Jonah was a man who would have rather died than see Nineveh repent, and because of his sin he was cast into the raging sea. Stormy waters are frequently a manifestation of God’s judgment in Scripture. Jonah went down to the deep, to the belly of Sheol, and there he experienced a type of death & resurrection. Similarly, Noah was delivered through the waters of judgment to a new world. The waters correspond to baptism, therefore baptism must be the water of judgment first. Under it one enters into death. Baptism remains as judgment for those who ultimately reject the promise offered therein, but for those who receive it rightly, the waters deliver to a new life.
The pattern in Scripture of passing through water from wickedness and death to new life is usually followed by wine making. Noah entered a new postdiluvian life in which his second act was to plant a vineyard; the Israelites passed through the water and entered a new life in Canaan, a land of enormous grape clusters and vineyards. Wine is a gift of God typifying new life and its celebration. It’s not surprising then to realize that the first miracle of Jesus, performed at Cana, was a miracle of death to life. The water pots at Cana were Jewish ceremonial vessels which contained water used to wash the uncleanness of death – the filth of the flesh. It was the water that served as a continual reminder of judgment and death that Jesus changed into the very best wine thus revealing his glory. He transformed death into life, the new covenant in his blood.
Biblical Horizons 