Giving an Account of the Hope Within Us—Lectionary Reflection for Easter 6A (1 Peter 3:13-22)

 

1 Peter 3:13-22 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

¹³ Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? ¹⁴ But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, ¹⁵ but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you, ¹⁶ yet do it with gentleness and respect. Maintain a good conscience so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. ¹⁷ For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil. ¹⁸ For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, ¹⁹ in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, ²⁰ who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight lives, were saved through water. ²¹ And baptism, which this prefigured, 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 made subject to him.

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                Six years ago, in May of 2020, the World faced a major challenge, a pandemic that had shut down most everything. Fear was rampant as the virus ran wild in our midst. Easter came and went, and the world remained shuttered. In other words, the world was suffering. Peter would understand, because he addressed the suffering experienced by his readers. In the year 2026, people aren’t dealing with a pandemic like in 2020, but people are feeling the effects of wars in multiple places, while the war the United States is engaged in with Iran takes an economic toll on many in the United States and around the world, not to mention the suffering being felt by the people of Iran and Lebanon. There is still a war going on in Ukraine, as well as the one we constantly forget taking place in Sudan. Suffering seems to be a plague on the world that never goes away. If it’s not one thing, it’s another. So, how do we live faithfully in times like this? What does our faith in Jesus Christ require of us?

                During Eastertide, the Revised Common Lectionary has focused our attention on readings from 1 Peter. Although the letter claims the apostle Peter as its author, many scholars question the claim. But, for our purposes, we will simply call the author Peter. Whoever wrote the letter, the recipients seem to be suffering. Nevertheless, Peter wants them to stay faithful and be ready to give an account of their faith when it is demanded. Most importantly, if they suffer, then it should be for doing what is right, not what is wrong. As we read this letter, it seems clear that Peter is quite concerned about the witness of the followers of Jesus. Therefore, he tells the readers not to fear the things the world fears or be intimidated by those outside the community. Rather, he tells them to “sanctify Christ as Lord in their hearts.” Again, we see him concerned that the readers, who in chapter 2 are spoken of as spiritual infants, could fall back into their old ways. That is, they could be sucked back into the muck of the pagan world out of which they had emerged. We should also note that in the preceding verses, beginning at verse 18 of chapter 2 and continuing through verse 7 of chapter 3, Peter introduces the so-called “Household Codes,” including instructions given to slaves to obey their masters, followed by instructions to wives to obey their husbands. These are challenging verses that have been abused by oppressors of workers, slaves, and women. It’s not surprising that the lectionary skips over them, but they provide the background to our reading.

                Peter instructs the readers, many of whom might be slaves and women, to worship Christ and be ready to make their defense if it is demanded. Peter isn’t suggesting that they engage in “apologetics,” seeking to give some kind of intellectual defense of Christianity as a religion. But, he does want them to be able to share why they believe and act as they do, especially since the way they comport themselves might seem odd to many. When they engage in such conversations, he tells them to do so with gentleness and respect. Again, we see that Peter is concerned about how the believers represent Jesus to the world. Recognizing that they might be maligned or suffer for what they believe, he tells them to maintain a good conscience even when they are abused for their conduct as followers of Jesus. When they do this, they will put to shame their abusers. Again, he tells them it is better to suffer for doing what is right than for doing what is evil. After all, Christ also suffered, and did so because of our sins, and did so one for all, the “righteous for the unrighteous,” so that he might bring us to God.

                It’s appropriate at this point to note that we are still in Eastertide. Ascension Sunday is on the near horizon, so we’re getting close to Pentecost and the coming of the Spirit. This is an Eastertide text, for it addresses the resurrection, as well as the cross. Peter tells the readers that while Jesus was put to death in the flesh, he was “made alive in the spirit.” Then comes a most intriguing statement that has led to many different interpretations. Peter writes that after the resurrection, Jesus “went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight lives, were saved through water” (1 Peter 3:19-20). A lot is going on here, but one of the ways to interpret this involves Jesus descending into Hades and preaching to those who were held there so that they might embrace Jesus’ message and be set free. This is known as the “harrowing of hell.” This interpretation emerged in the Second Century and remains popular in some quarters even today. That is because it seems to suggest the possibility of post-mortem salvation. Death might not be the final arbiter of salvation. The reference to Noah suggests that this applies to a certain group, but need not be limited to that particular group. In this passage, Peter connects Christ’s descent with baptism, but before we get there, I would like to suggest that the passage does offer an intriguing possibility about how the gospel gets shared in this life and beyond. Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, in his book Christ the Conqueror of Hell, writes:

