lincoln. He wrote:
When Lincoln's body was brought from Washington to Illinois, it passed through Albany and it was carried through the street. They say a black woman stood upon the curb and lifted her little son as far as she could reach above the heads of the crowd and was heard to say to him, "Take a long look, honey. He died for you".
So, if I could, I would lift up your eyes today to see Jesus at Calvary. Take a long look, He was buried for you. THERE ARE TWO PRINCIPLES FOR US FROM THE APOSTLE PETER…
First, Jesus Died and Was Buried that We May Be Saved FROM Something.
I suppose this is the point where it might be easier to merely use the first verse of our text today. It is straightforward and easily understood at face value. However, to really understand what we have been saved from we must look at the verses that deal with the declaration that Jesus went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison. It is in this passage that Peter mentions the “days of Noah” and those who were saved in the ark God directed Noah to build.
The original language of the text makes it very clear he is using the experience of Noah as an antitype. That is, this actual experience from the Old Testament is a foreshadowing of something in the future. Ultimately it turns out to be the passion of Christ. In fact, he goes on to use the act of baptism to explain further.
LET’S SEE IF I CAN UNPACK THIS FOR YOU IN A USEFUL WAY… in the flood the ark prepared by Noah was the means of physical salvation for Noah and his family. They made it through the watery judgment because they were inside of the ark. The Lord had shut them in. The judgment fell on the outside rather than on them. Do you see the picture he paints? The ark received the full force of the storm of God’s judgment, but they were safe within it. They were no less sinful, but God chose to spare them to continue the human race, ultimately being the root of the final Savior. The Lord Jesus became the One to bear our sins voluntarily suffering the full judgment of God on our behalf. He was immersed, baptized, in the experience of the Cross and its death. He was covered over with the judgment of God upon sin during those three dark hours on the cross. This is the baptism that was essential for salvation. Just as there could be no deliverance for Noah apart from the ark going through the watery judgment, there could be no salvation for us apart from Jesus going through the judgment of sin in his death. These are His words in the Gospel of Luke:
Jesus said, “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!” (Luke 12:49-50 ESV).
We needed a Savior because we were under the judgment of God. Like the people in Noah’s day, we were unwilling to acknowledge our need; however, God still provided our redemption. There is that sense in which God saved us FROM something. He saved us from the inevitable judgment and destruction that are the result of our sin and separation from His protection.
Second, Jesus Died and Was Buried That We May Be Saved TO Something.
We really need to back up one verse to fully understand this principle. The Apostle Peter writes:
For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. (1 Peter 3:17 ESV).
The key word is “better.” Most of the time we are challenged to answer the question: Why do bad things happen to good people? After all, if we are living within the will of God, shouldn’t we be prospering and blessed? Let me call your attention to a few other translations that make this clearer:
It's better to suffer for doing good, if that's what God wants, than to be punished for doing bad. (The Message).
For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing. (King James Version).
For [it is] better to suffer [unjustly] for doing right, if that should be God's will, than to suffer [justly] for doing wrong. (The Amplified Bible).
The principle Peter brings into focus for us is in the blessing Jesus’ work of grace has allowed to be available to us. Through His grace we are now allowed to live lives that are blessed. Even in the midst of suffering, we are still far better off than apart from grace and under the judgment of God! This is perfectly illustrated in the life of Jesus. Peter lifts the images of a very ugly cross and the events that immediately followed the cross before us. So, to understand this “better” life we have been saved to, we ought to understand what happened to Jesus.
Jesus was quickened in the Spirit. Now we must dig a little deeper into the question of where Jesus went after his death on the cross before the resurrection. One view where Jesus was and what He did before His resurrection is that He went to Hades (the place of the dead) and made proclamation to those who were in spiritual prison. The word "proclamation" in Greek is kerusso. It means to proclaim and is a different word than euangelizo which means to preach the gospel. Therefore, it is most probable that Jesus was not preaching the gospel to those in the Hades/Spirit prison so they could be saved, but was instead proclaiming the truth to them. Some believe it is the people who were alive at the time of Noah's flood and who were killed in the flood. Others believe it is all humanity who died before the time of the cross. I believe it was the people of Noah’s day. There is also evidence that he also went to “Abraham’s bosom” and proclaimed the same message. Here the outcome was quite different. Those of Noah’s day, who refused the salvation of God, were merely informed of the final victory of God that was won on the cross. Their judgment was not overturned. Those who were in “Abraham’s bosom,” that place where righteous souls went prior to the atonement, were informed and led to heaven as triumphant conquerors. The Apostle Paul puts it this way:
Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) (Ephesians 4:8-10 ESV).
That’s where he went. But, what did he do? Let’s look at some of the things that happened to Jesus after his death to explain this “quickening.”
a. The first public thing that happened after his undeserved sufferings was his vindication by his resurrection from the dead. The world said, “He deserved to die.” The Father said, “He deserves to live!” Since God always has the final word, resurrection trumps death! That means for us that we too shall be vindicated. Every time the world has determined we were in some way unworthy, God says, “He is worthy!” The proof of that will be our resurrection from the dead.
b. The second public thing that happened to Jesus was His ascension into heaven. This involves glorification. Jesus came out of the grave with something he did not go into the grave with. As the God-man, even the Lord Jesus carried a mortal body into the grave. It was indeed “flesh and blood.” Just as the incarnation was real, so was the transformation of the resurrection. His body was “glorified.” While this truth is shrouded in mystery, this much we can know with absolute certainty: the body we go into the grave with will not be the body we come out of the grave with! Now, I’m looking forward to that!
c. The third public thing that happened to Jesus was his welcome to his rightful place on the right hand of the Father, sitting on the throne. He was then exalted for all then in the heavens to see! He went directly from the humiliation of the cross and death to the right hand of the sovereign God of the universe. He was exalted in power. He went from the shame and rejection of the cross to the place of authority over the whole physical and spiritual universe. Whatever else the last book of the Bible reveals, it is surely that those who suffer with Jesus will also be enthroned with Him. Those who have been identified with Him through redemptive grace will also be glorified with him. We are saved to that wonderful exaltation!
Do you see what this means? When we sing, “Buried, he Carried My Sins Far Away,” we are not proclaiming an exemption from the suffering of this world. In fact, just the opposite is true. We WILL suffer. Our master suffered, we can expect no better treatment. What we are singing is the truth that none of that is a true reflection of who we are or what we will become! We are children of the King of the ages. That means we will be redeemed, sanctified, and glorified! Now, sing it… BURIED, HE CARRIED MY SINS FAR AWAY! OH, GLORIOUS DAY!
