Jonah: And Jesus
Matthew 16 v 4
A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away.
In Matthew, Jesus responds to the Pharisees and Sadducees by saying the story of Jonah is the only sign they need which will prove who He is.
The story of Jonah links in with some of the Gospel narratives.
Jesus and the Great Fish
As we saw in my post on Jonah and the Great Fish, Jonah was in its Belly for ‘three days’. And we also read that Jonah goes to Sheol, the place of the dead. Similarly, Jesus is ‘three days’ in the tomb and goes to Hell.
Whereas, Jonah calls out to God to save him, Jesus ploughs up Hell and frees the souls in captivity.
Jesus and the Dove
Matthew 3 v 16
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.
At Jesus’ baptism, we see He is taken beneath the water by John the Baptist. John lived in the wilderness. The wilderness is like an ‘arid sea’. John is like the Great Fish who took Jonah beneath the waves.
Jonah’s name means Dove. He is the Dove rising up from the depths. At Christ’s baptism, the Holy Spirit is like the dove descending from Heaven.
Jesus Commands the Storm
Matthew 8 v 23-27
When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was engulfed by the waves; but Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”
“You of little faith,” Jesus replied, “why are you so afraid?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it was perfectly calm.
The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey Him!”
This story also occurs in the Gospels of Mark and Luke. Both Jonah and Jesus sleep during the storm. But in the story with Jonah, he is sacrificed by the crew to save the boat from capsizing, while Jesus simply stills the storm.
Jesus does eventually give himself to calm the ‘storm’ caused by death and sin. Like Jonah, He descends into depths and rises again.
Drawing Lots
In John 19 v 24, the soldiers who crucified Jesus, cast lots to see who will take His undergarment. Lots are also cast in the story of Jonah, but this is to find who had aggrieved their God.
Jesus and the Gentiles
Jonah is called by God to preach to the Gentiles. In the Great Commission, Jesus tells His followers to go and preach to the Gentiles.
Coming to a City
After Jonah leaves the fish, he goes to the city of Nineveh. Once there, he preaches and the people start to repent. Eventually the king of Nineveh hears the message and repents too.
Jesus comes to Jerusalem and the people rejoice. The leaders are less so happy, and he is brought before them. They do not change their hearts and Jesus is sentenced to crucifixion.
Like Jonah, Jesus then leaves the city. A wooden cross is raised up like the plant in Jonah 4. The worm, which symbolises death, comes on the scene. It does not destroy the plant, but is instead, destroyed by Christ.