The soteriological significance of the descent into Hades has been evaluated in a variety of ways. In the West, some maintained that the descent into Hades was a “one-time” event that had significance only for those who were in hell when it happened. Certain Western writers even considered that the “memory” of Christ’s descent into Hades was not retained there. This is a perception that is entirely foreign to the Eastern tradition, in which the descent is seen as an event of universal significance. A great number of Eastern authors perceived Christ’s descent into Hades as an event of universal significance, and some extended its saving action not only to past generations but also to all those who followed. The idea that all the dead receive the opportunity to be saved is quite widespread among Eastern Christian writers, and it was only in the West that some authors labeled it heretical. [Alfeyev, Christ the Conqueror of Hell, p. 205]

It is a rather opaque passage that invites a variety of interpretations, but I find it intriguing that Eastern Christians saw in it important salvific elements that extend the saving actions of the cross of Jesus beyond this lifetime. It’s worth noting that the Apostles’ Creed references Christ’s descent.

In mentioning Noah, Peter presents his take on baptism. Even as Noah and his family were saved through water (in the ark during the flood), so we are saved through the waters of baptism. Baptism doesn’t wash away sins, as if taking a bath and washing off dirt. Instead, baptism serves as “an appeal to God for a good conscience” (1 Pet. 3:21). Baptism’s effectiveness is rooted in the resurrection of Jesus. Therefore, baptism isn’t a magical rite. It’s not the water itself but the act of being baptized that serves as an appeal to God for a clean conscience. Peter doesn’t offer us a detailed theology of baptism, but the mention of it alerts us to its importance to Peter’s community, for he accords baptism salvific status. So, Joel Green writes of baptism:

In Peter's hands, baptism signifies new birth: a genuine turning from old life to new, realized in finding one's identity in a new web of relationships, a transformation of one's values and allegiances within the new community, and the embodiment of a new life-world evidenced in altered dispositions and attitudes (see above on 1:3). But this "genuine turning," far from a once-and-for-all event, is realized in ongoing commitment. This is the importance of the difficult term in 3:21, … (eperotema), which usually has the sense of "making an appeal" but here refers to the power of baptism to signify a "pledge" or "acceptance of new duties," the goal of which is a good conscience. Baptism must give way to a life that reflects baptism, a life in which the believer grows into the commitment made at baptism. This is related to the means of salvation in Peter's writing. In the shorthand phrase of 3:18, Christ's suffering "for sins" is presented as a purification offering, a sacrificial act that prioritizes the offering of the lives of those for whom the sacrifice is made. At the same time, Peter identifies the resurrection of Jesus Christ as the salvific event (3:21; compare 1:3, 21). [Green, 1 Peter (Two Horizons New Testament Commentary) (Kindle Locations 1847-1854)]. 

 

Having spoken of Christ’s descent into Hades and its salvific effect, Peter connects it to baptism, which serves as a means of salvation or a connector of the baptized person with Christ. But since all of this is set in the context of Easter (after all, this remains Eastertide), Peter gives us an early pointer to Christ’s ascension in verse 22.

                In 1 Peter 3:22, the author of this letter reveals that Christ has “gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.” This is the location for Jesus’ presence elsewhere in Scripture and outside the canonical texts. More progressive Christians (a community that includes me) struggle with the resurrection and especially the ascension. In the universe as we understand it scientifically, where might Jesus’ presence be located? Of course, Peter doesn’t have such questions. His universe is much smaller. However, even in a smaller universe, if we use our spiritual imaginations, we can envision Jesus sitting at God’s right hand, with the angels of God attending to him. The point Peter makes here is that all those spirits that are seeking to do harm ultimately do not have the power to inflict that suffering, for Christ is victorious over sin and death in his resurrection! Happy Eastertide!