Most people who know and believe in the Bible think about the incidents that Jonah went through and compare it to their Christian lives. They consider God's command to Jonah as a guide to how they are supposed to be obedient and worship God. But before we put ourselves in Jonah's position, we must think about what God is trying to teach us through Jonah. We need to think about how God is explaining Jesus?who is at the center of the Bible?His birth, death, resurrection and the history of the Church that was to follow through this one man Jonah. God told Jonah, "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it." (Jonah 1:2) Jonah who received this command is an image of the nation that was chosen to testify of God's word and show His word to the world. And the people of Nineveh who were drowning in sin is showing us an image of gentile sinners. Jesus spoke about Jonah and said, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." (Matthew 12:39-40) For people who know the Bible, you would think, "Just as Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights, Jesus also came back to life in three days after He was crucified." You would be aware that these incidents are connected. Let's take a closer look at this.
Them some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You." But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. (Matthew 12:38-41)
What is this sign? The scribes and Pharisees asked Jesus to show them a sign. But Jesus said that just as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, He too would be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. And when we read these passages, we are able to understand that Jonah being in the belly of the great fish is showing us the death of Jesus.
When we read Luke's Gospel, we are able to think about the sign a bit more. Let's take a look at Luke's Gospel chapter 11 verse 29.
And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, "This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation. (Verses 29-30)
This passage is slightly different the previous passage we read in Matthew's Gospel. In Matthew's Gospel it said, "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." But in Luke's Gospel it says, "For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation." It's a little different. Jonah's prayer appears in the book of Jonah chapter 2. If we were to interpret the content of his prayer in light of the entire flow of the Bible, it is related to the death of Jesus on the cross. If we link the Old Testament to the book of Jonah chapter 1, we are able to think about the New Testament along with the book of Jonah chapter 3 and 4. If that is the case, the incident that appears in the book of Jonah chapter 2 strikingly resembles the point where the Old Testament and New Testament is divided by Jesus' birth and crucifixion.
But there is something to think about in the words of Jesus that is recorded in Luke's Gospel. He said that Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites. The people of Nineveh could've disregarded this one man Jonah who came to their city and proclaimed that the city of Nineveh would be destroyed. However, Jonah-who was thrown into the sea and thought to have been dead-came to the city of Nineveh. He was in the belly of the great fish and then appeared in front of many people to bear witness of God's word. And this was foreshadowing the resurrection of Jesus that would later take place. In the Old Testament, it explains Jesus' resurrection as, "For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore." (Psalm 16:10-11) And in the book of Job chapter 19 verse 25, it says, "For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth." There are these passages that directly talk about the resurrection. And we put effort into searching for passages in the Old Testament that bear witness of Jesus' death and resurrection and try to interpret it.
For example, in the Bible, there are many passages that directly explain that this is a handkerchief. However, there are many times when things are explained in length. It may simply say that the mouth was wiped. But was a napkin used or was it a handkerchief? It is made of some kind of cloth. There are many passages that are explained in length. Through history, through one person or through the experience of one family, God enclosed what He wants to tell us through these incidents. The book of Exodus, for instance, describes the tabernacle in great detail. Although the outer layer was covered with badger skin, inside there were items made of pure gold, the lampstand made of gold was always lit and the veil was embroidered with cherubim. Although it simply looked like animal's skin from the outside, it was a structure that contained something very bright and beautiful. But the temple that Solomon built that appears in the books of Kings and First Chronicles is different from the tabernacle. The materials used were very different and the outer appearance of the structure was built beautifully. But the inside was still similar to that of the tabernacle.
The tabernacle represents Jesus who came to this world in the body of a man and the temple represents Jesus who resurrected after being afflicted and then will later return in glory. If we read the Old Testament and New Testament together, we are able to understand that these many passages in the Old Testament were testifying of what would happen to Jesus Christ and is showing us the glory He would receive after His suffering.Similarly, in the first part of the book of Jonah we see an image of Jonah disobeying God's word and going to Tarshish instead of the city of Nineveh. Isn't that the same as us who are sinners? And the image of mankind who disobeyed God's word by eating a certain fruit and started walking down the wrong path is shown to us through the chosen nation of God that disobeyed the commandments that He gave to them. This is telling us that we can never be righteous in front of God's laws. And when Jonah was being offered as a sacrifice when the sea was turbulent, we are able to see an image of the One who took upon our problems that we weren't able to solve as humans. In Jonah's fickle behavior, we are able to see an image of man who has fallen into sin, an image of the Jews who were disobedient and also an image of Jesus Christ who came to overcome all of these obstacles. In the passage where Jonah is thrown into the sea and is praying in the belly of the great fish and when the great fish vomited Jonah, this is strikingly similar to Jesus Christ who came according to the words of the Bible to suffer, was killed and then resurrected.
We were born again when we realized-through the words of the Bible-that our sins were forgiven through the death of Jesus Christ and the blood He shed for us. But it takes a longer time to understand the resurrection. Of course there wouldn't be a foundation for our faith if there was only death without the resurrection. We live our lives in faith once we've come to realize that our sins have been forgiven through the Bible. And as we continue to live that life, we come to understand the resurrection of Jesus a little bit at a time. When we watch movies about the life of Jesus, there are long scenes showing us the suffering of Jesus, however, the part that shows the resurrection is very brief. But in the Bible, it clearly shows us the story of the One who destroyed death that people of this world feared.
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