The story of Noah’s Ark is one of the most well-known stories in the Bible. Many of us heard the story when we were young kids and even sang songs about it in Sunday School.
The account of God’s judgment upon the corruption on earth and his salvation of Noah is one of the most terrifying and powerful stories in the Bible. In his righteous judgment, God sent a flood to wipe out every living thing on earth. And only Noah and those with him in the ark are saved.
A Better Noah
As we see throughout the Old Testament, these things are patterns and shadows that lift our eyes to Jesus. Both Noah and the ark point us to Jesus and our salvation in him.
First, Jesus is the man more righteous than Noah, and everyone with him is saved from God’s judgment.
We don’t know very much about Noah’s wife, or the names of his sons’ wives. But they’re saved because they’re with Noah. In a similar way, we are only saved because we are with Jesus. We cannot save ourselves.
Creation today remains corrupted because of sin. God declares that one day he will judge the world and save his people. We must respond to his word in faith, and we can be certain that those who are with Jesus will be delivered from the coming judgment.
No one is saved by his own righteousness. We are delivered by the grace of God only because we are with Jesus by faith and his righteousness is credited to our account.
Ask yourself today:
- Are you with Jesus?
- Have you trusted in him?
- Are you following him?
- Do you look to him as the only way to be saved from the righteous judgment of God?
One day a new creation will dawn after this old world is judged through fire, and only Jesus and those with him will be left in the new creation.
A Better Ark
Second, Jesus is the true Ark, and only those who come to him and abide in him are rescued. Only those who are found in Christ will be saved on the day of judgment. The only ones who will be left are those who are in Christ.
Peter makes a similar point in 1 Peter 3:18-22, where he says that our baptism in Christ corresponds to the salvation of Noah and those with him in the ark. Baptism pictures our salvation from the judgment of God through our union with Jesus.
By faith, we are in Jesus. We have died with him and are raised with him to new life. Baptism pictures that in Christ, we have gone through the floodwaters of death to new life through his resurrection. We have died, and our life is hidden with Christ in God (Col 3:3). We are safe in him.
If you’ve been baptized, remember your baptism today. Picture the day you went through the waters. Keep that picture before your eyes because it symbolizes your salvation. The mere act of baptism didn’t save you; your faith in Christ did. But your baptism was an appeal to God showcasing your faith in Jesus.
Those who are found in Jesus will be safe when the day of judgment comes. For us, death itself will be a kind of Ark, where we are shut in, safe with Christ and in Christ, until the last day when we will stand on a new heavens and new earth.1
This promise of that salvation still stands. Come to Jesus. Enter life through him. A judgment is coming. Only those who are with Jesus and in Jesus will be saved. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life! He is our Cornerstone, our refuge through the storm.
Our world is full of corruption. Our hearts are full of corruption. Jesus is the only rescue. He’s the better Noah and the better Ark.
This post was adapted from the recent sermon below:
- Peter Y. Lee, “Take a Closer Look at Noah’s Ark,” https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/closer-look-noahs-ark, accessed November 16, 2025. ↩︎
