Christ, The Ark
Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, and that’s the message we find whether we turn to Moses or Matthew, to the Old Testament or the New. God designed the plan of salvation from before the creation of the world, so when we turn to Genesis, we are not surprised to find the Lord Jesus Christ represented there. I would like to suggest that Christ is foreshadowed by Noah’s Ark in at least three ways.
Doom
First, there is coming doom, a day of wrath, a day of judgment. This is seldom preached about or talked about today, but Jesus warned: “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:26-27).
Despite Noah’s repeated warnings of imminent judgment, life went on as usual until it was too late. The Bible warns, “it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Every day, people go about their daily lives, getting up in the morning, going to school, going to work, going through the motions of life with no thought for the warnings of the Bible about Christ’s return.
Peter prophesied of today’s society: “scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.’ For they deliberately overlook this fact, that … the world that then existed [in Noah’s day] was deluged with water and perished…. The heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment” (2 Peter 3:3-7). Don’t miss the warnings!
Door
There is a coming doomsday, but there is also an open doorway. There is one place of safety from judgment. For 120 years, Noah preached and pleaded and warned his friends and neighbors to flee from the wrath to come. The door was open to all. Inside that ark there was safety, there was deliverance, there was salvation.
The Bible tells us there is likewise one door to Heaven: Jesus Christ. “There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).
M. R. DeHaan said, “There was only one ark. God did not make a fleet of ships and say, ‘You have your choice.’ There are religions without number, but only one way of salvation.” Until you trust in Christ, you’re standing outside the only door to safety, the only way to Heaven. Jesus Christ is our ark, and we enter by faith.
Done
The third word is done. Everything necessary to provide for our salvation has already been accomplished by Jesus Christ on Calvary’s cross.
I’d like to show you a very interesting word in Genesis 6:14, “Make yourself an ark of gopher wood … and cover it inside and out with pitch.” The word translated “cover … with pitch” is the Hebrew word kopher. This word also appears in Leviticus 17:11, “The life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls.”
Here’s the parallel: when Noah and his family entered the ark, the water swirled around it, but it was sealed with pitch, and waterproof. Those inside were safe. When we put our trust in Jesus Christ, the spotless Lamb of God who shed His blood to atone for our sins, we come to a place of absolute safety. We are hidden with Christ in God. Not a drop of judgment can touch us.
And it is all because of God’s grace. Genesis 6:8 (KJV) says that “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” This is the first time that the word “grace” appears in the Bible. The word means God’s goodness to us when we don’t deserve it. There’s no way we can escape our sin—no works we can do, no price we can pay, no plea we can make. But God Himself has within Himself the love and power to snatch us out of danger, deliver us, justify us, and save us.
Call upon the Lord and He will save you. “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
—Robert Morgan, adapted